Hi my name is Sammy and I am fundraising for my trip to South Africa. Opwall teams (that's me!!) are assisting local researchers to assess the success of species management for South African conservation and provide the reserve management with the empirical data they need to make informed decisions. The fundraising would allow me to take part in this once in a lifetime, epic journey to South Africa and assist in the research for the conservation of many endangered species.

This is important to me as nature and wildlife are a key part to many ecosystems. I will also be monitoring the migration of elephants across the reserve. The reservation uses electric fences and I am going to learn how that affects their migration patterns. I will also be getting down and dirty examining animal tracks and faeces, to study how animals migrate around the reserve. In the second week I will have a fantastic opportunity to learn to dive in the Indian ocean and gain my PADI certificate. Then I will be assisting marine scientists in gathering valuable data about marine wildlife in Sodwana Bay.

You never know this could be my future!!

The funds would be used to pay for my flight to South Africa, food and accommodation, PADI certification and insurance. A massive part of the cost is security as we will have an armed escort on the reservation. We do not travel at night so an additional airport hotel is needed. Safety first.

I will be completing a sponsored swim of 500m at my local pool on Thursday 19th February. This would be a personal achievement for me as I am not a strong swimmer. My commitment is to train once a week at the pool (thankfully it is only 2 minutes away). I am gonna smash this goal!