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During the 2019–20 bushfires, 3 billion native animals were killed or displaced. Hundreds of thousands of livestock and burrowing animals have been killed by recent floods. Every summer, our own pets suffer from heat stress. On the frontline, and experiencing firsthand the impact of climate change on wildlife, livestock and pets, are veterinary professionals and animal carers.
So, in June 2023, Vets for Climate Action and their supporters are trekking the Larapinta Trail to raise vital funds to help create a better world for the animals and people living in it.
The Larapinta Trek for Animals is a five-day hiking adventure on the incredible Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory. We’ll traverse the West MacDonnell Ranges, marvel at the awe-inspiring scenery, and look out for the native fauna like rock wallabies, dingoes, goannas and wedge-tail eagles. At night, we’ll sleep beneath a million stars. And the whole time we’ll be helping Vets for Climate Action protect the environment for wildlife, livestock and pets.
What’s included?
What’s not included?
Australia is a nation of animal lovers, from our pets to important livestock, and our unique wildlife. Of course, vets and the animal care community care deeply about animals, humanity and the environment. The Larapinta Trek for Animals is a fantastic way to combine these passions while raising much needed funds for climate action. Animals hold no responsibility for the causes of climate change, yet they feel the consequences most strongly.
With this trek, we hope to build connections within our caring community while providing a unique experience in an awe-inspiring location: the Larapinta.
What’s in it for you?
Many would have seen the devastating news footage: singed koalas coming out of the bush to beg for water from fire crews, entire herds of cattle swept away by raging floodwaters. Australia has already lost a species of mammal, the Bramble Cay melomys, to rising sea levels. Unless we all do something now, it’s not going to get any better. By joining Vets for Climate Action on the Larapinta Trek for Animals, you’ll be able to make an impact on a cause you care about: helping to protect animals from climate change.
Joining the Larapinta Trek for Animals will not only generate much needed funds for climate action, but it will also create an opportunity to meet like-minded members of the veterinary and animal care community, and beyond! The experience is open to all who wish to join us.
By partnering with Inspired Adventures, you’ll help put the fun into fundraising!
When you sign up for the Larapinta Trek for Animals, you’ll be paired with a member of Inspired Adventures’ fundraising team, who will be there to support and inspire you every step of the way. They will help you to create a fundraising plan that is personalised to your time availability, level of experience, and network. The support they provide is as much as is needed and is catered personally to you.
Additionally, you will have access to an all-in-one fundraising hub which includes a dedicated fundraising page, a toolkit and planning resources, and as many ideas as you can imagine!
And, Inspired Adventures is having a Black Friday Sale this weekend from 25 - 27 November and are offering $150 off travel costs for new registrations!
By supporting Vets for Climate Action, you’re funding urgent climate action by the veterinary profession and animal care community.
We’re striving to halve carbon emissions of veterinary clinics and hospitals by 2030, with the support of our 12-month, online Climate Care Program. This program will work with more than 4,000 clinics, as well as zoos, aquariums, shelters and other animal care facilities to take on a step-by-step process to implement initiatives to achieve emissions reduction goals.
There’s also a rural and regional program to empower vets to have meaningful conversations with farmers about emissions reduction.
Finally, we plan to launch a national education campaign to engage with all animal lovers to ensure they understand the impacts of climate change on their pets, livestock and wildlife.
The funds raised from this challenge will help us employ another full-time staff member so we can take our message even further faster. This is the critical decade for climate change action and every decision we make matters, for all time.
Plus, Inspired Adventures is a certified B-Corp and they are mindful of the communities we visit and the well-being of our planet. $10 from the trip’s travel costs will support carbon credit programs in partnership with Carbon Neutral to offset the emissions from this trip.
It started with a Facebook post in 2019. Veterinarian Jeannet Kessels sent a rallying cry, asking for other members of her profession to take meaningful climate action. After some deliberation about how to go about it, a core group of individuals decided to aim high and establish a professional, staffed climate advocacy organisation. Vets for Climate Action was formed.
Since then, it’s been full steam ahead, developing strategy, securing funding and empowering a growing number of volunteers. We’ve made submissions to the government, appeared in the media and inspired the people we work with to take climate action. In 2020, Professor Peter Doherty, the only veterinarian to win a Nobel Prize, offered to become our patron.
Vets for Climate Action now has three full-time staff members and a growing number of volunteers and is growing in strength, purpose and vision. Because animals matter.
To sign up or to learn more about the Larapinta Trek for Animals, visit https://inspiredadventures.com.au/event/vfca-larapinta.2023/ and take advantage of the Black Friday Sale to save $150 on the travel costs between 25 – 27 November.
Adventure dates: 28 June–3 July 2023
Challenge grade: 3/5
Fundraising target: $3,500
Overall campaign fundraising goal: $35,000
Travel cost: $3,121 (plus airfares)
Accommodation: Twin-share in a 4-star hotel plus comfortable swag camping
URL: www.inspiredadventures.com.au/event/vfca-larapinta.2023
Adventure hashtag: #LarapintaTrek4Animals
VfCA represents vets, vet nurses, vet receptionists, vet techs, animal carers, pet owners and animal lovers like you who want strong and immediate action on climate change. Animals suffer the consequences of climate change without responsibility. Vets and animal carers witness the impacts firsthand and carry the responsibility for biosecurity, food production, and protecting animals from climate change. With your support, we can take action on climate pollution and reduce the risk to the animals we love and care for.
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