Hello Everyone.

It might seem a little strange, walking 127 miles in 5 days, during midsummer, along the largest single waterway in Britain, in an Ape Costume if I hit the fundraising target................all for Orangutans. 

Actually, the truth is, it is a bit more than that.

I saw this video;

(Please copy and paste into your search engine to view)

https://youtu.be/R4zzbwM07bw 

.....of an Orangutan having to escape from a tree as it was being bulldozed to the ground. I don't know the full background why this was happening, it could of been housing development or most likely to make way for Oil Palm Trees, which make Palm Oil. But either way, it had a profound effect on me, seeing an innocent animal being forcibly removed from its own habitat. 

This happens to many species across the world on a daily basis, often to cater for the needs of humans. Whether it be building a new high speed railway, road infrastructure or an oil pipe line. Animals can pay the ultimate price for our own endeavours and advancements. 

The Orangutan is on the critically endangered list, and their numbers decline year on year. One of their biggest threats to their existence is Palm Oil trees (there is more info at the bottom of the page, and online).You might not have heard but it is in a vast array of products we touch and consume. If nothing is done to preserve their natural environment, the only place we will see these beautiful creatures is behind bars, and being bread in captivity. This doesn't seem right to me......and I am sure The Attenborough would agree.

So I would like to do my bit to raise awareness, and help protect these wonderful creatures who we share this planet with.

And help keep a little bit of natural innocence. 

https://youtu.be/i0BzEKP_exQ

So with your help I would like raise as much money as we can, to go to the Orangutan Foundation. The foundation protects three large areas in Borneo (which needs constant monitoring), as well as working with local communities whether business, education, or regional governments. They work in collaboration with The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, to try to ensure they can protect the Orangutan as best they can. If you want to find out more, please go to their website https://www.orangutan.org.uk. 

The Challenge

I will be walking from Liverpool to Leeds between the dates 17th-21st June.

17th - Liverpool to Parbold (28 miles)

18th - Parbold to Blackburn (27 miles)

19th - Blackburn to Nelson (24 miles)

20th - Nelson to Silsden (26 miles)

21st - Silsden to Leeds (22 miles)

Of course, anyone is welcome to join me on a single day, or as many days as you want. The company will be most appreciated. 

The Aim

To raise £1000 for the Orangutan Foundation. If the target is met, I will walk the entire way in a ape costume.

Where the money will go

With your help I would like to cover all of the above, at least once.

Thanks

I would just like to thank you ever so much for taking the time to read this, and am hoping that the challenge and the cause is enough to donate to the foundation, who do wonderful work. Any amount is most welcome.

Hope to see you by the canal!

More Information

Palm Oil

Because of its low financial costs, the oil is found in many products that we use day to day. In fact, 3 billion people use products that contain Palm Oil. The oil makes cookies healthier, soap more bubbly, lipstick smoother and increasingly used as a raw material for bio fuel. So not only is it cheap, it has these qualities which are appealing to the mass market. The product is also hidden from view (not using the word 'Palm'), so sometimes it is difficult to know when it is in a certain product. So much so, that supermarket chain Iceland did not remove all of their products of Palm Oil by the end of 2018 as promised. But at least they have giving it a great effort.

Palm Oil is so intrinsic in our consumer economy, that it may be impossible to remove it.......but we can stop its growth and find other ingredients. Thus, sustaining and potentially growing the Orangutan numbers so they climb out the critically endangered list. 

The Oil Palm Tree needs a tropical environment to grow naturally and produce the fruit within 4-6 years of planting. So they chop down rainforest to accommodate this, and with it the natural habitant of a number of species is destroyed.

85% of all the worlds Palm Oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia, which is further bad news for not only the Orangutans, but the Sumatran Rhino and Sumatran Tiger also. 

There is loads of information on Palm Oil online, and through the foundation, even your nearest zoo.

Hunting

A major reason for the decline of this amazing Great Ape, is the act of hunting. People will often travel into the forest to find pigs or other edible animals, and if they stumble across an Orangutan they can take them for food. Or they can kill the mother, and take the infants so that they can sell them on as pets.

Sometimes Oragutans will accidently enter Palm Oil Plantations, or gardens and will be killed. A body of an Orangutan was found with machete and over 100 pellet wounds according to one report. The foundation work with communities, to help increase the knowledge that Orangutans are not dangerous and it is illegal to kill them.

If you want to find out more. There is more information on their website www.orangutan.org.uk

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.