In May I'll be running the Great Manchester 10K. Dressed as a bat. But I don't just fancy the extra drag from some wings and pain of keeping bat ears on for 6 miles for a laugh. I'm raising money to help fund a conservation expedition to Romania.

In the summer of 2016 my brother and I will be travelling to Transylvania with an organisation called Operation Wallacea. Operation Wallacea, or Opwall for short, are a company that runs research expeditions concerned mainly with wildlife conservation. While out in the Carpathian foothills, we will be assisting the ecologists and researchers with biodiversity surveys - monitoring the health, variation and number of birds, butterflies, large mammals such as wolves and bears and much more in the various woodlands meadows and grasslands.

Transylvania has a unique and ancient landscape. The Saxon villages nestled in the valleys haven't changed much since 12th Century - farming techniques involve scythes and horse & cart rather than tractors and combine harvesters. This low impact farming has resulted in a huge amount of biodiversity. You'll find vast varieties of flora and fauna - everything from delicate wildflowers to tiny dormice to big brown bears. But it's precious and rare, this kind of landscape has almost entirely disappeared in lowland Europe - the bears and wolves are some of the last on the continent, so studying and protecting it is extremely important.

It's a very exciting trip to be a part of in terms of both helping wildlife conservation and our own personal development so if you could help out with even just the smallest donation, we'd be eternally grateful!

I'll be posting about my bat and 10k training over on my blog, as well as posting further information about the expedition and the animals we'll be encountering and helping.

Thank you!