I am looking to personally raise £500 for Mankwe Wildlife Reserve in South Africa. This money will be used to help protect the white rhino within the reserve from poaching for their horns. The number of rhino across the world is decreasing at a rapid pace and it is imperative that private reserves like Mankwe are aided with funding to ensure adequate security and protection can continue.

As many will already now, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Mankwe Wildlife reserve at the end of August for 2 whole weeks helping out on their volunteers program, along with my colleagues Phil and Chris and other incredible volunteers. We got to fight fires, manage the bush, body score the animals on the reserve, game drives, bush walks, Zebrasitting a baby zebra, spotting and identifying all the animals and getting to meet the rhino as well as enjoying the breathtaking sunsets and enjoying our days off at Pilansberg national park and Suncity.

This was with no doubt, one of the best experiences of my life, just enjoying all of these new experiences and meeting so many people, all very different but all linked by sharing the same passion for protecting the reserve.

Myself and a team of people from ZooLab will be climbing Mount Snowdon in North Wales sometime in the spring (date to still be decided) to collectively continue to raise money for this great cause.

After spending the weeks with Lynne MacTavish and the rest of her team at Mankwe, hearing their stories and understanding the daily struggles that come with protecting this endangered species from the dangers of poachers, the team all felt compelled to take action and raise awareness of the issues faced which could easily bring both the black and white rhino to extinction.

Every penny counts and this money will go towards a number of things including: food and enrichment for the anti-poaching dogs, petrol for on site patrol vehicles, increased anti-poaching team, improved reserve infrastructure and additional security equipment.

Thank you for visiting my page, and I look forward to posting updates of our progress as we work to achieve this challenging goal!