To support fund raising at the UK & Ireland Regional Student Chapter (UKIRSC) of the Society for Marine Mammalogy 15th annual conference, we supplied a Marine 3 7x50 binocular for use as a raffle prize at the event.
"The conference took place on the 24th to 26th June 2021 and welcomed postgraduate students from across the UK and Ireland to present their work, take part in workshops and network with scientists working in the interdisciplinary world of marine mammal science." Due to Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time, the conference was run as a virtual event.
Pablo Garcia, Aitor Flores and Jorge Garcia set off on the Ebro Survivor kayak expedition along the Ebro river in northeastern Spain. As part of their kit they were supplied with three Oregon 4 PC monoculars - these are easy to use one-handed and are perfect for observation from a kayak or canoe.
This is how Pablo describes their adventure: "It´s the filming of a great documentary in one of the most damaged marsh in Europe. Birds from over the globe stop here. My team and me, we are going to row in out kayaks for the last 120 kilometres of the Ebro River. It´s a film about sustainability, adventure and friendship!"
The team at Spurn Bird Observatory received a Savanna R PC 8x33 binocular to use to help raise funds for their work. You can read more about the activities of the observatory here.
Our good friend Steve Truluck helped out with the annual Orca Watch, run by Sea Watch Foundation, and we donated a Savanna R PC 8x33 binocular as a prize for a fund raising raffle.
Paul Boonen helps run Terwindtvaarders, a water scouts group in the Netherlands. He contacted us because the group's club house was broken into and amongst items stolen were some binoculars. We helped out by donating a replacement, the Adventurer T WP 12x50, via local dealer Foto Rooijmans in Budel.
In May we met up with Ollie Oshodi and Nadeem Perera from Flock Together. To support their local bird walks in north London, we suppled a number of Wildlife Trust branded compact binoculars for people attending the walks to use as well as four Oregon 4 PC 8x32 bioculars for members of the Flock Together team.
Here's what the collective says about itself: "Flock Together is a birdwatching collective for people of colour. Nature is a universal resource. For too long black, brown and POC have felt unwelcome and marginalised in spaces that should be for everyone. Together we are reclaiming green spaces and rebuilding our relationship with nature - one walk at a time". For more information about what they do and for when the next walk will be, click here.
We continued our support of Team GB and other archers at various levels of the sport. Layla Annison, Patrick Huston and Ian Clark were all recipients of an Adventurer II WP 15-45x60 spotting scope. The Archery UK magazine features a star letter in each issue for which we supply a prize. In 2021 the prizes were four MM3 50 12-36x50 spotting scopes.
The UCL Wilderness Medicine Society was given an Adventurer II WP 8x32 binocular to help recruit new members at the freshers fair in September.
Here what Zak told us about the society: "UCL Wilderness Medicine Society is about taking our passion for medicine outdoors - in mountains, jungles, deserts or the deep sea and we hope to train the next generation of adventure and extreme environment expedition doctors. As well as lectures by experts in their field, we go on regular hikes outdoors and train for different medical scenarios".