Story
I am challenging myself to walk the distance of two marathons over 48 hours to raise money for Borneo Nature Foundation International's (BNF) emergency firefighting fund and to help protect tropical peatlands against future fires.
A few of you may already know that I have been living in Central Kalimatan, Indonesia for the past seven months, where I worked as a research assistant on the longest-running behavioural research project on critically endangered Bornean Orangutans.
Although I was due to continue working on the project until December, my role was cut short due to toxic haze from fires reaching dangerously unhealthy levels, alongside the potential threat of nearby wildfires.
Indonesia's dry season is particularly intense this year due to a 'super' El Niño, which has increased temperatures and triggered extreme droughts across the region. Worryingly, El Niño is predicted to continue intensifying and the wet season is not expected to begin until December.
Sebangau National Park, where I lived and worked, is currently facing a fire line more than 30 kilomentres long stretching across its northeast edge, which is dangerously close to spreading further into the park.
One of Borneo Nature Foundations reforestation sites, Hiu Putih, which was set up two years ago and harboured around 45,000 young saplings, has already been completely destroyed by the fires.
The threat is widespread across Kalimantan, with fires currently burning in rainforests that are home to 13 of the 20 largest remaining populations of Bornean orangutans.
Before having to evacuate the area, I experienced many health effects from the smoke, despite wearing a N95 mask 24/7, including headaches, breathing difficulties and eye irritation. The local BNF team I worked closely with have had to continue living and working in these worsening conditions, with PM2.5 concentrations in Palangkaraya currently 107.3 times the World Health Organization's annual guideline value.
By helping to combat these fires, we are not only protecting the invaluable wildlife and forests, we are also safeguarding the health of local people who cannot leave their homes for better air quality.
BNF spends around US$100 per day, per firefighting team to keep their teams equipped, fed, safe and operational. Yet their emergency reserves are being rapidly depleted due to the scale of fires this year.
Although emergency firefighting is vital, preventing future fires is just as important. That is why donations will also go towards fire prevention efforts, such as peatland restoration and construction of dams to block canals which help re-wet the peat.
In support of this unfolding emergency, I will be walking a 52.4 mile segment of the South Downs Way on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 9th of November 2026. This is a huge challenge for me, especially as I have never walked (or run) the length of a single marathon, yet alone two! To make things even more challenging, I have limited time to train after having only arrived back in the UK last week... Eeek.
If you have reached the end of my story and decide to donate, thank you! This is an issue that I feel very strongly about and that affects every single one of us.
After all, who would want to live in a world with no orangutans?
I've also copied a few articles below incase anyone is interested in reading more about the cause:
https://borneonaturefoundation.org/firefighting-and-prevention/how-we-fight-fires-in-the-face-of-el-nino/