Jennifer Jobson takes the Red Ape Brigade challenge in Australia
 |
| From the Chicago Brookfield zoo |
This is the beginning of diary items as Jennifer Jobson in Gawler, Australia, chronicles her Red Ape Brigade attempt to have her local municipal council declare an Orangutan Appreciation Day to help raise awareness about the red apes. Anyone can join this effort in any part of the world. The more the merrier. For details, go to The Red Ape Brigade.
Feb. 28, 2010
By Jennifer Jobson
I have taken up the challenge to help raise awareness of the orangutan in Gawler, South Australia. I am writing to my local council and asking them to set aside February 12 (Charles Darwin's birthday) as Orangutan Awareness Day in Gawler.
To me every animal on this planet is precious and deserves to live as nature intended. But to all of us we hold one species especially dear to our hearts and for me that is the orangutan. I am blown away by the fact that in this day and age there are people out there that do not know what an orangutan is or where in the world he resides, or the very real threats to his survival he faces.
I know that many (including me) feel powerless,. We feel “what they hell can I achieve, I am only one person.” But with anything that is worthwhile it starts with one person, then two, three and so on until you have a snowball effect.
At the moment The Red Ape Brigade is in it’s infancy. That is why I am reaching out to all of you out there, hoping to inspire you to pick up a pen and also write to your local council. Just imagine, Orangutan Awareness Day worldwide.
So tomorrow, I will ring my local council and find out who I need to address my letter to and tomorrow night, I will be busy penning it. I promise to keep you posted on what transpires and hopefully February 12, 2012 will be a sea of orange in Gawler, South Australia.
