Volunteer for Orangutans

The Orangutan Foundation has just emailed with details of its 2015 Summer Volunteer Programme.  This programme is in its 15th year and gives participants the chance to contribute to essential  conservation work and to see the orang-utan in its natural habitat.   And orang-utans also need your stamps!  (Read on and you'll find out how.)

Volunteers will be involved in renovating and restoring the education centre in Tanjung Harapan.  It's one of the feeding sites in the Tanjung Putting National Park.  The park is home to over 4,000 orang-utans, and volunteers will be able to take part in conservation work, surrounded by an array of wildlife.  This programme does not give hands-on contact with the orang-utans.

The date is the 7th September - 11th October (based on arrival and departure dates to local airport/town, Pangkalan Bun). 

The cost is  £975 - includes all construction materials, meals, accommodation and local transport from the 7th to departure on the 11th. Places are limited.

The application period ends on 30th April 2015.  For more info and to apply, email info@orangutan.org.uk or click here

Now, you can also send your used stamps to the Orangutan Foundation at :

Orangutan Foundation

7 Kent Terrace

London

NW1 4RP

England.



Go Orange for Orangutans

As I type this, it's just under 30 minutes to the next programme in the series "Our Zoo" on BBC.   The series tells the story of the founding of Chester Zoo.  It is a historical drama, which brings to life the story of the Mottershead family who founded the zoo in the 1930s, against considerable local opposition.

Some 80 years on (if my maths is right), and Chester Zoo has over one million visitors a year.  The TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards voted it the sixth best zoo in the world, and the best in the UK, and second best in Europe. 

Chester Zoo also leads the Act for Wildlife is a wildlife conservation campaign, helping to save endangered species around the world from extinction.  And it's just announced its "Go Orange for Orangutans" campaign to raise both awareness and money to help create more habitat for orang-utans.

The zoo is hoping that individuals, businesses and schools will get involved.  Orangutans need forest to survive, but - like so many animals - their habitat is fast disappearing.  The demand for palm oil, timber, roads, agricultural land and mining is meaning their forest - rainforest - is vanishing. 

Chester Zoo is hoping that people will Go Orange for Orangutans and help replant the rainforest to save orang-utans.  All you have to do is to pick a day to go orange and donate £1, or bake an orange cake or do an orange bake-off with your friends. 


There are other activities you can get involved in, such as the Orange Jungle Run, organising an event,  setting up your own fundraising page, wearing a wristband, texting to donate or giving family and friends an e-card. 

Click here to find out more about Go Orange for Orangutan and to register for your free fund-raising pack! 


Orangutan Conservation Holiday in Borneo
from £995 excluding flights

Go to Responsible Travel for more details