We've built a brand spanking new Members site just for you!
www.heartofborneo.ning.com
Click the link and sign up if you want to be a part of our ACTIVE community. That means if you want to get INVOLVED, and do more than just like our Facebook page and read our Tweets. Whether it's raising money, visiting schools, creating resources, adding to our knowledge base, planning an expedition, or joining us out in the field.
You've all seen the poster we're talking about when we say WE NEED YOU! So if you're keen to be a Rainforest Guardian, join us and get stuck in!
Wondering what this is all about? Well it's all about YOU, and here's a brief introduction to why
The Heart of Borneo Project was officially registered as a charity around 18 months ago, but it came to life much earlier than that. Back then, when we were pursuing an idea, learning, and growing this concept, we were a community of passionate young people, supported by some passionate older people. We were all very different, with varying skills, ambitions, goals, and even motivations for being involved.
But we all shared something, and whatever that was it brought us together and we worked tirelessly to plan and execute one of the most ambitious and successful rainforest expeditions of recent times. Since then, our network shrunk a bit and for a year now, as a small core team of mostly volunteers, we have been quietly working away, designing some really interesting projects, doing some very creative thinking, getting down to the bones of the issues in Borneo and how we can have the greatest impact.
Abraham Lincoln has many great sayings, but one I am particularly fond of is this:
“If I had eight hours to cut down a tree I would spend six of them sharpening my axe.”
That's kind of what we've been doing - sharpening our (metaphorical!) axes. Working, with our limited resources, to figure out the best way to harness our limited resources to their fullest potential. We don't have an office, we have one full time member of staff (me), so we don't have much time, we don't have much money, or a large pre-existing network to really promote ourselves.
So what do we have?
Well, we have great ideas and the skills to deliver them. We have an infinite amount of energy and enthusiasm. We are able to really inspire people and get them excited about what we can achieve and what they can achieve with us. We have a few hundred people watching and waiting for us to give them something to work on. And we have a genuine desire to collaborate, to share resources and ideas.
So that's where you come in. Do you know how powerful a poster can be? We started off with one poster design that recruited 400 people to the cause. What about a video or animation? What if thousands of indigenous people could learn about REDD+ from that video? Maybe YOU could be the person that creates that impact.
How about contacts and networks? It's hard to say how valuable any of the people YOU know might be to us and our work. Maybe they are a teacher who can help us develop educational resources, or a really effective campaigner who can give talks in their local area. Perhaps they have a daughter who works in the TV and becomes interested in reporting our work. Or maybe your uncle is a Dayak campaigning for his forest to be protected, and we are able to help.
And what about fundraising? Much as we have tried to keep the bills down (see above!), we can't exist without financial support, and with more we can do more. Could YOU run a marathon? Host an event? Run a bake sale? Organise an auction?
We aspire to be an inclusive, open platform for engagement and action. Whether you are a scientist looking to contribute to our research, a creative who can produce something for one of our campaigns, a student looking for a live project to work on instead of something made up, a networker who wants to promote us and our work, or simply someone who cares and wants to raise some money and awareness - we need you.
And then, 'we' will become 'you', and together we will work to protect these incredible, threatened ecosystems for all the beautiful and varied plants, animals and people who live in and off them, now and into the future.
So there is the idea - now how do you use it?
Well, it's a souped up, members only version of Facebook. You have a profile so everyone knows who you are and what you do. You can browse all the other members too of course. You can write blogs, join in and start discussions on any topic of interest, share photos and videos, and create little communities within this community by forming groups.
So look for inspiration on how to raise funds. Start a conversation on what type of hammock is best for the rainforest. Debate how we should be using our website better, and help us find people to do that! You could begin planning your own expedition into Borneo with people you connect with, and then look for advice on how to make it happen.
It's a free, open space. Let's see what you do with it!
www.heartofborneo.ning.com
