The very excellent Tristan ‘Binocularface’ Reid (blogger, conservationist, and frequent panel member on The Conference Calls) has been hitting the news (though not nearly often enough – come on, folks, let’s give the guy some promotion) for his ‘Giving my Right Arm’ project to raise funds and awareness about the catastrophe unfolding in Turkey. I did a podcast on this a few months ago called The Great march of Anatolia, which I’m extremely proud to say partly inspired Tris – or so he tells me anyway.
What Tristan is doing to raise funds is one of the most novel and painful conservation initiatives I’ve seen in quite a while: he is having a minimum of ten, wait, make that TWENTY threatened bird species of Turkey tattooed onto – originally – his right arm, hence the name he’s given to his efforts though he’s already started lining up his left arm too! Plus now there’s something very interesting planned for his chest..
And we’re not just talking about some cutesy, dinky little blobs of ink, we’re talking about almost life-size, full-colour portraits and acres of flesh disappearing under an ocean of ink (and no doubt blood).
Brave or addicted to pain? Possibly both, but I do know one thing – he’s determined not to just sit back and let things happen in Turkey without doing something (imagine what we could get done if every conservationist was as proactive)…
So far he’s had three done with more to follow. Check these beauties out…
European Roller Coracias garrulus
Red-fronted Serin Serinus pusillus
Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus
Impressive eh – and I don’t just mean the birds, I mean how many needles must have been jabbed into Tris’s arm to get that sort of coverage?
Why is he doing this? because Turkey’s wildlife is in catastrophic danger.
- His plans to help are outlined here: http://www.binocularface.co.uk/2011/07/10/the-ten-species-to-feature-in-the-art-work-are/
- You can donate here: http://www.justgiving.com/givingmyrightarm
- Alternatively you can donate by texting VWFE83 followed by amount (e.g. £10) to 70070 #givingmyrightarm
