Whitby Free Press, 2 Sep 1987, p. 12

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PAGE 12, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1987 WYvhiÏtbv resident selected for Operation Raleigh expeditioln Always fascinated by the adven- tures of great explorers, Grant Hogg will next year embark upon one of his own -in Sir Walter Raleigh style.* Operation Raleigh is the name of the four-year, round-the-world ex- pedition that began in November 1984 and will include the 24-year-old Whitby resident in 1988. Hogg applled for the expedition, which commemorates the 400th an- niversary of the founding of North America's first English-speaking colony by Sir Walter Raleigh, after reading about it'in a newspaper ar- ticle. He was overjoyed to learn that he was one of 40 people out of 70Q applicants to be invited to a "selection weekend" in Camp Bor- den in May. Hogg, a' graduate of Trent University, in biology, met the 17-24 age limhit as well as the requirement to swim 200 metres. And he survived the harsh selection process - but mostly because of his willingness to help others. "They're just Iooking for people who can work as a team," says Hogg of the most important criteria for.selection. In the end, as one of the final 10 Canadians chosen from the weekend, ho had bis choice of many locations in the world in which to participate in the ex- pedition. He chose Kenya - as a biology graduate, Africa interests him as a place of study. He will be the only Canadian among 40 people on the Kenyan'expedition which will last three montbs (there are 16 phases on the four-year expedition, each phase lasting three months. Overaîl, about 100 Canadians will take part in the expedition). Hogg's duties will include building fences to enclose the black rhinoceros, an endangered species as enly 400 remain. 111 want to help out, now that animal areas are being eroded and their numbers threatened by poaching," he says. He may also build roads to con- nect villages, part of the com- munity work aspect of the ex- pedition. And there's a possibility he'll climb Mount Kilmanjaro in Tanzania - if strained relations between Kenya and Tanzania can be overcome. But his more immediate goal is to raise $2,500 for the trip. That's another part of the challenge posed by Operation Raleigh, a non-profit organization. Hogg wil seek local donations, while he and other "yen- turers," as they are called, are holding events to raise money. He also encourages other Whitby residents to apply for the 1989 phases of the expedition. The deadline is only a few weeks away - Sept. 15 - and the number in Toron- to to caîl is 923-4356. GRANT HQGG

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