Saturday, March 27, 2010

Queensland: Seeing red over Orangutans


On Tracey’s return from Sumatra there was no rest for the wicked!
No sooner than she hit Australian soil she was running staight into the studios of the ABC campaigning her heart out
Click on the link below to listen to her broadcast and comment on the amazing and eye-opening things she had to say
Queensland: Seeing red over Orangutans

Friday, March 5, 2010

Day 1. Adventure Trek

Friday 5th March Day 1. Adventure Trek: I'm going on a Jet Plane!
I can't believe It! I am about to embark on a life long mission heading off to the Sumatran Jungle in Indonesia, to see Orangutans in the wild for the first time

I fly out today.
I will try and get to a computer as often as I can to twitter http://twitter.com/redredhead and blog my adventure so you will get a first hand report on what is actually happening over there and how we can help.

Many Thanks
I love my raincoat from ANACONDA in Ashmore and my denalli trekking shoes... man am I Pumped bring it on!!! Thankyou to Anaconda for donating the shoes the raincoat the hat the balmkie the shorts the shirts... Oh and my soxs!!!! good onya Ananconda they love Orangutans too XXX http://www.anaconda.com/

You can Still Donate
This is a dream come true for me you know a Bucket list.. but Orangutans are my bucket list!!!! If you still feel like you want to contribute to The Orangutan Adventure Trek and creating a sustainable future for the loc...asl people through conservation, please donate to www.everydayhero.com.au/tracey_courtney
 I will be hosting film nights and a presentation of the Trek when I return [see The Burning Season Entry]

Wish me luck!

Monday, March 1, 2010

All About Rainforest Rescue

My personal passion for over 4 years has been to actively help save the endangered Orangutans of Sumatra, so I leapt at the opportunity when I discovered Rainforest Rescue.
So impressed am I with the work Rainforest Rescue are doing, I decided I would give all my available time, energy and resources to help raise funds for their many worthwhile projects.
  Armed with nothing but my wits and gratefully accepted donations, I am about to embark on "The Orangutan Adventure Trek" with 13 others, to fulfill a lifetime dream and raise ongoing funds for this amazing organisation.
I thought I would include a short excerpt from their website here to give you an idea as to why I have become the Gold Coast Representative Fundraiser and hopefully inspire you to help me spread the word and increase their support

Do something 'good for you' today and take a minute to read about this awsome group of people and what they aspire to achieve

Love
Tracey
'the Redhead'




Rainforest Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation that has been protecting and restoring rainforests in Australia and internationally since 1998 by providing opportunities for individuals and businesses to Protect Rainforests Forever.
Our projects re-establish rainforests through planting, maintenance and restoration programs, as well as purchasing and protecting high conservation value rainforest and preserving its biodiversity.

Save a Rainforest Projects

Rainforests support half of the species of life on Earth and absorb vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. The biodiversity provides vital ecosystem services upon which all of humanity depends.

Rainforest Rescue identifies and purchases rainforest at risk of development and protects it forever by converting properties into Nature Refuges and removing all development rights. By protecting rainforest before it is destroyed, we maintain the carbon in the trees. The release of carbon into the atmosphere is a major contributor to Climate Change.

Indonesia Plant a Rainforest Project


Orangutans are only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia where their survival is threatened by illegal logging and the establishment of oil palm plantations.
Our project is helping to rehabilitate rainforests in the Gunung Leuser National Park in North Sumatra, restoring vital Orangutan habitat and empowering local communities to protect and improve their environment and surrounding forests.

Other Plant a Rainforest Projects


Every second the earth loses an area of Rainforest the size of two football fields with tragic consequences for both developing and industrial countries.
Rainforest Recue's Plant a Rainforest Project replants previously cleared areas of rainforest and establishes habitat for the plants and animals endemic to the specific ecosystem, which protects its precious biodiversity.
This biodiversity maintains our atmosphere and establishes the ecosystem upon which all of humanity depends, including rainfall generation and climate regulation. Rainforests also hold the key to new medicines of benefit to humankind.

Big Scrub Restoration Project
Booyong Remnant
The Big Scrub was once the largest expanse of subtropical rainforest in Australia. Today less than 1 percent remains as fragmented remnants scattered across 75,000 hectares between the towns of Byron Bay, Ballina and Lismore.
As the Big Scrub remnants are the most diverse ecosystem in New South Wales it is of vital concern that they be nurtured and cared. The remnants contain a rich diversity of flora and fauna, supporting more than 300 species of trees and shrubs.
At least 38 threatened species of flora and 61 species of fauna are found in the remnants. Their high conservation value is reflected in the inclusion of the thirty-two largest remnants in the Register of the National Estate, "the places we should keep". Lowland Subtropical Rainforest is also listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act.

to discover more and read about all the other rainforest rescue's current projects just go to the website http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/

so you know they are real!
Company Info
Rainforest Rescue is an Australian Company Limited by Guarantee, managed by a Board of Directors who contribute their service on a voluntary basis.
Our auditors are Wappetts and Partners, Chartered Accountants.
Our ABN is 61 086 885 154 and our ACN is 086 885 154.
Staff: We currently have three full time staff, several part time staff and the support of many volunteers.
Publications: The Rainforest Rescue hardcopy newsletter is published annually and is made available to supporters. Our email newsletter is issued monthly.
Income: Rainforest Rescue is supported by donations from individuals, philanthropists, business sponsorship and foundation grants. We do not receive government funding.
We aim to keep management expenses as low as possible thus ensuring that your donation results in the maximum benefit for rainforest conservation.
Givewell, an organisation that provides a comprehensive research service for informed giving has profiled Rainforest Rescue and its performance on financial management. For further information please visit our profile on the Givewell website http://www.givewell.com.au/details_name.asp?txtOrganisation=RFR

Rainforest Rescue is also profiled in the book, The Good Giving Guide by Lyn Amy and Mary Pearce published by Penguin Books in 2008.

