10 Dec 2007

The John Muir Trust today made a last call for anyone with a taste for adventure to apply for a new award that funds expeditions to wild places. Now in its second year the Bill Wallace Grant has already supported three successful expeditions, to Greenland, Kenya and Nepal. The deadline for 2008 is the 15th of January.

“There is your last chance to get help from the John Muir Trust on a trip of a lifetime,” commented Development Manager for the John Muir Trust David Picken. “The Grant is open to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. All you need is a great idea and a keen sense of adventure.”

Three expeditions have benefited from the 2007 Bill Wallace Grants:

• In May a group of six Scottish women, led by Kirsty Maguire from Perth, spent a month trekking and climbing in Arctic Greenland. They scaled several unclimbed peaks in the glacier system and dodged polar bears before being evacuated in horrendous storms by the Icelandic Coastguard. “Absolutely mind-blowing; serene, beautiful and desolate” is their description of the landscape.

• Laura Balfour, from Blanefield Stirlingshire, defied the odds to complete a two month expedition studying breeding turtles in Kenya in a back brace! Undeterred by a severe back injury before she even set out, Laura helped with local efforts to improve the breeding success of the turtles in the area. “I just can’t believe how lucky I am that the Bill Wallace Grant made it possible for me to conduct this project which I’ve wanted to do for so long but never thought achievable,” said Laura.

• A group of Girl Guide leaders, organised by Suzie McGuiggan from Glasgow, went trekking high into the Himalayas to carry out community and educational work. The girls clocked up more than 800 hours of volunteer work for the local community, including teaching first aid, painting classroom walls and laying paving slabs. In their spare time two of the team also managed to scale the formidable heights of the nearby Mera Peak (6476 m.).

The Go and Do It! Bill Wallace Grant aims to encourage the same spirit of adventure, offering between £500 - £2,000 for independent expeditions to wild places. Expeditions must have an element of educational or scientific work.

The Grant was set up following the sudden death in 2006 of Bill Wallace, one of the John Muir Trust’s guiding lights. Bill climbed extensively in Scotland and was involved in expeditions to South America, the Alps and Greenland in the 1950’s.

“We need new adventurers to follow in the footsteps of bravehearts like Bill Wallace,” concluded Dave Picken. “As well as having the trip of a lifetime the Grant encourages participants to help conserve wild places in Scotland or further afield.”

Contact
Communications Officer Jamie Grant, T: 01796 484 935, M: 07979 575803,
email: communications@jmt.org