Tim Jarvis climbs every mountain, from home base in Adelaide, on his adventurous scientific/ environmental quest
Names South Australian of the Year in 2023, Tim Jarvis is pictured on the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, among the 25 world mountains carrying ice glaciers that Jarvis intended to climb as part of the 25Zero project with a climate-change message,
Adelaide-based Tim Jarvis, an environmental scientist, author and adventurer, was the Australian Geographic Society’s adventurer of the year in 2013 and its conservationist of the year in 2016 – the only person to have received both awards. Jarvis was named South Australian of the Year in 2023.
Among Jarvis's expeditions were the all-time fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole in 1999 and retracing Douglas Mawson’s starving and arduous polar journey in 1913, using the same gear, equipment and (scant) rations as Mawson, in 2007. Jarvis also retraced of Ernest Shackleton’s 1500km ocean journey on the James Caird and his exploration of South Georgia’s mountainous interior, using the same basic equipment, clothing and technology as Shackleton, in 2013.
Several of these journeys were recorded in documentary films. Jarvis’s books included The Unforgiving Minute and Mawson: Life and death in Antarctica. He was co author of the academic volume The Frozen Planet, released alongside David Attenborough’s television series.
In 2009, Jarvis was inducted into the Yale World Fellows Program for leadership in environmental sustainability. A senior associate of global engineering firm Arus, with English and Australian master’s degrees in science and environmental law, he acted as sustainability adviser to Australian insurance and housing businesses and an adviser on aid projects in developing countries for the World Bank and Asia Development Bank. He regularly spoke about environmental issues relating to climate change and won the Bettison James Award for documentary filmmaking for 25Zero, about the world’s 25 melting equatorial glaciers, in 2016.
Brand ambassador for Kathmandu, Jarvis was a global ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund. He helped secure 475,000 square kilometres of marine sanctuary off world heritage-listed Macquarie Island in 2023.
In Adelaide, Jarvis was on the board of Zoos SA (South Australia) and worked to promote outdoor play and environmental education among children. Jarvis was made a Bragg member (the highest category) of the Royal Institution of Australia) for excellence in scientific achievement and commitment to science education.
Jarvis led The Forktree Project, a charity that aimed to restore 133 acres of degraded former farming land in the South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula with native flora. The project wanted to "show a way for private individuals to take direct action in contributing to a healthier planet by acting on climate change and improving biodiversity".