A conservation project, eleven authors, an artist, and a publisher...one book, and a lot of good things. Join the WildCRU campaign.
Professor David Macdonald, LMH Supernumerary Fellow and founder of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), has reported on a remarkable story of teamwork that illustrates how modern conservation work goes far beyond biology.
David and Dr Christos Astaras have a Darwin Initiative grant for exploring the use of automated microphone “listening posts” that record the noises, such as gunshots, made by poachers in the forest. This technology is leading to potentially great innovations in the struggle against poaching. However, the time Christos spent in Korup forest in Cameroon, with associated members of the LMH MCR, Orume Robinson (2011) and Malenoh Ndimbe (2013), also allowed them to hear the tales told by local chiefs and elders. These stories were enchanting, and inspired Dr Tom Moorhouse, WildCRU researcher, LMH alumnus (1999) and children's author, to write them down for photocopied distribution to children in the region. It is this lateral thinking and outreach initiatives that takes WildCRU to spheres beyond the normal work of a research unit.
Tom has since approached some of his fellow authors, an illustrator and a publisher, who agreed to get together and publish the stories – with WildCRU’s help. The result is a crowdfunding campaign to publish and distribute 2,000 copies of the book to children in the Korup region of Cameroon – children who could otherwise lose their stories forever. Please join the WildCRU campaign and support their crowdfunding efforts by taking a copy of the book and by spreading the word as far as you can!