“BUT WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?”

Palm oil costs the lives of about 50 orangutans every week and its cultivation is a major cause of global warming.
In February 2007 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called the situation a state of emergency in a new report, “Last Stand of the Orangutan”. According to the UN, ”The natural forests of Sumatra and Borneo are being cleared so fast, up to 98 per cent may be destroyed by 2022”. These forests are the last viable habitats for the orangutan species.
ORPHANED BY PALM OIL COMPANIES
In the time it takes you to read this report another orangutan may have died as a consequence of the rapacious drive by multi-national palm oil companies to get rich regardless of the environmental consequences. Orangutan experts predict that these extraordinary animals will be extinct in the wild within 20 years.


What Can I do About it?
A great deal!
be more aware of what you buy inthe supermarket

Even though these products contain palm oil or palm oil derivatives, the labelling isn’t clear. Consumers have a right to know if the oil used in a product is contributing to the destruction of rainforests and the slaughter of wildlife. Insist on knowing if the vegetable oil used is palm oil from Indonesia or Malaysia and if it has been grown sustainably. Food manufacturers can find other ways of making these products however we can’t find other ways of making orangutans.As palm oil is used in many of the items you buy in the supermarket, use your power as a consumer to do the following:

The relevant companies have verified that all of the products displayed as at 3/4/07 contain palm oil or a palm oil derivative.


1. Demand that food companies label their use of palm oil – you have a right to know what you eat.

2. Urge supermarkets and other manufacturers to STOP using palm oil from destructive sources NOW, to switch to environmentally and socially responsible sources and seek out healthier alternatives to palm oil.

3. Write letters to the Government and request they make labelling of palm oil compulsory.

4. Write to the Indonesian Ambassador urging Indonesia to STOP the clearing of primary rainforest on Sumatra and Borneo NOW.


Palm oil is used in…

ice cream • chocolate • biscuits

chips • margarine • crackers

cooking oil • toothpaste • soap

detergents • cosmetics

to find out more go to http://www.palmoilaction.org.au/

"A Redhead Saving Redheads"- How it all began


Growing up in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney with an uncle who had a travelling dog and monkey show: Gold Coast resident Tracey Courtney ( me) fell in love with primates and their personalities....

"Coco the chimpanzee was the star of the show and made a family member. Coco roamed the house, helped himself to the Coco Pops in the pantry (hence his nickname)"Coco!". He also joined the boys at the Centennial Hotel in Woollahra for an afternoon beer and a cigarette! That began my love affair with monkeys and their relatives orangutans.
After watching a disturbing documentary on Orangutans and their plight in Indonesia over 4 years ago, I cried my eyes out.! I could not believe what was going on as I like most people had no idea! 5 football fields a minute of pristine rainforest destroyed and logged.The lives of Orangutans, Elephants and Sumatran Tigers threatened and extinction imminent.


Phone a Friend
I then rang a friend and said.. "I have to do something about this tragic situation and give the Orangutans a voice on the Gold Coast!" we talked about it at length and decided that people need to be educated and informed about this atrocity.. all because we consume potato chips, soaps, chocolates, biscuits and cosmetics containing Palm oil!!! Products that contain Palm Oil and the manufacturers that supply them are the curse!


Finding a Lifeline




I scoured the net found an Australian Organisation protecting and saving Orangutans and their habitat and she has been unstoppable ever since. Rainforest Rescue are a well regarded non-profit organisation, who tirelessly protect and save rainforest and its ecosystem in Daintree, Sumatra, India and Ecuador.
So impressed am I with the work Rainforest Rescue are doing I decided I would give funds raised to their projects.


The Orangutan Adventure Trek

Tracey is about to embark on "The Orangutan Adventure Trek" with 13 others, to fulfill a lifetime dream and raise ongoing funds. "I will be trekking in the Sumatran Jungle for 4 days 6 hours a day. When I spot my first Orangutan I think I will be so moved by their awesome prescence..... I will definitely cry!!

We are camping by the Bohok River in tents for 4 nights and I was told we have to urinate in the river..... the reason being.. tigers can smell it and are then attracted!!! YIPES!!!!

We then visit the rehabilitaion program set up by Rainforest Rescue, for the local people, creating an economy based on conservation.
Our project is employing local people to restore land and protect forest.
Conservation is the answer.
National Parks are being logged and cleared.. corruption is the major problem.


Caught On Film
On her return from Sumatra, Tracey (a redhead herself) will be holding Film Night fundraisers around the Gold Coast, Sunshine coast and Northern NSW area.
Look for the Blog entries in March 2010 that will give you all the details 


My legacy is to leave this planet knowing that I assisted saving a rainforest and an Orangutans life.



Tracey can be contacted at tracey@rainforestrescue.org.au or leave a comment here and have your say

With love
Tracey
'The Redhead'