Marathon run for spoon-billed sandpiper
Nigel Hewston, a teacher at Robinswood Primary School in Gloucester, has never run a marathon before, but in April will be taking on the London Marathon to try and raise £5,000 to help save the spoon-billed sandpiper from extinction.
The 57 year old only started running 3 years ago and managed to complete a half Marathon in the autumn of 2011.
Nigel said:
The spoon-billed sandpiper has hit the news quite recently with the herculean efforts of the WWT to bring back chicks to the UK for a really important conservation breeding programme. I thought it only right to match that effort with one of my own and help support this critical species-saving programme.
Nigel is a keen aviculturist and spent time during the 1980s and 90s working in the education department and on various breeding programmes at WWT Slimbridge. He still volunteers, feeding the swans on Friday evenings.
Nigel said of the cause:
The plight of the spoon-billed sandpiper is dire. This unique and remarkable little bird with its unusual bill is likely to be extinct within a decade if urgent action is not taken. There are thought to be only 100 or so breeding pairs left in the world and with the continuing threats to the birds and their habitats along its 8,000km migratory route the trend is not good.
If you’d like to support his great endeavour, you can do so online at www.justgiving.com/sandpiper
Alternatively you can post a cheque to: Sandpiper Marathon, Fundraising Department, WWT, Slimbridge, Glos GL2 7BT or you can call Zoë Cameron on 01453 891270 or by emailing zoe.cameron@wwt.org.uk
Gift Aid can be claimed on all eligible donations
The Spoon-billed sandpiper conservation breeding programme is a collaboration between WWT, Birds Russia, Moscow Zoo and the RSPB working with colleagues from the BTO, BirdLife International, ArcCona and the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force.
The project is funded by WWT and RSPB, with additional financial contributions and support from BirdLife International, the East-Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership, the Convention on Migratory Species, Heritage Expeditions, the Australasian Wader Study Group of Birds Australia, the BBC Wildlife Fund, the Mileage Company, the Olive Herbert Charitable Trust and many generous individuals.
