Latest News
Art for Wildlife
24th December 2011
Combining conservation with art is a fantastic way to fundraise for endangered animals. Thanks to the generous donation of 3 paintings by Andy Buchan, REACT put up the an orangutan mother and child canvas, which is the work of Russian painter Dina Perejogina, and raised £750 for orangutan conservation.
An innovative approach was taken by auctioning the painting on Ebay as part of the Big Give's Christmas Auction. All proceeds (minus fees) went towards REACT. REACT Director, Guillaume Feldman, said " We hope that this creative way of selling orangutan art gave people across the world an opportunity to indulge in their passion whilst contributing directly to orangutan conservation and welfare."
Trees for Trees Event
24th November 2011
REACT's second Trees for Trees event on Sunday 20th November coincided with a warm, sunny November day. 25 volunteers, including members from the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC) and the Woodcraft Folk, joined REACT in England's largest forest restoration project just 25 miles from Marble Arch, the Heartwood. A total of 1,400 native trees were planted bringing our yearly Trees for Trees total to 2,000.
The Woodland Trust, who own and manage the site, provided the willow, oak, cherry and hazel species that will form the new forest habitat.
To add to the festivities, there was another wellie wanging world record attempt and the Woodcraft Folk even camped out overnight in teepees. A little bit nippy for me but they assured me everyone slept well.
£434 was fundraised for more tree planting in Borneo for the endangered animals there. A big thank you to all those who participated.
American Zoo Association Trip
20th August 2011
The Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP) group, a subdivision of the American zoo association, joined REACT in Malaysia this summer. The group, made up of zoo professionals from various american zoos, visited Malaysia's National Zoo (Zoo Negara) over 5 days to give comprehensive training to Malaysian zoo keepers, vets and managers. It proved a great success and was seen as one of the best training sessions ever at the zoo. Dr Mohammed, the Zoo Negara Director said "we were honoured to have REACT organise this trip and bring these zoo professionals to help us build a world class zoo. It has helped us develop ever better animal welfare protocols and we hope to continue our association in the future".
Follow on from this, the Orangutan SSP group travelled to Malaysian Borneo to visit REACT's supported projects in the Lower Kinabatangan, an area dense with wild orangutans. This is an area that as suffered from extensive palm oil development and logging, but is still extremely rich in wildlife. The group planted trees as part of REACT's forest restoration programme, visited a palm oil plantation that is working towards sustainable certification and saw first hand the wondrous wildlife in one of Earth's biodiversity hotspots.
REACT hopes to build on this trip in 2012 by visiting other projects and creating new partnerships.
Tree Planting
26th January 2011
The concept was simple: get sponsored to plant trees with all the proceeds going towards planting more trees in Borneo to save orangutans! A virtuouse circle of reforestation. That was the Red Endangered Animal Connection Trust (REACT) ‘Trees for Trees’ event on Sunday 23rd January at the Woodland Trust’s Heartwood site.
Guillaume Feldman, Director of REACT said “We’re dedicated to connecting people to endangered animals. What better way than for people to plant trees to restore habitat locally and internationally. It also helps to highlight the fact that people’s choices in Hertfordshire, both good and bad, can have an impact the other side of the world. ”
Doris the Bornean orangutan made an appearance and even managed to plant a few trees herself. She also participated in the world record for the most people to wellie wang though it may be debated whether an orangutan counts in the record attempt.
A total of 600 trees were planted in the Heartwood site and £750 was raised for the replanting of tropical lowland forest in Borneo. The tree planting will lead to new UK woodland habitat that will encourage lots of endangered wildlife; skylarks, nightingales, red kites, badgers, brown hares, 5 butterfly species, 5 bat species, great crested newts and slow worms to name but a few. It will also lead to the creation of wildlife corridors in Borneo where our flagship species; orangutans, pygmy elephants and sun bears; will benefit hugely as well.
Disney Grant
REACT has been invited by Disney to apply for a conservation grant. This is the first step in applying for a grant and REACT is honoured to be invited . Grants are awarded by Disney to projects around the world that benefit endangered species. To be eligible, projects must focus on animals that have preferably starred in a Disney film, with a focus on education, awareness or training, as well as showing a community benefit. Watch this space to see whether REACT is successful.
7th January 2011
AZA Visit 2010
6th June 2010
The American Association of Zoo and Aquariums partnered with REACT to come and improve the lives of 40 orangutans help in a rescue centre in Indonesian Borneo; Samboja Lestari. The specialists from the Orangutan Species Survival group of the AZA, a group made up of keepers from zoos across America, spent 3 days working hard to enrich orangutans from Forest School and the holding cages.
Many of the tools and materials were bought with REACT donation money. This included 660 metres of rope, 700 metres of tyre rope, a generator the size of a small car, a welding machine and many other tools and locks.
Ronda Schwetz, Field Advisor and AZA coordinator for this trip, said "It has been a unique opportunity to use our skills to enrich the lives of so many orangutans. It was a fantastic experience and we learned as much from the Indonesia keepers as they learned from us. We will be continuing our relationship with REACT and will be coming back to Asia to work on more projects in the future."
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