A University of the West of England student has raised an impressive £1020 for charity after carrying out sponsored litter picks in Horfield and Lockleaze.

Student Laura Thomas (pictured top left), who is studying Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science, raised money for Bristol Zoo Gardens in Clifton and Woodgate Valley Urban Farm in her home town of Birmingham.

As Covid-19 has meant that many zoos and city farms have lost their main source of income, Laura decided to raise funds for these charities after volunteering for both of them as part of her studies.

Laura explains why she chose Bristol Zoo as one of her chosen charities:

“I chose Bristol Zoo because of the crucial conservation work the charity does across the world.  Many people think that zoos are just places to go for a nice day out to see some fluffy animals, but the reality is that they are fighting to help save species from the brink of extinction.”

Laura set up a JustGiving page and decided to raise £1000 by doing sponsored litter picks.  She spent three months working hard to achieve this target, doing 21 litter picks and picking up a total of 27 bags of rubbish containing aluminium cans, plastic waste and other litter!

By reaching over £1000, Laura has made a real difference to both of her chosen charities, not to mention making the local area cleaner and safer for both people and wildlife in the process.

Well done, Laura, what an impressive achievement!

If you would like to donate to Laura’s JustGiving page and add to the funds already raised for Bristol Zoo and Woodgate Valley urban Farm, you can do so here:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/funds-bristol-zoo-and-woodgate-farm.