The cri du couer for Earth Day 2019 on April 22 is Protect Our Species.
This pledge is built into the DNA of the largest women’s travel company in the world, Wild Women Expeditions, as they launch a global campaign to help protect endangered species.
“Respecting the special connection between women and wildlife is the heart of our Wild Womenkind campaign to make the world a kinder place for animals. On Earth Day we are raising the call to protect threatened wildlife in the precious places we explore on our adventure tours around the world,” said Jennifer Haddow, owner and director of Wild Women Expeditions (https://wildwomenexpeditions.com/). “Empowering women to become leaders and change agents is critical to sustaining the conservation movement worldwide.”
An example of a woman who inspires as she leads is Jane Goodall. “She embodies the kindness and devotion that is so needed in the world if we hope to avoid the extinction of many endangered species and decimation of our wilderness habitats. Our partnerships with the Jane Goodall Institute, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and other community based organizations are central to our WildWomenkind campaign, as we raise funds and awareness of critical wildlife issues in communities where we travel,” Haddow added.
Wild Women Expeditions will honor Jane Goodall’s 85th birthday on April 3, 2019, by joining the Jane Goodall Institute Forever Wild campaign and donating 100 percent of the profits from Wild Women’s Tanzania Trek and Safari adventure program in 2019 in support of their campaigns to stop wildlife trafficking. See: https://janegoodall.ca/join-us/campaign/foreverwild/
Other Wild Women Expeditions’ commitments directed to protecting species include:
Orangutans
A new trip for 2019, Untamed Indonesia, delves into one of the world’s oldest (140 million years) rainforests located on the world’s third largest island, Borneo. This is the traditional home of a great ape native to Asia and whose numbers are dwindling apace with habitat slashed and burned for paper pulp and to clear land for palm oil production. Wild Women Expeditions actively supports the work of BOS, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. See: http://orangutan.or.id/
Tortoises
Galapagos Islands Multisport Adventure brings Wild Women Expeditions’ guests in close proximity to restore tortoise populations to their historical distribution and numbers across the Galapagos. They are under threat of extinction here, as are Waved Albatross whose only breeding site is on Española Island in the Galapagos. Also facing endangered status here are Green Sea Turtles and Land Iguana. Haddow’s company is a member of the Galapagos Conservancy that conducts projects with the Galapagos National Park Directorate to halt the extinction of these species. See: https://www.galapagos.org/conservation/our-work/tortoise-restoration/
Elephants
On its Elephants, Treks, and Temples Tour, Wild Women Expeditions supports an elephant project run by the Karen Hill Tribe women to protect elephants that had been abused in an exploitative riding camp. Haddow’s company helps fund the first elephant hospital in Thailand and it supports the campaign of the Asian Captive Elephant Working group, a leading coalition of elephant experts and conservationists. For an informative video please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-AxWDkniU&t=1s.
Tigers
Wild Women Expeditions’ India: Jungles and Jewels Adventure invites women to see how tourism is one of the last hopes for tigers to escape the critically endangered species list. By using women-only guides on all company itineraries, Haddow hopes to empower these guides to become leaders in adventure travel and conservation efforts in their home countries. In India, Wild Women Expeditions is part of the TOFT tigers program and helps fund a community program to stop poaching. See: http://toftigers.org/TOFT/village-wildlife-guardians
Climate
Important to Wild Women Expeditions’ commitment to supporting wildlife is helping to sustain and restore wilderness regions where endangered species abound. The Great Bear Rainforest Kayak Adventure showcases the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. Here the company’s focus is on climate justice. It is investing in a conservation economy through a planned contribution of $10,000 to this valuable resource in 2019 by purchasing carbon offsets. The company will donate offsets on all of its domestic flights on all trips including staff travel. The primary recipient will be the Great Bear Forest Carbon Project. Clients are invited to donate to Offsetters.
For itineraries, availability and reservations for these and all Wild Women Expeditions’ programs call 1 (888) 993-1222, email [email protected] or visit online at https://wildwomenexpeditions.com/.
About Wild Women Expeditions
Founded in 1991, Wild Women Expeditions is the world’s largest women-only travel company. Its initial focus was on canoeing on remote Ontario waters. Through an unwavering focus on Canada, one of the wildest, most pristine countries in the world, Wild Women Expeditions became experts in a pioneering niche that introduced small groups of women into wilderness settings. The company now hosts guests all over the world, offering more trips and more women-only, backcountry camping, hiking, paddling and horseback adventures than any other women’s travel company in the world.