Education & fieldwork · Dartmoor · 2023–2024

Why polar fieldwork preparation starts on Dartmoor

A successful research expedition depends on more than the equipment in a scientist’s pack. It also depends on the everyday decisions that allow a team to work together in a demanding environment.

For the Clean Planet Foundation’s Peninsula programme, Antony helped turn Dartmoor into a practical training ground for early-career polar researchers in 2023 and 2024.

Practise before the pressure rises

Dartmoor is not a substitute for polar conditions. It offers an accessible setting in which to practise navigation, camp routines and teamwork before adding the demands of a remote expedition.

The value of field training lies in making preparation tangible: communicating when visibility falls, organising a camp and recognising how individual decisions affect the whole team.

Experience transferred

The courses connect with the principle behind Antony’s educational work: experience becomes valuable when someone else can use it. Practical preparation helps researchers bring their expertise into the field.

The 2023 pilot also received BBC coverage, documented in the Foundation’s programme account.