Mike Dilger’s Big 9 Challenge begins at Arundel on Jan 25.
Face of The One Show and probably the most widely watched wildlife presenter on TV today, Mike Dilger will be embarking on a very special mission for WWT in January 2013.
Kind of like a cross between running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days and seeing the ‘big five’ African safari animals, but with a bit of birding thrown in, the Big 9 Challenge will see Mike visit all nine WWT centres across the UK in just nine days.
As well as taking in some of the UK’s best winter wildlife spectacles, he will undertake a wildlife challenge and host an evening talk at a different WWT centre each day. Along the way he will be raising money for the spoon-billed sandpiper conservation breeding programme.
This is what Mike says about his mission:
"Starting on the 25th of January 2013 I shall be attempting what (to my knowledge) no human has ever managed – to visit all of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Centres in nine consecutive days!
"Beginning my challenge at WWT Arundel and finishing at the London Wetland Centre on World Wetlands Day (the 2nd of February), I will be dashing the length and breadth of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as I give an evening talk at each of the Trusts’ centres in aid of the ‘Saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’ project.
"The talk entitled ‘The Trials and Tribulations of a TV Naturalist’ is an informative, entertaining and, in places, hilarious rollercoaster of a ride revealing everything you wanted to know about filming wildlife and writing nature books, but were afraid to ask.
"Of course WWT will not just be content working me in the evenings! A whole raft of fun events is currently being planned for me at all the centres during the daytime, which will entail anything and everything from guided walks to wild goose chases.
"During the challenge, I will be filing regular video blogs and tweets as to how I’m progressing so you can follow me every step of the way – watch this space for details as we are keen to make it an interactive experience!"
Mike will arrive at WWT Arundel on Fri 25 Jan to begin the Big 9 challenge. Visitors attending Mike’s evening talk will have the chance to bid on an early morning birding experience with Mike at WWT Arundel before he moves onto WWT Slimbridge on Saturday afternoon.
Tickets to Mike’s talk are £15 and include a glass of wine or soft drink on arrival. The talk begins at 6:30 pm on Fri 25 Jan, 2013. Call 01903 881530 for tickets.
