Now that 2015 is officially over, World Land Trust (WLT) is celebrating what a successful year it’s been for its Forests in the Sky Appeal which raised more than £370,000. The money raised will go towards the protection of a wildlife corridor in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. In October last year, WLT teamed up with TV presenter Steve Backshall as it sought to raise half a million Pounds to protect some of the world’s most amazing cloud forest.
Big Match Fortnight
World Land Trust’s main fundraising occurred during Big Match Fortnight which is a period of two weeks in October during which all donation were doubled due to a small group of a generous donors who pledged to match every regular donation. During that period, WLT supporters managed to raise £280,000. Within a few weeks of the end of the donation drive as much as 2,545 acres of cloud forest located between between Llanganates and Sangay National Parks in the Eastern Andes of Central Ecuador, had already been purchased by World Land Trust in partnership with the Ecuadorian conservation organisation, Fundación EcoMinga.
Money used for conservation
The land that has been purchased has been incorporated into EcoMinga’s network of nature reserve and is now providing protection for a huge range of endangered and threatened species of birds and mammals. By the middle of December last year, pledges to the Forests in the Sky Appeal had reached £372,408 which includes an incredibly generous singe donation of £50,000 made by an individual supporter.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response to our Forests in the Sky Appeal. It was an ambitious target and we hoped our supporters would respond generously, as they have done. We aim to continue raising funds towards the support of Forests in The Sky Appeal in order for the purchase and protection of land in Ecuador to continue.” John Burton, CEO and Founder of World Land Trust, said.
