Nyepi Day

Today's post is a little different.  Ive taken time out of my busy schedule of training and fundraising to spend some time in my favourite place on earth - the Island of a Thousand Temples, Bali.

Today is Nyepi Day (silent day).  A day celebrated by Balinese Hindus to mark the new year of 1939 Saka on the Balinese calendar.  On this day no activity or physical work may be done, no fire may be lit, no travelling or driving is allowed and no entertainment may be held.  The airport is also closed to incoming and outgoing flights.  So we are effectively in 'lock down' at the hotel, but there is no better hotel in the world to be trapped in than the Bali Niksoma hotel.

The staff are making us all feel very welcome - despite the fact they are spending this special day away from their families.  The hotel is doing everything it can to keep the guests happy whilst also ensuring they mark this Nyepi Day accordingly.  

Tawur Kasanga (a purification ceremony) will take place at the Community temple , it will be followed by  Ngerupuk in each commuter house to harmonise the existing spirits.  A small scale Ngerupuk is also taking place at the hotel - rooms with glass windows facing the beach will be covered from 10am to eliminate light going outside.

In order to follow local traditions and beliefs there are many government regulations in place to ensure this sacred day is adhered to - the hotel is honouring all of these - we are not even allowed on the beach!!!

I spent three years living in Indonesia as a child and this is my third time as an adult staying at the Bali Niksoma hotel.  I come here to escape the busy, noisy, demanding UK life to take time out, relax and recharge.

 Enforced limitations may not be everyone's thing, especially when you are on holiday, however this 'silent day' is exactly why I love Bali.  I may not be able to walk on the beach or visit the shops but today is giving me the opportunity to do exactly what I came here to do - be still, reflect, recharge and be thankful.

Expansion - 20 Parks by 2020

There are many animal conservation charities out there, all doing great things to protect wildlife. Doing their bit to protect wildlife from poachers or providing a safe haven for injured or orphaned animals across the world.

I really was spoiled for choice when selecting a charity - however it actually was quite an easy choice for me.  I'm not going to take away from the great work these organisations are doing but I'm a firm believer that these charities shouldn't need to exist.  Conservation is necessary, I get that, but it is also quite limiting.  'To conserve' in my mind means 'to keep as is' 'to protect' 'to stay the same'.

Are we really happy to keep wildlife numbers as they are?  Do we really want to focus our energy on maintaining the status quo?  For me we need to think bigger, we need to think about expansion, what can we do to increase the wildlife population?  What can we do to get their habitats back, to provide a safe, but totally natural, environment for them to flourish and grow their numbers back to the level they should be.

That's why I am supporting African Parks.  In partnership with governments and local communities, African Parks take on the direct responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks and protected areas in Africa.

African Parks currently manage 10 parks in seven countries - covering a combined area of six million hectares.  Their goal is to have 20 parks by 2020, covering 10 million hectares.  One of their five main areas of focus is expansion - to take on the management of even more parks and support these parks to ensure wildlife can again run free.

This goal got a massive boost when The Wyss Foundation committed $65m to African Parks to support the protection and management of four existing parks in Rwanda and Malawi AND to enable African Parks to conserve up to five new protected areas yet to be identified in other countries.

African Parks is currently developing potential park proposals in Chad, Kenya, Mozambique and Benin and is also having discussions with the Governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The Wyss Foundation's support for these new parks is in the form of 'challenge grants' that will be provided, if matching funds can be raised to support the long-term stewardship of the parks.

So there you go.....no pressure.  If African Parks are going to get this generous donation we need to first raise $65m to match it!!

You know what to do - its the green "donate now" button on my home page.

Think big, think expansion, think 'more wildlife' rather than 'no less wildlife' and please give generously.

500elephants - and growing! #goodnews

Never mind good news - this is great news!

Those of you following the journey of 500elephants may have already seen the news that there have been some baby elephants born in Nkhotakota wildlife reserve in Malawi.

