The ‘Atlantic Rising’ expedition team are circumnavigating the Atlantic to raise awareness of the potential consequences of rising sea levels for low-lying communities.
The young British team are Tim Bromfield, Lynn Morris, and Will Lorimer, supported by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Land Rover,
The team have been travelling since September 2009 and have now crossed the Atlantic and arrived in Brazil. As part of their education project the team members launched a capsule into the middle of the Atlantic containing over 2000 letters from schoolchildren. The pupils, from 17 schools on the east coast of the Atlantic, from Scotland to Ghana, wrote letters for the bottle describing their local environments and their concerns for the future of the planet. This week the capsule washed up on the shores of northern Brazil, and the team were contacted. They will now travel up to Fortaleza, where the buoy has washed up. Once there they will work with local schools to respond to the letters, connecting pupils across the Atlantic.
After Fortaleza, Atlantic Rising will continue their unique journey up the east coast of the Americas to Canada, from where they will head back to the UK completing their expedition. During this time they will continue to visit schools and interview climate change experts, continuing their mission to connect, educate and give vulnerable communities a voice on the issue of rising sea levels due to climate change.
To undertake the project, Atlantic Rising received the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Land Rovers 2009 Go Beyond bursary of £10,000 and the use of a Defender 110 vehicle, which has been their mode of transport and home since they set off from Poole Harbour in September 2009.
