TELEVISION adventurer Paul Rose delivered the Friends of the Lake District’s annual Kirby Lecture at Kendal Town Hall on Friday.

The Windermere-based Arctic explorer, fresh from a litter pick with the conservation charity, pondered on what motivates people to care about the planet.

He said that his own introduction to the great outdoors and the inspiration for his career as an expedition leader was a school trip to the Brecon Beacons.

Tales of polar bear near-misses and evocative images from the many expeditions he has been on kept the audience captivated.

His most recent work as expedition leader with National Geographic on the Pristine Seas Project brought up examples of how climate change and plastic pollution has affected the polar ice caps and the world's oceans.

He remains optimistic however, and explained how, through his work with world-class scientific researchers and state-of-the-art technology, a difference can be made.

Mr Rose also believes in the power of the next generation of eco warriors and how the tenacity of the Greta Thunberg generation fills him with hope for the future of the planet.

His talk included clips from his National Geographic work and also his recent BBC TV series The Lakes and showed him equally at home on top of a Lake District fell at sunrise as he is camped on an ice field in the Arctic.

Following the talk, Douglas Chalmers, chief executive of FoLD, said: “Paul’s vivid presentation helped to demonstrate how we are all part of the environment. Almost everything we do can have an effect on our surroundings, and being aware of this gives us opportunities to minimise the damage we do, and also to have a positive impact.