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Regenesis

#lookingbackmovingforwards

191,500

funds raised for charities by our walkers

What is Regenesis?

Regenesis is a politically and religiously neutral non-profit organisation dedicated to understanding heritage and improving personal resilience.

Our story is about kindness, friendship equality and resilience found in the outdoors.

We contribute to racial harmony, helping to create a more balanced and inclusive society through the thoughtful use of the outdoors, challenge events and existing educational assets.

Over £190,000 has been raised for charities since fundraisers took their first steps with us in 2023 on Regenesis Events!

Looking back, moving forwards

We have created a range of educational experiences and personal challenge events designed to raise awareness of Holocaust history, resilience, kindness, and community. Through school visits, outdoor learning programmes, walks, cycles, and endurance challenges, we help participants connect with history in a meaningful and memorable way.

Our school visits and educational programmes introduce young people to the story of the Windermere Children and the values of recovery, friendship, and hope. These experiences combine historical learning with outdoor activities, reflection, and personal development, helping pupils explore the past while considering their role in shaping the future.

Alongside our education programme, we organise personal challenge events that combine endurance activities with visits to significant Holocaust sites, museums, and memorials. Our programme ranges from gentle walks in Windermere, including visits to the Lake District Holocaust Project, to more demanding adventures such as camping treks for teenagers. At the highest level, participants can take on our most challenging event: a double marathon from Terezín to Prague, following part of the journey from persecution to freedom.

Every experience is carefully designed to be educational, inspiring, and life affirming, encouraging participants to look back, learn from history, and move forward with purpose.

Meet our team

Find out more about the Regenesis team.

Marc Duschenes

Founder and Trek Director/Leader

Marc's grandfather was a Czech refugee to the UK, whose family did not escape the Holocaust.

On a heritage visit to Prague, Marc researched and visited the family's village and was struck by the beauty of Bohemia contrasting with the atrocities. This trip inspired him to create the Terezin to Prague treks and he launched Regenesis after testing the routes to facilitate Holocaust education and fundraising alongside challenge events.

He has taken his leadership skills honed in the boardroom as a plc CEO, to build Regenesis and become a Mountain Training UK Trek Leader, and qualified camp leader.

Marc also volunteered with Search and Rescue in the UK as a qualified Licensed Search Technician.

Jure Modic

Trek Leader

Jure is from Slovenia but has called the North West of England his home for a while now. His main role is as the Challenge and Events co-ordinator for the Children's Adventure Farm Trust.

Growing up and loving the Alps, he qualified as a Mountain Leader in the UK, and has led and co-ordinated treks all over the world.

Jure's character is what sets him apart from many other outdoor leaders, and he has played an instrumental part in designing our Windermere Route.

Stephanie Small

Trek Leader

After service in the RAF as an Officer, Steph continued her outdoor pursuits whilst working for Hewlett Packard and volunteering in their Corporate Adventure Racing Team. She crewed the Race Across America, and has personally completed endurance rides across Africa and America. She is a qualified British Cycling Ride Leader, and UK Search and Rescue Search Technician. Steph enjoys planning adventures and supporting walkers and riders from her bike.

Tom Kelly

Leader and Instructor

Tom is an outstanding Mountain Training Course Director and Assessor, also holding qualification in Advanced First Aid, First Aid Training, and works with Schools delivering Gold DofE courses, for which he is an assessor and remote supervisor.
He is also a foraging expert, so if you are with Tom on a trek, expect to find some free snacks, or be told which ones to avoid!

Tony Mcguinness

Trek Leader

Tony is an outstanding outdoor trainer with nearly 40 years’ experience in a wide variety of settings with a range of age and ability groups. His outdoors qualifications are exceptional and he is a trainer of many of these disciplines such as DofE Assessors. Tony is skilled at sharing his expertise, whilst leading a group and building them into a team.

Tony also volunteers with Oldham Mountain Rescue.

Marc and Tony met when he trained Marc in outdoor and pediatric first aid, and upon discovering that they had both attended Manchester Grammar School, they quickly became friends.