Hemmat, D. (2019, February 21). Locals join motorcycle rally to protect endangered species

worldwide. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from http://www.lhvc.com/news/locals-join-motorcycle-rally-to-protect-endangered-species-worldwide/article_6dc99fae-3609-11e9-87a9-03dc53395ce1.html

 

A non-profit called the Rally for Rangers Foundation (RfR) has successfully provided park rangers with over 100 new motorbikes over the past 5 or so years. Robert McIntosh, previously a US National Park ranger himself, noticed the struggles rangers faced in other countries. With old and unreliable motorbikes, the rangers had trouble defending their regions from poaching, illegal lumbering, and other crimes harmful to the environment. With support from friends and others, he was able to a new bike in Mongolia, ride it across the country, and personally deliver it to the ranger he met in Mongolia. Since then, his nonprofit has been successful in delivering many more bikes to rangers, and have made sure to train them in the proper use and maintenance, as to have the most significant and longest-lasting impact possible.

 

Environmentalism can be demonstrated in many ways. Buying gas-guzzling motorcycles is destructive by intuition, but will in reality provide rangers around the world with the tools they need to successfully protect the endangered species in their parks. As this article discusses, while donating money directly may be more efficient on paper, more personal, involved methods of environmental service gain more attention and support from the public. Besides contributing time and money, coming up with creative ideas to promote or carry out environmentalism can have a great impact. Perhaps environmental groups can learn from RfR, and stay creative with their projects, while still maintaining effectiveness.