Above picture: Nick and Jane Prentice (left) with Tania Anderson in the Kalahari in 2015; photograph by Mark D. Anderson
Nick and Jane Prentice, who live in London, United Kingdom, have supported the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project by sponsoring a total of 400 hectares towards ridding Marion Island of its invasive House Mice that are attacking and killing both chicks and adults of the island’s albatrosses and petrels. Their most generous sponsorship has come in two tranches, 300 ha back in 2021 and more recently a further 100 ha.
Nick has served as the Treasurer of BirdLife International, offering his expert tax and financial knowledge, and combining that with his passionate interest in birds to further their conservation. Jane is a very keen photographer and loves getting out into wilderness areas but says she prefers the big cats to birds! Nick is an enthusiastic birder, has seen over 600 species in South Africa, and was one of the international guests on the Flock to Marion 2022 voyage that raised over three million Rands in support of the MFM Project. He is currently the Chair of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, the charity which undertook the successful rodent eradication on that island, a member of BirdLife International’s Rare Bird Club, and is Chairperson of the Indonesian foundation that is working to protect the Harapan lowland tropical rainforest in Sumatra.
In 2020, Nick along with his wife Jane, began offering generous annual support to BirdLife South Africa’s projects, particularly to the Endangered Secretarybird and Avitourism projects. Nick and Jane have always shown a keen interest in the work being done in both projects, and Nick often offers salient advice during donor feedback meetings. Nick and Jane also assisted financially towards the purchase and renovation of Isdell House, BirdLife South Africa’s head office in Johannesburg. They received an Eagle-Owl Award from BirdLife South Africa in 2023 to acknowledge their support.
Nick and Jane Prentice have written to MFM News: “We are delighted to be long-term supporters of BirdLife South Africa, and its Mouse-Free Marion Project, which does such great work in South Africa and also provides support to other BirdLife Partners in Africa”.
Mark Anderson, CEO of BirdLife South Africa and Chair of the Mouse-Free Marion Project Management Committee writes: “Nick and Jane Prentice are most generous supporters of a number of bird conservation projects across the world, including providing support for BirdLife South Africa’s community guide training and Secretarybird conservation work. I have been privileged to go birding with Nick at various places, including the Guinea Savanna in northern Ghana, the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, and in the southern Indian Ocean on the Flock to Marion 2022 voyage. During our times in the field, I have been immensely impressed with Nick’s knowledge of birds and his passion to conserve them. It is incredibly encouraging that there are people like Nick and Jane who are prepared to support bird conservation projects, including the Mouse-Free Marion Project.”
The whole MFM Project Team is hugely grateful for the support received from Nick and Jane.
John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 15 May 2024
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Close-up of a light-mantled Albatross on Marion Island; photograph by John Dickens and poster design by Michelle Risi
The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate. For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.
