Wader Quest is excited to be taking part in the Big Green Hike for the second year running. As a Trustee of the charity, I took part last year, and it’s a perfect way to combine walking, wader watching and raising funds for our charity.
The Big Green Hike takes place 6 & 7th April this year, and is arranged by a team of dedicated volunteers. It brings together a number of conservation charities all looking to raise vital funds for their work. Every participant chooses the length and route of their hike – you can walk 1km in your local park, or hike Snowdon – or anything in between (or even more ambitious!).
Last year I walked 5 miles nearby, taking in Swanscombe Marshes on the River Thames (right) and further west towards Greenhithe, with my husband. A favourite walking place for us, the banks of the Thames will sometimes reveal oystercatchers (although not that day). It was the charity’s first year participating in the Big Green Hike, and it was wonderful to combine leisure time with fundraising.
How to get involved
Check out https://biggreenhike.com as your first step. Here you will find more details about the weekend, which is the first weekend after Easter this year.
Where you hike, and how far, and even when that weekend, is entirely down to you. There is no minimum or maximum length of walk or run. The Big Green Hike website has some tips around this, including how to stay safe on your hike.
You can then set up your JustGiving page. JustGiving are a fundraising platform, who are the partner that the Hike team have selected to work with. Once you have a JustGiving account, you can set up your fundraiser, selecting Wader Quest as the charity and the Big Green Hike as the event. You can then promote this page to your family, friends, colleagues and social media to gain donations. The JustGiving site takes care of the whole donation process online, so there’s no need for you to collect cash.
You can also set a fundraising goal. Big or small, any money you raise for Wader Quest will go towards conservation projects around the globe, helping endangered waders including this year’s focus species, the Eurasian Curlew.
So what are you waiting for? Visit https://biggreenhike.com today and sign up!