If you've chosen to give a donation to support our work, we know that you already believe in the importance of restoring forests to ensure a future for Sumatran orangutans in the wild. However, we also know that our values as a non-profit matter to our supporters, so we want to tell you a bit more about what they are and how they influence our Replanting Rainforest project.
The threats facing orangutans and their habitat are real, but we know there is hope. We are optimistic about the future for orangutans and their forests because we have seen what can be achieved through dedicated conservation efforts. This means that we see every tree planted at our restoration sites as a step forward and a sign of hope. We are so proud that our project teams have now planted almost 2 million trees in Sumatra, but that doesn't mean tree number 2,000,001 won't also make us really happy and hopeful.
Conservation is complicated and there are many obstacles to overcome in planning and implementing projects that really work. When an obstacle arises, we find a way around it, calling on our skills and contacts to help us find a way to achieve our goals. That's why our funding goes to experts in rainforest restoration, who use science-backed methods to achieve amazing results. We also support them when they want to spend time researching new methods - we want to be sure that we are always addressing conservation issues in the most effective way.
Everything we do is done with respect for orangutans, their habitat and the people living near it. We do not harm them with the projects we support or with our communications about our projects. We also have the utmost respect for YOU, our donors and supporters, and we hope that always comes across in the emails we write to you.
Orangutans are unique, precious and irreplaceable. We feel they are something to be cherished, and our work – protecting their rainforest homes and helping them to thrive – reflects that. We know that you feel the same, and we are incredibly grateful to have you on our team.
We recently asked our supporters on social media to help us come up with a name for our newest rainforest restoration site. Previously an oil palm plantation, this 890-acre piece of land was purchased through an amazing community fundraising effort, so it seemed only right that the land should be named by our community of forest fans too!
We had lots of beautiful suggestions sent to us and we ended up with a shortlist of three names, which hundreds of people voted on. The winning name was Selamanya Hutan, which translates as Forever Forest.
The restoration team has now cleared large sections of the site, using chainsaws to remove the oil palm trees. This has created space for a tree nursery to be built, so they can start growing the seedlings which will eventually be part of a thriving secondary forest, home to precious endangered species like the Sumatran orangutan.
Thank you for doing your bit to replant rainforest in Sumatra and contribute to a safe future for Sumatra's wildlife.
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Restoring degraded land so that it can become a thriving habitat for orangutans and other wildlife takes a lot of hard work, and planting seeds is just the beginning.
Between April and June this year, the restoration teams in Sumatra planted almost 40,000 seedlings in just two of the newest restoration sites, Cinta Raja III and Bukit Mas. When the seeds are first planted, they are kept in a nursery for between 3 to 6 months before they can be moved out to the main restoration site. During these first crucial months, when the plants are small and delicate, seedling maintenance is vital to keep them healthy. Staff living on-site monitor the nursery daily: removing weeds, checking for any signs of disease, and ensuring that the seedlings are receiving enough nutrients and water.
When the seedlings are large enough to be planted out in the restoration site, the maintenance continues - supplying the young trees with organic mulch, pruning unhealthy branches, removing dead seedlings, or those with signs of disease, and replacing them with new ones from the nursery.
Thank you for your ongoing support in helping us to keep this work going. We really appreciate it, and so do the people working hard on the ground to plant rainforests for the future.
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We know that it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the threats facing our planet’s wildlife. We also know that everyone can still make a difference and that there are many reasons for hope. Conservation Optimism is the idea that inspiring and empowering people with stories of conservation success makes a positive difference for nature. We are proud to have recently joined the Conservation Network of Optimists Worldwide as part of our ongoing drive to give people the hope and motivation they need to take action for Sumatran orangutans and their forests.
By taking conservation discussions from ‘doom and gloom’ to a more positive place, Conservation Optimists aim to bring society together as an inclusive movement to work towards a vision of a better future for nature. We are excited to be a part of this movement. It’s clear to us that even the people who care the most about a species still need reasons to remain hopeful sometimes. We can’t expect you to stay positive if we don’t give you reasons to do so, and our recent campaign success with the Rainforest Home appeal was a valuable reminder of this. By showing that their donations could help us turn a barren oil palm plantation back into healthy, biodiverse rainforest, we inspired over 2,000 people to help us reach our appeal goal.
Thank you for donating to us on Global Giving and giving us another reason to be hopeful for the future.
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Research shows that people are 16 times more likely to read content online (whether that's an email, a Facebook post or a Tweet) if it has been shared by someone they know, rather than an organisation. We knew that shares on social media were a good thing, but we didn't know that sharing was quite this effective!
With that in mind, will you join in us in creating a forever home for orangutans? Will you share our Rainforest Home Appeal? The total currently stands at £857,705 - 98% of the amount we need. We have until 15th March to secure this soon-to-be rainforest for orangutans by raising the remaining £12,295, so it's vital that the appeal reaches as many people as possible. Will you share the appeal with your friends today?
With your help, we can do this. We want to write to you in March with the good news that we've secured this land for orangutans forever. You've seen how quickly our partners in Sumatra can take barren land and turn it into thriving forest. We can't wait to see the same thing happen to the 890 acres you're helping us to buy.
Thank you so much for sharing our vision of a future for orangutans in the wild, where they belong.
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