WALK FOR WILDLIFE

I'm doing a sponsored walk to raise money to preserve African wildlife and coral reefs. I'll be walking the first part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrim route in Spain, starting June 20th. Funds raised will go towards me volunteering on wildlife conservation projects in South Africa from September. I was recently made redundant and am unemployed so I need your help to reach my goal.

- Many coral reefs around the world have suffered catastrophic bleaching from which they may never recover, so it's never been more important to preserve the remaining ones. I'll be working for Marine Conservation, monitoring the fauna and flora of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Its coral reefs are home to over 90 species of corals and sponges and over 1200 fish species. As well as helping to protect and preserve the local ecosystem, project data contributes to international studies on migratory patterns of large marine creatures and to assessing the effects of shifting global weather patterns. The project also runs local community outreach activities like educational workshops and awareness campaigns.

- The Big 5 Conservation project is based in a unique ecosystem, home to free roaming large animals like elephant, lion, rhinos, buffalo and leopard, among many others. Some of the animals are keystone species, meaning they are vital to the continued health of the whole eco-system they inhabit. Some are already listed as vulnerable or critically endangered and their future hangs in the balance. This is SA’s first reserve located close to an urban area so, in addition to monitoring species behaviour, numbers and habitat, I'll be helping research issues surrounding human-wildlife coexistence.

These projects, run by ethical non-profit Pod Volunteer, are huge undertakings which really need cash and volunteers to continue. I’m very excited about the opportunity to contribute to these important projects, but I need your help to do it.

I’m looking for sponsorship to cover my donations to the projects themselves, plus fees for pre-departure & in-country support, and part of my travel and transport (the rest, plus other expenses, I'll be covering out of my own redundancy money). Any contribution will be greatly appreciated. I really need your support to help me reach by goal. Anything I raise over the total will be donated to the Pod Charity.

Both walking the Camino and volunteering in South Africa are going to be very challenging but I'm excited about it all. After 10 years as a desk-jockey, it’s time to get out of my comfort zone and canter off into the African sunset in search of a good cause, via the searing sidewalks of Spain. Since I never like to keep my observations to myself, I will be blogging about my experiences along the way. So you can look forward to being entertained by my middle-aged rumblings about early starts, shared bathrooms and gap-year backpackers. And if that's the hairiest it gets, then I'll be very happy!

So, hands in pockets time. And ask yourself: when the last rhino disappears from the face of the earth, do you really want to be wondering whether it could have been prevented if only you'd given Kate a few quid?