Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Lecture Time
Last night i went over to Kew Gardens to attend a lecture being given by Ashley Leiman OBE of the Orangutan Foundation, entitled "Saving Asia's Only Great Ape".
See http://www.orangutan.org.uk/events/viewnews.php?id=87a2092b0adb28a5ac0da0ef41a058bf
On the way there i met up with Miriam, one of the other eleven Travellers volunteers who will be working with me. We got there very early to make sure of entry and although it didn't quite sell out, there were only a few of the 220 seats left free. Miriam had travelled down from Colchester for the lecture so we were both hoping it would be worth the journey!
Luckily it was a good session - Ms. Leiman (who has just been awarded an OBE in the recent New Years Honours 2006 list "For services to the Conservation of Orangutans") gave a great overview of the current problems facing the species and highlighted how by concentrating on saving the Orangutan by default the whole of the rest of the rainforest environment can be maintained. There was also a good Q&A session afterwards, which started to explore a number of related issues such as bio-fuels and their possible impact on the demand for palm oil.
All in all a very good session - it certainly helped me put the work we are about to do into some kind of perspective.
So now the packing must begin - we leave on Friday...!!!
See http://www.orangutan.org.uk/events/viewnews.php?id=87a2092b0adb28a5ac0da0ef41a058bf
On the way there i met up with Miriam, one of the other eleven Travellers volunteers who will be working with me. We got there very early to make sure of entry and although it didn't quite sell out, there were only a few of the 220 seats left free. Miriam had travelled down from Colchester for the lecture so we were both hoping it would be worth the journey!
Luckily it was a good session - Ms. Leiman (who has just been awarded an OBE in the recent New Years Honours 2006 list "For services to the Conservation of Orangutans") gave a great overview of the current problems facing the species and highlighted how by concentrating on saving the Orangutan by default the whole of the rest of the rainforest environment can be maintained. There was also a good Q&A session afterwards, which started to explore a number of related issues such as bio-fuels and their possible impact on the demand for palm oil.
All in all a very good session - it certainly helped me put the work we are about to do into some kind of perspective.
So now the packing must begin - we leave on Friday...!!!
// posted by storri @ 6:06 pm 
