Archive for August, 2007
What is WildlifeDirect.org? - WildlifeDirect.org is a platform for conservationists in Africa to blog about their work and a conduit for donations. How does it work? - Conservationists in Africa write a blog. - People around the world read the blogs, post comments and obtain feedback. - As readers become aware of the efforts, challenges and achievement of the work and the bloggers, they begin to donate online. - 100% of donations go to the people working on the ground in conservation - thereby allowing donors, both big and small, across the globe, to track the impact of their gift. If you donate in the US or Europe to a project in Africa, you will be able to see the effect of your donation through the blog posts. How much money has been raised? - To date bloggers and their projects have raised about $160,000 in donations through the WildlifeDirect blogs. - The reporting of how these funds have been spent has been reflected in blog posts. In addition, bloggers sign partnership agreements with WildlifeDirect to ensure transparency, and receipts are presented for all expenditure. - Donations are also made to a US or UK registered charity, so donors can enjoy the tax benefits. This encourages donations in itself. - We are funded by the European Union and therefore take absolutely no percentage of these donations. So this concept is working as a way of bringing conservation to everyone, wherever they may be. How many blogs are there now? - We started operations last October with Rob’s blog, and we now have 18 blogs, in Kenya and DR Congo. - But WildlifeDirect is open to ALL CONSERVATIONISTS in Africa, in any country - all those people working in isolated and difficult conditions who wish to spread the word of what they are doing. With today’s advances in technology, it is amazing what you can achieve in terms of communication with an Internet connection. - We now have about 900 unique visitors per day to the site - which means this is the audience you start off with immediately. Of course anyone can blog - but with over 70 million blogs in the world you could end up with a blog that is only read by your mother! If you work in conservation and would like to blog with WildlifeDirect email us at info@wildlifedirect.org And for more information check out our blog directory:
Samantha, WildlifeDirect
Thanks to your donations Will can now get his dictaphone. So this item will shortly come off the donation list on this blog. Thanks Nancy and Janet for your donations this month - this was the clincher. I will soon be posting again once I get to see our stats for August. Samantha, WildlifeDirect
I am often asked about Mountain Gorillas - what they eat, how families are formed, who leads the family, how many there are, where they are… and the list goes on. I just found this interesting link on the BBC website in the Science and Nature section. It will tell you lots that you want to know about Mountain Gorillas, a sub-species of the Eastern Gorilla. You can find out about other species too. Samantha, WildlifeDirect
Diddy and Innocent have started a weekly journal on the BBC website. Click on the link below and you will see the first entry that went up on Saturday. This is fantastic exposure for the Gorilla Protection blog. It includes a summary of the weekly activities of the Rangers - and at the bottom there is a profile of both men. It is fantastic that finally these people are getting the recognition they deserve. The WildlifeDirect team
Robin Andreaes’ tribute to silverback Senkekwe is ready! ‘It’s kind of a composite from several photos that I could find of him. I hope it looks like him. It’s kind of weird, I ended up unintentially putting what looks
The painting will be up for auction on eBay from September 8 to 18th. If you search the keyword “WDGP”, during that time, you can view all of the art from this talented group. Robin has gathered together over 30 artists who will be kindly donating anywhere from 10% to 100% to
Their web address is Very many thanks to you all from the Rangers and WildlifeDirect!
You should take a look at Dr Spelman’s blog when you can. She writes on the plight of gorillas in Rwanda and has worked for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project since October 2006. MGVP and Dr Spelman are heavily involved in the care of the two Congolese Mountain Gorilla orphans - Kabila and Ndeze. MGVP also makes trips up to check on the welfare of the gorillas in Congo, as you can see here. The WildlifeDirect Team
This story came out yesterday on the BBC website after the announcement that a male gorilla had been born in Congo. You can read more about it here.
Check out the picture link below of Glenn Hurowitz’ blog - he talks about Scott Johnson’s story in Newsweek about the killing of the mountain gorillas and the implications for us all amidst growing challenges in the conservation world.
WildlifeDirect would like to thank Nashville Zoo, and especially Loretta. The zoo held an art auction at The Cannery Ballroom last month in support of the protection of Congo’s Mountain Gorillas and the work carried out by the Rangers in this challenging environmment. The zoo managed to raise a staggering $6,659.57 - amazing work. Thank you very much to everyone at the zoo and those who attended the event. This is being put toward the emergency work that is being carried out at the moment by the Rangers in the Mikeno sector following the gorilla massacre last month. (23 Aug edit: I just need to clarify that this fundraiser was actually carried out by the American Association of Zookeepers - Nashville Chapter. This is a separate entity from Nashville Zoo and all the members work and volunteer for the Nashville Zoo). And here are some photos of the event:
And Loretta - the star of the evening…
Wildlifedirect.org has had 20,978 unique visits to the site since 20th July (up until today). That is an average of 676 per day. So we are improving all the time. Our supporters and readers come from the US (mainly), Canada, the UK and Australia. We also have people from Europe and Asia. Thank you for all your support and donations to the blogs. The WildlifeDirect team
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