South Georgia Heritage Trust

The island of South Georgia is a unique place; it is one of nature’s paradises and yet it is also rich with historical heritage. South Georgia is positioned in the Southern Ocean between the cold southern Antarctic waters and the warmer waters to the north. These contrasting influences contribute to the island’s exceptional natural beauty, creating a unique environment that supports an abundance of marine and terrestrial wildlife. This same abundance attracted humans to South Georgia, which became a centre for the unsustainable sealing and whaling industries. The island was also the gateway to the Antarctic for heroes of polar exploration including Sir Ernest Shackleton. With its legacy of scientific research undertaken during the Discovery Investigations, its deserted whaling stations once home to communities of British and Norwegian whalers, and its pivotal role in the history of the Falklands war, South Georgia has a diverse, conflicting, and yet fascinating human heritage.

NCCT is proud to assist The South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) in their aims to work preserve the island’s natural and historical heritage for future generations – to redress the damage to its environment done in the past, and to preserve the human heritage of the island which so clearly shows the best and worst of humanity. 

In 2019 during the Island Sky Antarctic season, NCCT raised over £3393 to support the rodent detection team, contributing to the cost of Sammy, a rodent detection dog. Vital to protect Sough Georgia from reinvasion by alien species, with the help of his handler Naomi, Sammy sniffs out rodents hiding on vessels or in cargo bound for South Georgia to prevent them from reaching the island.

In 2024-2025 the SGHT that NCCT will be raising funds for is the Whaling Station Initiative

The South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) has contributed to the conservation of the tiny sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia for many years. Through its £10 million Habitat Restoration project the Trust, together with its USA affiliate Friends of South Georgia Island, brought about a step-change in the island’s environment, by successfully fundraising for and delivering the world’s largest eradication of an invasive species. One of nature’s paradises, South Georgia is now an eco-system in recovery.

Following the success of the Habitat Restoration project, SGHT is focusing its efforts on a range of projects to preserve the rich cultural heritage at South Georgia for future generations. These projects collectively make up the Whaling Station Initiative and are:

1. Saving Shackleton heritage – conservation work to stabilise the Stromness Manager’s Villa, a world-renowned location central to the story of Shackleton and the Endurance expedition. [letting people around the world experience it digitally].
2. Whale Memorial – at the former whaling station at Grytviken, near to the South Georgia Museum, we will be installing a memorial to the thousands of whales that were killed during the first half of the 20th century, when South Georgia was at the centre of the Antarctic whaling industry. It will also chart and support the recovery of this amazing species, complemented by a planned new whale exhibition in the nearby South Georgia Museum.
3. The Whalers’ Memory Bank – telling one of the biggest untold story in Scottish social history, the memory bank is the creation of a living, growing digital time capsule where veterans of  the  whaling  industry,  their  families  and  communities  can  come  together  to contribute and share their stories with a wider audience.
4. Underpinning it all, we will be supporting and carrying out environmental work to reduce the oil, asbestos and waste left from the whaling industry – continuing to add to the story of the island as an eco-system in recovery.

WSI Whalers Memory Bank

These Whaling Station Initiative projects, interconnected in exploring the island’s history, its multi-layered use, and the impact of humanity, aim to celebrate South Georgia’s conservation journey – from the whaling industry’s heart to its current role as a symbol of environmental recovery, inspiring future generations.

The funds raised during the Island Sky Antarctic cruise in 2019 supported the rodent detection team, contributing to the cost of Sammy, a rodent detection dog. Vital to protect Sough Georgia from reinvasion by alien species, with the help of his handler Naomi, Sammy sniffs out rodents hiding on vessels or in cargo bound for South Georgia to prevent them from reaching the island.

Read the full report here  

For further information visit sght.org