Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

What am I doing?

Good question. I will attempt to climb and descend the height of Mount Everest using my home staircase to raise money for the Wildwood Trust.

The official height of Mount Everest stands at 8,848 metres. This is equivalent to:

· 63.65 x the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza
· 92.17 x the height of Big Ben
· 3160 x the height of my 2.8m staircase (!)

In ‘normal’ conditions, the ascent of Mount Everest takes approximately 2 months. I will attempt to climb and descend the equivalent height in 1 week.

Who am I raising money for?

There are many worthy causes of charitable donation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Life has changed for everyone and many important services and organisations struggle to operate as a consequence.

I am raising money for the Wildwood Trust.

Wildwood Trust is a charity with two wildlife parks based in Canterbury, Kent and Escot, Devon. Wildwood Trust has over 200 native animals, past and present and both parks are set in beautiful ancient woodland where visitors can see bears, wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more.

The Trust works closely with local schools, nursery groups, special needs groups and social needs groups. The Trust also works more widely in the UK as one of the leading British animal conservation charities, dedicated to protecting, conserving and rewilding Britain’s wildlife and has taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date.

To find out more about their work and projects, please visit their website:

https://wildwoodtrust.org/

Why donate?

Petitions have been raised but there is currently no Government funding to animal collections in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the main sources of income to the Wildwood Trust comes from their visitors, who are of course no longer able to visit. Despite this, there is a continued need for these animals to receive daily care and there are significant costs associated with this. To put things into perspective, it costs the Wildwood Trust over £11,000 per week to keep the animals fed, healthy and happy. This cost stays the same regardless of whether their doors are open or closed to the public and does not include unexpected costs such as veterinary bills.

I'll keep everyone updated on my progress through this page and via the social media at the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/lewis.mcauleyjones

https://www.instagram.com/lewismcj/

Please also interact with Wildwood on social media here:

https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust/

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.