In Billericay, a maths teacher at Mayflower High School has raised money for Orangutan Awarness November by selling unique post cards donning fact about the species- e.g. Orangutan means "Human of the Forest"- to the school community for £1 a piece. Spurred by a love founded by the works of Terry Pratchett- and, more specifically, the character of the Librarian- Mr Andrew Eastwick launched the fundraiser to reforest habitats so that endangered orangutan populations in southeast Asia can begin to flourish in once again. Overall, he has raised £208.51 and sold a total of 188 postcards.

All three of the species of Orangutan are listed as critically endangered, which means that they are at very high risk of extinction; the main reason for this being deforestation. For example, over sixty percent of their natural habitat in Malaysia and Indonesia has been destroyed over the last four decades. It is for this reason that action to preserve the species and its environment must be taken soon, or the damage will be irreversible. When asked about why others should contribute to or organise charities and fundraisers for endangered species, Mr. Eastwick said, 

"We are all here just for part time and therefore we shouldn't be destroying anything, we should be trying to live with everybody and everything. As we have been drastically destorying them, they deserve our help to encourage them to come back."

Mr. Eastwick is not alone in his efforts to revitalise the orangutan species, charities like Borneo Orangutan Survival; Save the Orangutan Foundation; and Orangutan Conservancy all actively work to preserve them. As of the time of this article's publish, Borneo Orangutan Survival has four hundred and thirty two orangutans in its care, has over a million acres of rainforest under its care, and has returned four hundred and ninety three orangutans to the wild. 

And so, though Orangutan Awareness November draws to a close for this year, the need for support for this endangered species will not. There are so many organisations, including but not limited to the ones listed before, through which you can aid the preservation of the world's orangutans ; every donation helps.