From adversity to adventure

Laura Ross
, 15 July 2025
From adversity to adventure
Training in Norway © Genny Brown

Laura Ross

Communications Officer, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

It's not every day that you hear about someone who, in her owns words, is in training "to become the first black woman to ski solo to the South Pole". So when Genny Brown recently took a day off to spend it at the nature reserve, we wanted to find out more about her mission to Antarctica.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I'm originally from a Dutch Caribbean Island called Aruba. As a little girl I dreamt of being an explorer looking for lost tombs and pyramids from ancient Egypt. I went to university in Canada where I truly fell in love with the great outdoors and long treks in the countryside. I’ve lived in the UK for the last 17 years. 

What's been the inspiration behind your challenge?

In 2016, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease after three horrific years of misdiagnosis. My diagnosis journey really highlighted the difficulties that people with invisible illnesses face. As I began to recover from the worst of my symptoms, I felt like I'd been gifted a second chance at life. I wanted to do everything within my power to make sure no one else would suffer as I had, and decided to raise awareness of this devastating illness. What could be a better opportunity to showcase how, with proper diagnosis and treatment, I could go from extreme fatigue, to pushing my body to its physiological and fitness limits in what has to be one of the world’s most inhospitable environments?

Putting up her tent
Putting up her tent © Genny Brown

Incredible! How do you get ready for an expedition like that? 

I train six times a week in the gym as well as pulling tyres around. I also do training expeditions in Norway to hone my winter camping and cross-country ski skills. My aim is to do the expedition in the winter of 2026. I'll be skiing approximately 950km for 45 - 60 days in temperatures that can go as low as -50°C.

A recent day off brought you to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. How important is it for you to get outdoors?

Being out in nature lifts my spirits and calms my mind. Taking in all the wildflowers in bloom and having a lookout hide all to myself to watch the baby terns play on the saltmarsh was epic! Education around our natural world is key, so places like nature reserves are so important. The more we understand our environment, the better equipped we are to be able to protect it for generations to come.

A day at Rye Harbour
A well-earned rest at the nature reserve © Genny Brown

How would you describe your connection with nature?

Growing up, I was taught to respect and protect the natural world and to view it as a part of my being; that we, as a species, can’t thrive in its absence. I don’t think I truly understood that until I was bedridden with Lyme Disease. As I recovered I noticed the huge impact that being outdoors had on my mental health and I’ve prioritised spending time out in nature ever since.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We'd like to wish Genny lots of luck in her adventure. If you'd like to follow her to the South Pole, you can find her on Instagram, Facebook or her website. Alternatively, you can help her raise money for this important cause here. 

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782571370.82650 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782571370.88740.0609Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782571370.88760.0002Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782571370.88770Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782571370.88770Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/from-adversity-to-adventure
    [s] => from-adversity-to-adventure
    [1] => from-adversity-to-adventure
)
1782571370.8880.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571370.89870.0106 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782571370.90370.005 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782571370.90450.0008INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782571370.90680.0023 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22352145
1782571370.90750.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22352145
1782571370.90810.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-27 14:42:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-27 14:42:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782571370.90950.0014 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='from-adversity-to-adventure')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:42:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782571370.91240.003 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782571370.91310.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3733 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:42:00'
1782571370.91880.0057 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782571370.91970.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782571370.92050.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=251 LIMIT 1
1782571370.92110.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1782571370.92170.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571370.9220.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782571370.92290.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:42:00' AND postSlug='from-adversity-to-adventure'
1782571370.96620.0433Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571370.96670.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782571370.98010.0134Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782571370.98040.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782571370.98180.0014 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782571370.99270.0109 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571370.99610.0034 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571370.99680.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571370.99950.0027Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782571370.99960.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571371.00040.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571371.00090.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571371.00440.0035 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571371.00560.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571371.00650.0009 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571371.010.0035 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571371.01090.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782571371.01320.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782571371.01370.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571371.0140.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='28' LIMIT 1
1782571371.0150.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782571371.01540.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='from-adversity-to-adventure')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:42:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782571371.01740.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782571371.0180.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571371.02070.0027Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782571371.02160.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3733 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782571371.1450.1233 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782571371.14520.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571371.1460.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='28' LIMIT 1
1782571371.14670.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782571371.14730.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782571371.14850.0012 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571371.15080.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571371.15180.001 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571371.15420.0024 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571371.15690.0027 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782571371.15740.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782571371.15770.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571371.16080.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571371.16120.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571371.16360.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571371.16690.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782571371.16760.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782571371.16890.0013 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571371.17170.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571371.17230.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571371.17810.0058 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571371.18090.0028 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782571371.1860.0051 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782571371.18680.0008 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571371.18940.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571371.19090.0015 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571371.1940.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571371.19530.0013Request time: 0.3716
1782571371.19530Process time: 0.3714
1782571371.19530Memory: 1.6508