"Look at it this way"

A superb way to explore the landscape is to go camping... In association with the RSPB... The RSPB Big Wild Sleepout will take place over the summer. Follow the link for ideas to while away the warm summer evenings...

Teaching about landscape should involve the encouragement of exploration. Dan Raven Ellison, my friend and Geography Collective / Mission:Explore / Explorer HQ colleague was in Switzerland last month doing a TEDx talk on the theme of exploring... This is well worth watching... Several ideas to use straight away.... particularly the idea of 'polar exploration'.

For the last few months we've been working with the amazing folks at the John Muir Trust to put together a booklet of missions which marries the Mission:Explore style of missions to the aims of the trust, which are to encourage young people to experience the landscape, and care for wild places. John Muir was the father figure of nature conservation, and quotes from him have been included to connect the missions with some of the ideas that he had over a century ago. The resource is part of the celebrations for the Year of Natural Scotland, 2013 You can get to see the missions on this GRAPHICLY page.  It will be available in other locations shortly, and I'll add the links to those as they emerge. Here's a slide that I've used in many of my presentations... Get out and about this Easter... and don't forget to take the opportunity to Mission:Explore...

Take the opportunity over the summer to explore an (un)familiar landscape a little more... I'll be heading for Devon. In North Devon there is a chance to take part in a special Mission:Explore set of missions , which have already been attempted almost 400 times (at the time of writing) Many landscapes have a designation as an AONB , and this would be a useful context for exploring landscapes... There's plenty on these 'landscapes for life' at the AONB page. Could be a great context for KS3...

Exploring landscape is important. Exploring the world is even harder... I can finally share some news I heard about a few months ago, but which has now been made public... Daniel Raven Ellison , friend and colleague at the Geography Collective has been named as one of National Geographic's 2012 Emerging Explorers. The press release is here. Dan is given the honour alongside other 'visionary young trailblazers' around the world. The 2012 Emerging Explorers are U.S. cyborg anthropologist  Amber Case ; U.K. digital storyteller and zoologist  Lucy Cooke ; U.K. behavioral ecologist  Iain Couzin ; Mexican underwater archaeologist  Guillermo de Anda ; chemist  Yu-Guo Guo  of China; conservationist  Osvel Hinojosa Huerta  of Mexico; U.S. pilot and educator  Barrington Irving ; conservation biologist  Krithi Karanth  of India; Swiss crisis mapper  Patrick Meier ; U.S. archaeologist  Sarah Parcak ; U.S. data scientist ...

A new way to look at the Scottish landscape... As part of the Cultural Olympiad , the Geography Collective worked on a project called Discover:Explore . That project goes live today... Are you ready to discover THE GREAT GLEN, with all its hidden places and extraordinary stories? Discover Explore is an exciting new game that enables you to discover ‘fun’-tastic locations throughout the Great Glen, complete daredevil missions, reveal hidden stories and win super duper badges! Would-be explorers begin online by searching for locations and missions set along the Great Glen in Scotland.  Location chosen, they download an explorer pack with all the missions and head off on an adventure to unlock the stories of that location and find the answer to the online questions.  On returning from the location, explorers must log back in to Discover Explore and upload their answers to the missions in order to win their badges! More to come later, once the site is up and runnin...

Please 'pre-order' a copy by supporting the production of MISSION EXPLORE FOOD . This is the FINAL DAY to fund us. If we don't get just over a thousand pounds by 11 tonight we don't get the funding to make what will be a superb book for young and old alike...

Fancy a new way of exploring your local landscapes ?? In just over a month's time, there are two new Mission:Explore books launched on the world by The Geography Collective and Can of Worms Press. Here are the front covers for those who are interested. They are already available to pre-order on Amazon so make sure you buy at least one copy.... There will be launch events in London on the 1st and 2nd of April, but if you are around in London on the evening of the 31st of March, you can join us at the Old Explorer, just a short walk from Oxford Circus. Sign up to join us .... Plenty more to come in a month's time...

The Mission : Explore book is finally out in print and available from tomorrow.... Buy as many copies as you can !! Come and see us at the GA Conference

Georgie is a gorilla on a mission: a MISSION : EXPLORE LONDON mission... Georgie is going to be in London this Saturday: the 16th of January and wants to carry out some special missions... For more information see: GEORGIE NEEDS A MISSION on Mission Explore website... Why not suggest a task for GEORGIE ?? You can send via TWITTER with the tag #GMission or #Gorillamission If you add a comment here with a mission I'll make sure they get passed on too... Many of the suggested missions allow Georgie to explore the URBAN LANDSCAPE of London.

Exploring your local landscape in a different way... New on Twitter are the Geography Collective at Mission Explore .... The book is now in pre-production... Watch for more exciting multi-media Exploring ness from the Collective. Visit the blog for some sample missions , including some BRAND NEW ONES !! "Great news for the young, and the young at heart" Iain Hallahan