UK Antarctic Heritage Trust
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is a UK-based charity dedicated to advancing the preservation, enhancement and promotion of Antarctic heritage in order to engage, inform and inspire a global audience. As well as managing the conservation and preservation of six Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica, including our flagship site at Port Lockroy, UKAHT works to promote Antarctic heritage by delivering and promoting a range of innovative programmes both in the UK and internationally.
The Trust conserves six Historic Sites and Monuments on the Antarctic Peninsula. Port Lockroy 'Base A' is the flagship site of the Trust. Restored in 1996 to its 1962 condition, the base is now manned every austral summer by a team of four who welcome tourists to the site, showing them around the living museum and manning the popular shop and Post Office, and who carry out the annual maintenance and conservation work needed to keep the base weathertight through the Antarctic winter. The Trust also carries out regular maintenance and conservation work at the Historic Sites and Monuments of Damoy, Wordie House and Detaille. From the 2015-16 season onwards, a conservation programme will be implemented for the buildings at Horseshoe Island and Stonington Island.
The Trust also runs a grant programme, supporting others who work to engage, inform and inspire people about Antarctic heritage. This has funded the conservation of artefacts and a conservator at the Scott Polar Research Institute, exhibitions including the upcoming 'Enduring Eye' Shackleton exhibition at the RGS, and the renovation of museums including the Falkland Islands Museum. The Trust is also a major supporter of its sister organisation The New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, in their work conserving the historic huts of the Ross Sea area of Antarctica.
UKAHT is a well-established charity in the Polar world who works closely with partners such as the British Antarctic Survey, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators and the Scott Polar Research Institute to promote Antarctic heritage through a range of innovative programmes including the production of information films for Antarctic sites and a newly-produced education programme.