Stuck for ideas this Father’s Day? Encourage your Dad’s alter-ego and get him dreaming about climbing trees in a World Land Trust (WLT) reserve.
A Father's Day gift donation to WLT's Keepers of the Wild is a great green gift, and funding a wildlife ranger will add a sense of adventure to Father's Day on 16 June 2013.
On the reserves supported by WLT, most of the rangers are male, and many of them are fathers as well. Out on the land, their job is to care for the forests and wildlife 24/7, and as well as looking after their family at home, the reserve is their extended family.
Many of the Keepers of the Wild supported by WLT were born and raised near the reserves. These rangers are highly attuned to the natural environment. Some of them hunted wildlife before they became keepers and are now putting their knowledge of the forest and its wildlife to good use. Once converted to the conservation cause, ex hunters are some of the most dedicated wildlife wardens. And with a secure job and regular income they are able to provide for their families.
Protecting forest and wildlife
Time and again WLT’s Keepers of the Wild tell us they are extremely proud of the work they do. They recognise that it is vitally important, not just for the wildlife they protect but for their families, for their communities and for future generations.
Keeper of the Wild Antonio is a ranger at Reserva Ecológica de Guapi Assu (REGUA) in the Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil. He says: “Becoming a ranger has been a very positive step in my life; I feel more respected by my fellow villagers and by my own family. My job is important because I am directly contributing to the protection of the forest.”
In the rainforest of Colombia, Keeper of the Wild Venancio looks after the world’s most poisonous creature, the Golden Poison Frog, in the Rana Terribilis Amphibian Reserve. He believes: "It's important to transmit the importance of conservation to the next generation, so that in the future we do not lose the biodiversity which surrounds us."
And in the dry forests of Margarita Island, Venezuela, where rangers protect the endangered Yellow-shouldered Parrot, Keeper of the Wild Pablo speaks like a true father when he says: "It gives me great satisfaction when I see the fledgling parrot chicks coming out of their nests. I feel enormous happiness when I watch them flying, knowing that they are free."
Father’s Day gift donations to Keepers of the Wild
It costs on average £5,000 to employ a ranger on an overseas reserve supported by WLT, and to provide them with basic equipment and training. Since 2011 WLT has been raising funds for the Keepers of the Wild appeal, and a Father’s Day gift donation is a great way to show your father appreciation and to support a good cause at the same time.
Father’s Day gift donations for £25 or more to Keepers of the Wild will receive a personalised Father’s Day Gift Pack (a personalised Certificate, a Project Brief, Gift Card and a newsletter) which can be sent either by post in a Gift Wallet or by email as a pdf.
Special offer:For Father’s Day gift donations of £5 or £10 to Keepers of the Wild we will email a standard Father’s Day Gift Pack (a non-personalised Certificate Card and a Project Brief). Please ignore the wording on the donation form stating that gift donations must be for £25 or more, and enter 'Father's Day Offer' in the field 'This gift is dedicated to'.
Last order date for Father’s Day Gift Pack is 13 June 2013.
Make a Father's Day gift to Keepers of the Wild »
More information
A one-off donation of £5,000 will sponsor a reserve ranger for a year, and companies and individuals who donate £5,000 receive regular field reports from the ranger. Find out more »
Zoos and aquaria can support the appeal through WLT’s collaboration with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA). More about BIAZA Keepers of the Wild »