Nkhotakota was once home to more than 1500 elephants but over the last two decades this has dropped to fewer than 100.  This decline was obviously down to the demand for their ivory by greedy, selfish humans.  Just two years ago Nkhotakota was 1,800km2 of empty, lifeless forest.

African Parks decided to repopulate Nkhotakota with 500 elephants from two other parks in Malawi. In 2016, 261 elephants were successfully moved from Liwonde National Park to a sanctuary within Nkhotakota.  Another 240 elephants will be moved to join them during 2017 from Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve.

Since being moved, there have been sightings of elephants calves that have been born in Nkhotakota. Given gestation is 22 months, this means these babies were conceived in Liwonde and were transported safely to their lovely new home.

Now they can thrive and bring much love, fun, dirt rolls and grumbles to this once barren park.  The massive move of 500 elephants hasn't finished yet and already the elephant population is on the up.

With more elephants top join them, and who knows how many many more little ones on the way - this really is a good news story, for African elephants, for hope and for African Parks.

To quote African Parks:

"In conservation, good news is often just the absence of bad news.  Here at African Parks, we like to bring you the good news that is happening all around us."

This is exactly why I am fundraising for African Park - positivity breeds positivity. Lets focus on the good and remember the hard working people that commit their lives to making it happen.

Please sponsor me to make a small difference to a large family of elephants! And don't forget to spread the word, share the #GoodNews!

1 Second Everyday - Feb

I've been trying out an app a friend of mine recommended called '1 second everyday'.  It lets you record moments from your day (either photo or video) and it makes a short video for you with one second from every day.  You pick which second from each day you want included in the film and before you know it you have some happy memories all saved up to watch back and smile at.

I thought I'd give it a go to record some short highlights of my day/month/year to share on here.  Just a snippet of my fundraising and training....and a few ordinary days in-between.

I hope you enjoy my first short movie creatively titled....

February

I haven't quite figured out how I can cut each month in to a separate film so apologies in advance if each month you have to sit through the whole lot again!

Today I have finally finished creating a herd of elephants from cardboard and some African fabric kindly donated by Continent Clothing.

These, along with some other bits & pieces I've been making will be on sale soon.  No doubt they will feature in next months movie....

Vince

There's been a lot in the news recently to get angry about.  The recent murder of Vince, a four year old white rhino in a French Zoo is just one example of the extreme measures poachers will go to for money.

I know there will be many mixed views out there about Zoo's in general.  That they shouldn't exist, that animals should be running free, not caged up.  I agree with that entirely.....BUT.  With the world's wildlife population declining so dramatically it is important that we do all we can to help with breeding program's etc and maybe Zoo's have a role to play in that.

The bigger issue isn't whether or not Zoo's should exist or how Vince was not properly protected by being in a secure environment.  The issue is that we shouldn't need to be protecting wildlife in the first place. We need to take action to stop the demand, no demand means no sales, means no money means no need/desire to kill.  It really is that simple.

Another deeply annoying "thing" that happened recently is that the UK government decided to do absolutely nothing towards banning the UK Ivory Market.  The issue was debated in parliament in February following a petition that was signed by 107,000 people (any petitions with 100,000 signatures has to be debated in Parliament).  This was the second debate on the UK Ivory Market in two months, the first taking place in December 2016.

Unfortunately, for the second time, nothing came from the debate despite other countries leading the way with decisive action.  China have announced that they are banning the Ivory trade by the end of 2017.  Last year the president of Kenya publicly destroyed his countries ivory stockpile of more than 100 tonnes.  His action was endorsed by France and the US, but not the UK, another broken promise by the UK Government who advocated the destruction of ivory stockpiles in their 2010 manifesto.

Kenya were instrumental in pressing for international action to protect elephants at the CITES conference in September 2016.  Although the motion was blocked by the UK and other EU countries.  Yet another disappointing response from the UK Government.

To anyone that thinks wildlife protection is not apolitical issue think again.  I fail to understand why those who have the power to make a real impact choose to turn a blind eye, time and time again.