If you’re thinking about doing something to help an animal charity, why not look at taking on a personal challenge in 2023?

Many animal charities offer the chance to do this, one example being SPANA.

SPANA help working animals in many countries around the world, where locals are utterly dependent on horses, donkeys, mules and elephants for their livelihoods.  In the developing world, they say that one working animal can support an extended family of up to 30 people.

Help a charity achieve its vision and mission
with your personal challenge

SPANA’s vision “is a world where every working animal lives a life free from suffering and is treated with compassion.”

Its mission is “to improve the welfare of working animals in the world’s poorest communities.”

SPANA take a three-pronged approach to achieve both their vision and mission:

1. They treat animals with free veterinary care
2. They train both in the community and professional training
3. They teach animal welfare education

They also respond to emergencies.

SPANA has a number of appeals going right now, but one thing you could do to help is to set yourself a personal challenge. 

They list a number of challenges on their website:

• Running: You could run a half marathon in the Royal Parks Half Marathon, or take part in charity fun runs or 5k run or the Great Run Series, or even running abroad – thousands of people take part in the City2Surf event in Sydney!
• Go climbing with SPANA – Kilimanjaro or Ben Nevis
• Go trekking with SPANA and do the Machu Picchu trek

Find out more about the challenges to help SPANA

Obviously you will need a certain level of fitness and good health to participate in challenges such as these but there are other challenges you can do for other charities.  If you’re a keen knitter, why not take a look at charities needing knitters and see if you can set yourself a personal challenge to help them?

A number of animal charities have ideas for personal challenges – Cats Protection also have lots of challenges, including cycles, tris and swims, plus zipwires, abseils and firewalks, skydiving and wingwalks. 

If you’re looking for something really meaningful to do in 2023, this could be one way to achieve a goal and help animals as well!  A great win-win!

The 18^th October is World Opaki Day and a great chance to celebrate the opaki and to find out more about the species!

#WorldOkapiDay
#WOD2022
#OkapiConservation 

Opakis are found deep in the heart of Africa, right in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Threats to the opaki are many, despite the protected status the opaki received in 1933

• slash-and-burn agriculture
• illegal goal mining
• bush-meat poaching

Since the opaki is found in deep, dense jungles, it acts as a flagship species to protect the forest ecosystem in which it lives.

The day is a chance to people to celebrate and find out more about the endangered opaki.  The Opaki Conservation Project has a social media toolkit to help you celebrate and share the day – it will be a great way to raise awareness of the opaki.

Ways you can help the opaki on World Opaki Day:

1. Find out all about the opaki – the Opaki Conservation Project has lots of information
   
   
2. Find out about the Opaki Conservation Project and share the work they do
   
   
3. Learn about the Opaki Wildlife Reserve which helps to protect the habitat of the opaki, and preserve rare plant and animal life, and also the lifestyle and culture of indigenous people.  Encompassing 13,700 square kilometres, it is one of the most important centres of plant and animal diversity in Africa.
   
   
4. You could donate to the project or become an opaki guardian!
   
   

Protecting the opaki’s home on the reserve means also protecting the homes of opaki, forest elephants, chimpanzees, leopard, primates, forest buffalo, bongo antelope and water chevrotain.  There’s also an incredible range of birds and insects.

Please share all about it on social media.  Here are the hashtags:

Facebook: @OkapiConservationProject 

Instagram: @OkapiConservation 

Twitter: @OkapiProject 

Save Bewl Water Local Wildlife Site
from development, protect wildlife and natural beauty

Bewl Water Reservoir, owned by Southern Water, is haven for wildlife.  It has incredible biodiversity.  But there’s pressure to develop the site.

Change.org has a petition, asking Southern Water and Wealden Planning to prioritise local wildlife and natural beauty over development

The petition says there are drip fed planning applications for new property developments and “unchecked commercialisation” of the site.  These include a large inflatable waterpark (built without planning, despite local authority notices to do so), laser challenge, sports car meets and advertising to hen and stag dos.

Bewl is classified as a Local Wildlife Site.

It has 472 protected and designated species, including 20 types of dragonflies, damselflies, declining pollinators such as bees and butterflies, small mammals, 9 types of bat, amphibians and reptiles. 171 bird species have been recorded, including an incredible 122,000 waterbirds on a single occasion.  Applications are in the pipeline for it to be designated with international and national protection – these could be too late.

Objections have come from the High Weald AONB, Sussex Ornithological Society, Sussex Wildlife Trust, CPRE, parish councils, ramblers, sailors and rowers

Southern Water has legal duties to protect biodiversity, and public access and the AONB.  But the petition says it is ignoring the views of wildlife charities, present users and locals.

Please sign this petition  to send a clear message to Southern Water and Wealden Planning that wildlife must be protected from development and urbanisation and the countryside must be conserved and enhanced for future generations.

Please sign here