Tuesday 14th December Oaklands College in St Albans (UK) animal care students swapped the cold, grey winter weather for tales of Borneo as they heard from Head of Conservation of The Great Projects and driving force behind the Great Orangutan Project in Borneo, Leo Biddle (seen in image).

On his first trip back to the UK for three years, Leo delighted and shocked a hall full of students with facts about endangered orangutans and other species such as tigers, gorillas, elephants, chimps and sunbears, which the company helps support through conservation projects. According to the project, without intervention, orangutans could be extinct within the next 20 to 30 years.

Leo Biddle said of the experience: “It’s so important for me to visit colleges in order to raise awareness of the importance of conservation and the key trade problems which affect the existence of many species today.

“When I was younger and studying zoology I remember Jane Goodall visiting my college to talk about her experience in Tanzania and it sparked a fire in me. It suddenly brought the course alive and this is what I wanted to do for Oaklands College animal care students. I hope I have brought their studies to life today and in turn, sparked their interest in the conservation of endangered species.”

Tony Hawkins, Animal Care Manager at Oaklands College, commented: “We knew that today would be inspirational for our students and without exception they were fascinated by Leo’s experiences. He opened up their eyes to the real issues and the delicate balance between third world development and survival of animals in the wild.”

The Great Orangutan Project is always looking for volunteers to experience working life behind the scenes of wildlife centres and help support Borneo’s efforts in protecting the endangered orangutan. To find out more visit www.thegreatprojects.com.

Note:
Oaklands College is a large further education college with campuses across Hertfordshire and 10,000 learners. www.oaklands.ac.uk

Labels: Animal care, Best Volunteer Organisation, Borneo, conservation, Jane Goodall, oaklands college, orangutan, St albans

Recognition for Great Orangutan Project at the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2010

Great Orangutan Project run by Way Out Experiences, has been highly commended in the Best volunteering organisation category at this year’s Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards.




The Great Orangutan Project is part of a family of animal protection projects under newly launched The Great Projects (www.thegreatprojects.com)

The Judges said “Tough times in the tourism industry can often lead to integrity being the first value to take a cut. Not so with Great Orangutan Project – who have continued to provide wildlife experiences without allowing volunteers physical contact with the orangutans. The now ABTA-listed organisation demonstrates good practice in volunteering with increasing commitments to accountability and transparency.”

At a ceremony hosted at World Travel Market (WTM), Docklands, London, on Wednesday 10th November, the Awards were handed out by Justin Francis, managing director of responsibletravel.com, organisers and founders of the Awards, and Amanda Wills, managing director of Virgin Holidays, headline sponsor of the Awards.

The Awards are the most prestigious and competitive of their kind in the world and are a collaboration between online travel directory responsibletravel.com; UK media partners Metro Newspaper and Geographical Magazine and World Travel Market who host the ceremony. The central tenet of the Awards is that all types of tourism - from niche to mainstream - can and should be operated in a way that respects and benefits destinations and local people.


Afzaal Mauthoor, co-founder of Way Out Experiences and Managing Director The Great Projects – Way Out Experiences Ltd receives award from Justin Francis above and says at the awards:

“The Great Projects like the Great Orangutan Project is an example of animal protection tourism where your travel can help save endangered animals abroad. It was a bold concept started 6 years ago. It’s now firmly rooted in the responsible travel movement after winning the award two years in a row. Its travel experiences like ours that add the responsible and compassionate side to tourism today - to protect vulnerable animals in vulnerable habitats for our future generations.”

Launched in 2004, the Awards are run in association with partners World Travel Market, Metro Newspaper and Geographical Magazine industry.

Visit The Great Projects website on www.thegreatprojects.com to find out and the award winning project The Great Orangutan Project www.orangutanproject.com

Or call us on 0845 3713070 (within UK), or +44 1582 469950 (outside UK)
Email: volunteer@w-o-x.com

Labels: Best Volunteer Organisation, great orangutan project, Justin Francis, the great projects, Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2010