We are a group of 10 employees of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and we are all getting together to take part in a group tandem skydive over Jersey to raise much needed emergency funds for "The Tripa Campaign". This will take place on the 4th of October 2012.

All skydive fees have been covered independently by the team, so every penny will go straight to the front line of orangutan conservation.

Team members... Alberto Barbon, Colm Farrington, Louise Bestwick, Sarah Fowkes, Gordon Hunt, Will Bertram, Rick Jones, Eluned Price, Jonathan Stark, Johnny Poole

Tripa is the northern most Peat Swamp inside the protected Leuser Ecosystem in the Aceh Province of Sumatra, Indonesia and is famous for being home to the highest density of Orangutans found anywhere on earth. Experts are warning if the current levels of illegal palm oil expansion are not stopped immediately, the local Sumatran Orangutan population could be extinct before the end of this year. In 1990 the local orangutan population was estimated at 2000-3000 individuals, now its estimated to be less than 200.  

Our ex colleague Dr Ian Singleton has been working tirelessly for the past 15 years to secure the future of the critically endangered sumatran orangutan and its native habitat. The threat that Tripa currently faces is testing the resources of himself and the other members of his team to the absolute limit. We hope that through raising funds from our group skydive we will be able to assist Ian and his team in continuing the campaign and ultimately bringing the law breaking palm oil companies to justice in the courts.

When the campaign has succeeded in getting the illegally issued palm oil concessions revoked the real work will begin in restoring this damaged ecosystem to its former glory. This campaign isn't just about stopping the destruction but reclaiming all areas that have been taken illegally from both the human and wildlife communities that call Tripa home.

The Orangutan Foundation have kindly allowed us to use their justgiving site to raise money to fund the frontline activities of this dedicated team of conservationists. Your support is greatly appreciated.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.