Discovery Expedition to Help Children Learn about Water Conservation

Thousands of children in classrooms across the world will have a chance to learn more about water conservation thanks to an initiative using a unique Land Rover Discovery Expedition.

The Land Rover Discovery which has been specially modified for its purpose by Jaguar Land Rover will be used to support those who have received the 2017 Land Rover Bursary, a grant that is administered by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). The ‘Water Diaries’ expedition will explore one of the driest countries in the world as part of an effort to understand how the population there manages their water resources.

The team comprising three members, is led by geography teacher Fearghal O’Nuallain, and embarked on its month-long journey after being flagged off by year 11 pupils from St Peter’s Catholic School in Solihull. The pupils of the school and those at other schools in Ireland and UK will be following O’Nuallain’s regular online broadcasts to supplement their geography studies.

Team leader Fearghal O’Nuallain said: “The Discovery is going to be critical to the success of our trip. It will take us across the vast sand dunes and rocky terrain of Jordan while carrying everything we need. Beyond simple transport, the specially enhanced SUV will also be our accommodation, laboratory, classroom and broadcast studio for four weeks.”

The Discovery will also accommodate field scientist Dr Shane McGuinness and documentary film-maker Temujin Doran, who will work on making weekly online broadcasts about their trip. These broadcasts can be viewed by budding geographers on the team’s website http://www.thewaterdiaries.com/.

The Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division prepared the unique Discovery has made many modifications to facilitate the broadcasts including installation of an expedition roof rack to help carry the team’s kit and a pair of awnings for shelter from the elements. Off-road lighting can be used to illuminate the challenging terrain after dark. A split battery charging system and power inverter can be used to power the team’s electrical kit and a load space partition will ensure that the baggage will be safely stored even as the vehicle bounces over rough terrain. Additional fuel and water supplies will help the expedition go further.

Mark Cameron, Jaguar Land Rover Experiential Marketing Director, said that the company’s partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is important as it is part of the company’s commitment to contribute to research, education and fieldwork expeditions.

“The Land Rover Discovery is one of the most capable SUVs in the world so our enhancements were focused on the specific requirements of the expedition. Adding extra storage capacity, both physical and electrical, plus some much-needed shelter, will ensure the team can live, work and broadcast in relative comfort despite their unforgiving surroundings.”

This is the 10th year in which the RGS-IBG Land Rover Bursary is being awarded and the first year in which the Discovery has been used to support the winners. The family SUV will have to tackle Jordan’s tough landscape and the three-man crew are fully prepared for the trip with expert coaching on all-terrain driving from the Land Rover team.

The members of the team spent one day with the instructors at Land Rover Experience’s East of England facility, in Rockingham, to learn more about the Discovery’s comprehensive all-terrain capabilities, including the Terrain Response 2 system. The advanced technology automatically configures the settings in the vehicle to work well on all kinds of terrains with modes including Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand and Rock Crawl.

During the month-long expedition, the team will learn more about how Bedouin tribes that live in the Wadi Rum region locate and transport water. They will spend four days living with such tribes and will also stop at a renowned farm that uses both old and new scientific water conservation techniques to cultivate crops and provide food to a place that is considered to be one of the driest places on earth. They will meet wildlife who are engaged in efforts to save the Arabian Oryx from extinction.

Petra is one of the most impressive cities in Jordan and in Petra, and the team is scheduled to meet the archaeologists working at the World Heritage Site. From Petra, the team will travel in the Discovery to learn more about a highly advanced infrastructure project that could help bring water security to the entire region – a desalination plant in the Gulf of Aqaba and a pipeline that is meant to link the Red Sea with the Dead Sea.