12 marathon wildlife mission

Alexandra Dobson, Wildlife Conservation, needs funding so she can travel to Calakmul, Mexico to take part in Operation Wallacea, conducting data for a biodiversity survey. The expedition not only gives students critical fieldwork experience, but it also fuels impactful conservation efforts.

Conducting vital conservation research in one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, Wallacea has empowered students to engage in crucial biodiversity field expeditions and collaborate with leading scientists to drive essential research for the past 25 years.

For the crucial research to be possible, students must raise funds for their expedition. Alexandra hopes to raise £5,000 to secure her place on the expedition.

To do so Alexandra plans to run 1km for every day of the month of May, adding a km everyday: 1km on the 1st, 2km on the 2nd, 3km on the 3rd, until the 31st May when she will run 31kms. This totals 496km (or 308 miles) in 31 days, which equates to 12 marathons in a month, and 10 days of running over a half marathon every day.

Alexandra said: “I really wanted to do something physically challenging because I wanted to highlight how important this work is, not just to me but in general.

“I think putting yourself through something physically straining is a good way to prove that there’s a lot of effort that goes into this work and it’s something worth sacrificing my kneecaps for.”

Working in Indonesia, Hungary, Mexico, Croatia, Romania and Madagascar, Project Wallacea conducts biodiversity surveys and research yearly, which has created the longest running database for these areas globally. All the data collected contributes to over 25 years of biodiversity data collection which allows us a unique and important insight into how our natural world is changing.

Alexandra’s expedition work will consist of helping as a Research Assistant in Mexico within a biosphere reserve called Colette Mule, looking at the effects of drought on the forest.

Alexandra said: “My grandad was a huge inspiration to me. He was massively into natural history and the natural world. Sadly, we very unexpectedly lost him a couple of years ago – this inspired me to follow in his footsteps, and I decided that I wanted to join the Wildlife Conservation and Zoo Biology course, knowing I’m making him proud makes all the difficultly of the challenge worth it.”

To support Alexandra’s journey, visit her GoFundMe page to donate: Fundraiser by Alexandra Dobson : Running 12 Marathons in May for Conservation Research!!