***** PLEASE NOTE, DONATIONS WILL NO LONGER BE QUADRUPLED AS MY TARGET OF £5K HAS BEEN REACHED *****

At the start of October, during World Land Trust's Big Match Fortnight, I will be doing an all day birdwatch to raise money for their £500,000 ‘Saving Ecuador’s Chocó Forest’ appeal.  World Land Trust (WLT) is my favourite conservation charity, with their focus on buying threatened habitat and then ensuring its long term protection through a network of local partner organisations.  As well as protecting wildlife, this is also a great way to combat climate change by allowing forests to keep carbon stored away.

On WLT's website they quote the words of Sir David Attenborough, one of their patrons:

"The money that is given to the World Land Trust, in my estimation, has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of."

I can't think of a greater accolade than this!

One of WLT’s local partners in Ecuador, Fundación Jocotoco, has alerted WLT of a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect one of the most biodiverse places on Planet Earth.  Ecuador’s Chocó rainforest is an amazing and unique place.  Originally spanning over three million hectares, it reaches from the Pacific Ocean right up to the mountain tops of the Tropical Andes. 

This is the wettest rainforest in the world, with many of its species found nowhere else, yet it is being decimated to make way for oil and gas exploration, logging, plantation forestry, and urban development.  So much so, that only 2% of this unique habitat remains today.  Incredible species include the Jaguar, Harpy Eagle and Horned Marsupial Frog.

One species which will benefit from the land purchase is the critically endangered Brown-headed Spider Monkey.  Currently about 50% of the world’s population, which is less than 500 individuals, lives in Fundación Jocotoco’s Canandé reserve. With the new purchase of land adjoining their reserve they will secure safe habitat for about 90% of the total population.

Further details of the Saving Ecuador’s Chocó Forests appeal can be found on WLT’s website:

https://www.worldlandtrust.org/appeals/saving-ecuadors-choco-forest/

How donations up to the target of £5k can be quadrupled!

To enable your donations to this appeal to be quadrupled, I am combining a matching scheme that my employer Ecclesiastical Insurance runs, with WLT's Big Match Fortnight matching scheme.

So for every £1 raised on this JustGiving page before 14 October 2020 (up to £5k in total) my employer Ecclesiastical, will double this to £2 and WLT will double this again to £4.

***** PLEASE NOTE, DONATIONS WILL NO LONGER BE QUADRUPLED AS MY TARGET OF £5K HAS BEEN REACHED *****

Sponsored Birdwatch

This will be the third year that I have done a sponsored birdwatch during Big Match Fortnight and I will again be aiming to see as many species as I can between dawn and dusk.  In 2018 I saw 72 species and last year I managed to increase this total by 2 birds to 74 species.  The plan, weather permitting, is to complete the birdwatch on the 9^th or 10^th October, or by the 14^th October at the latest.  I will post updates on this page to let you know how it goes.

Thank you so much for any donations you are able to make.

Andy