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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Back in September 2018, we sent you some news about our ambitious campaign to buy 890 acres of land - currently an oil palm plantation - and turn it back into vibrant, healthy rainforest for orangutans and other wildlife. This campaign, the Rainforest Home Appeal, comes to an end on 15th March 2019, and we are delighted to say that we have so far raised £816,030 of the £870,000 we need to be able to complete the land purchase. This is all thanks to the generosity of people like you.
We want to make one final push to ensure we reach the final target, and for that, we need your help. Please will you share our campaign with your friends and family, and encourage them to chip in?
Reaching our final target will mean that we can take a barren, lifeless piece of land and turn it into a lush, biodiverse piece of forest. It will mean we can create a buffer zone next to the precious Leuser Ecosystem, protecting it from illegal logging and poachers. It will mean that orangutans, elephants and tigers have 890 acres of safe forest in which to roam.
The image below shows the 'before and after' of one of our other restoration sites in Sumatra - the difference in just a few years is amazing!
Thank you for your support.
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Some aspects of replanting the rainforest are obvious - preparing compost, finding the right seeds to plant, and making sure those seeds mature into healthy trees.
Another important focus for the reforestation teams, especially at new restoration sites, is teambuilding. To fully restore an area to forest takes several years, not to mention the ongoing maintenance and protection work required once the forest starts to grow. This means it’s crucial that the teams trust each other and work well together. Our forest restoration teams use what's known as the interpersonal approach to teambuilding – focusing on sharing, communication and mutual support. Teambuilding activities are guided by community leaders and the restoration team manager, who use their experience to ensure the activities achieve results.
The teams are always touched to hear how many people from all over the world donate to support their work. Tomorrow, 27th November, is Giving Tuesday. Any donation made to us that day will be matched by Global Giving from their Giving Tuesday match fund, so your impact will be even bigger than usual. If you are able to, please give to our project on Giving Tuesday, and share the project with everyone you know. It will give a boost to the rainforest, and to the dedicated people who tend it.
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