At the start of October, during World Land Trust's Big Match Fortnight, I will be doing an all day birdwatch to raise money for their £600,000 Jungle for Jaguars appeal.  World Land Trust (WLT) is my favourite conservation charity, with their focus on buying threatened habitat and then ensuring its long term protection through a network of local partner organisations.

On WLT's website they quote the words of Sir David Attenborough, one of their patrons:

"The money that is given to the World Land Trust, in my estimation, has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of."

I can't think of a greater accolade than this!

The Jungle for Jaguars appeal is raising funds to help their Belizean partner organisation purchase and protect a corridor of land between two protected areas (Shipstern Conservation & Management area and Freshwater Creek Reserve) in northern Belize.  These forests are critically threatened and without fast action they will be quickly be turned into yet more ranching land.  This would be a catastrophe for rare and threatened wildlife that depend on this habitat.

This habitat provides a home for a wealth of diverse and abundant wildlife.  As well as jaguars and other cat species the forests and savannahs are alive with peccaries, curassows and deer.  Birds of the forest include the Keel-billed Toucan, several species of parrots, and many other bird species of the Yucatan peninsula.

Further details of the Jungle for Jaguars appeal can be seen on WLT's website: https://www.worldlandtrust.org/appeals/jungle-for-jaguars/

How donations upto the target of £5k can be quadrupled!

To enable your donations to this appeal to be quadrupled, I am combining a matching scheme that my employer Ecclesiastical Insurance runs, with WLT's Big Match Fortnight matching scheme.

So for every £1 raised on this JustGiving page before 17 October 2018 (up to £5k in total) my employer Ecclesiastical, will double this to £2 and WLT will double this again to £4.

***** DONATIONS WILL NO LONGER BE QUADRUPLED AS TARGET OF £5,000 HAS NOW BEEN REACHED *****

How donations above the £5k target can be doubled!

Sponsorship donations above the £5k target, received before midnight on 17 October 2018, will be doubled as part of World Land Trust’s Big Match Fortnight, while they work towards their target of raising £600,000.  Donations after this time won’t be matched.

***** DONATIONS WILL NO LONGER BE DOUBLED AS BIG MATCH FORTNIGHT HAS ENDED *****

Sponsored Birdwatch

Although spending a day birdwatching is not much of a hardship, I have tried to make it more of a challenge by visiting different parts of Gloucestershire to see as many species as possible between dawn and dusk.  This isn't something I have done before, so it will be interesting to see how much I can see.  The plan, weather permitting, is to complete the birdwatch on 6 October or by 14 October at the latest.  I will post updates on this site to let you know how it goes.

Thank you for any donations you are able to make.

Andy