Blog Archives

A summary of my fundraising activities so far...

31/12/2014

As this year is drawing to a close, I thought I would bring everyone up to date on my fundraising initiatives so far. Activities I have carried out are three car boot sales, sold items on eBay (43 sales) and done a number of art commissions. I have also written letters for sponsorship and applied for bursaries/grants, as well as raising money on Easy Fundraising. In addition to this, I have a part-time job. The grand total of my efforts so far is £1725.05. I still have a long way to go with my fundraising before I have paid for the expedition and associated costs. It has been hard work, but feel encouraged by how it is going.

The Living Rainforest

28/12/2014

Today we visited the Living Rainforest which is at Hampstead Norreys near Newbury, as I thought it was high time I started to learn some of the animal and plant species I might see while I am in Peru. It is made up of two large greenhouses filled with species from tropical rainforests around the world, but I managed to track down a few things which I hope to see.

An Aroid

Goeldi's Monkey - Callimico Goeldii

Cachibou - Calathea Lutea - This species is apparently used as a polish, in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and explosives!

Christmas presents - kit for the Amazon

27/12/2014

I received lots of useful kit for Christmas, and thought I would give a demonstration of some of it here. Thank you very much to all family and friends for the money, which I will put towards further items of kit. It feels like the expedition is much closer now.

I advise all other BE explorers to check their mosquito nets before they get to the Amazon. I found two large holes in mine; that's not going to keep the mosquitoes out! I will be sending mine back for a replacement tomorrow.

Latest News ... and Merry Christmas

23/12/2014

Today I started my vaccinations for the Amazon expedition - not as bad as I had feared they might be. I will be going back for several appointments before the expedition. Unfortunately, the NHS cannot help with all of the vaccinations so I will have to find a private clinic for those.

An article about me, the expedition and sponsorship from Kensmyth Alpaca Stud has just appeared in the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Standard: http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/11684719.South_Cerney_teenager_Angus_Malmgren
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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Trying to get more ideas for fundraising ...

15/12/2014

This weekend I learnt how to do bird wire sculpture, and here is my work in progress. It is lots of fun to do, but quite time consuming. I am wondering if I can base any fundraising around this, though the wire can be expensive. Maybe I could do some little birds to sell which will not require quite so much material ... thinking of the Amazon, maybe some Hummingbirds!

Christmas cards!

12/12/2014

I have just got my Christmas cards back from the printers (just in the nick of time). I created them using the drypoint etching technique, and I really enjoyed doing them. I plan to do some more designs using the same technique in the new year. The Christmas cards were commissioned, which provides me with more funds towards the Amazon expedition.

Christmas cards - Goldcrest, Wren and Bullfinch

Mini cards with no message inside - Wren, Bullfinch and Goldcrest

Black Friday orders and Christmas card designs

2/12/2014

I had a very busy Black Friday weekend, and had quite a number of eBay orders, selling a few shirts, old toys and a Fair Trade scarf. I recruited my mother to help with packaging, and there were a number of trips back and forth to the Post Office and Parcelshop.

I have also been busy since then with working on the Christmas cards, and am focussing on Intaglio printing. I have been etching a couple of Perspex plates: one of a Goldcrest, one of a Bull Finch. I am starting to feel more satisfied with how it is going now.

Now I am starting to look at finding more sponsors, so will start to get back to letter writing tomorrow.

Photo by Angus Malmgren

Fundraising

I MANAGED TO REACH MY FUNDRAISING TARGET - a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped make it possible for me to take part in this amazing adventure.

THANK YOU also to the following for grants and sponsorship:

The David Haydock Memorial Trust
The Hedley Foundation
The Lord Mayor's 800th Anniversary Awards Trust
The Roger and Miriam Pilkington Charitable Trust
The David St John Thomas Charitable Trust

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