Once again we are supporting Archery UK magazine's quarterly reader's Star Letter competition. We will be offering binoculars, scopes and other accessories suitable for field and target archers. For more information about the magazine, click here.
We supplied an Adventurer T WP 10x50 binocular as a prize for All About Space magazine's 100th issue competition.
Ex-England and Saracens rugby player Mouritz Botha received an Explorer WA Oasis-C 10x42 in return for helping us test the Ranger 800 6x21 laser rangefinder in field conditions in the Bedfordshire countryside and beyond.
Our support for the Birding For All charity continues with a donation to help support their work in 2020 and beyond. More information on who they and what they do can be found here but here's a quick summary from founder Bo Beolens:
"Birding For All is a small national charity that aims to encourage access for all to bird reserves and birding services. Disabled birders have needs that differ from the able-bodied, but so do young people, the elderly, etc and we are all different shapes and sizes, so signage, hides, paths and visitor centres need to cater for this diversity. There is no membership fee or staff. Volunteer run, we rely on donations to visit sites, train staff, lobby for better provision and publicise our work at Bird Fair etc. Opticron have supported us over many years for which we are incredibly grateful – you guys make ALL THE DIFFERENCE!"
We donated a Discovery WP PC 8x42 binocular as a raffle prize for the Osprey Project run by Birds of Poole Harbour.
The Rewilders Project received a Traveller BGA Mg Black 10x32 binocular and a Traveller BGA ED 10x32 binocular to use on their journey around Europe. For more information and some great photos, like the one on the right here, from Brais Palmás and Agnes Sobon visit the Rewilders here.
"A decade has passed since our very first expeditions through the wild wonders of Europe. Since then, year after year, our paths have lead us from the African rainforests to the Asian ranges witnessing the most breathtaking scenes on Earth. Today, after acknowledging that some of those places are severely threatened or simply do not exist anymore, a new compromise is required. We present you a radical rethinking of an outdoor adventure in which exploration meets nature
protection."
An Adventurer T WP 10x50 binocular was donated to the Norman Lockyer Observatory to use as a raffle prize at the Southwest Astronomy Fair.
Author of 365 Days Wild Lucy McRobert ran a lockdown-inspired nature writing competition for aspiring young authors called Nature On Your Doorstep. Opticron supplied a pack of 25 compact binoculars for use by the class mates of the winner of the 7-12 age group category. A further three Savanna 8x23 compact binoculars were donated as prizes.
Following a meeting at the last Birdfair (in August 2019), Noam Shany and Pedro Casals of Promised Land Ventures took delivery of a number of binoculars and scopes to use to help train bird guides in Angola. You can read more about PLV here but this is a quick summary of the project written by Noam.
"After many years of civil war, Angola is finally peaceful. This friendly nation is beginning to show real interest in its nature and we anticipate birdwatching and wildlife viewing will become quite popular in the near future. Both government and the private sector are keen to developing ecotourism.
Promised Land Ventures is supporting the country efforts and we identified two fronts to deal with in order to be successful: building human capacities and conservation actions. We are currently training local bird guides in 12 different locations in the country along the birding circuit, about 20 participants in each group. We are teaching them birding and guiding skills as well as planting in them conservation values."
The Wildlife Trusts National Marine Week is an annual campaign which took place over a fortnight in late July and early August when families were heading to the seaside. The campaign focusses on the marine environment and helping people to understand the incredible wildlife around the UK coast. A prize of a Wildlife Trust branded Oregon 4 PC binocular was supplied as a prize for the photography competition that formed part of the campaign.