• Home
  • Archive
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • May 8, 2025

The Madison Times

The Paper That's More Than Black and White

  • News
    • Local News
    • National News
    • International News
    • Sports News
    • Education News
  • Columns
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Life Lessons with Alex Gee
  • Events
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Lifestyle
  • Classifieds
  • Community
    • Middle Spread
  • Milwaukee

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Pedaling, Paddling and Plodding for Wildlife Conservation

July 17, 2021

By Hayley Crandall

Community Conservation, a Wisconsin-based conservation organization, is hosting its first ever virtual fundraiser aimed at raising money toward wildlife conservation while also encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors.

Upon joining the “Pedal, Paddle, or Plod” event, participants can do as the name says: pedal, paddle or plod. Pedaling encompasses biking, paddling focuses on water activities like canoeing and plodding centers around walking or running, according to Shelly Torkelson, Communications and Outreach Coordinator.

“Run, walk, hike or roll,” she said. “It can be an accessible event, also. When people register, they can choose whatever activity they want. They don’t even have a check box where they have to commit to a specific activity.”

Participants receive a bandana as part of their registration. Top fundraisers have a chance to win prizes such as gift cards or Ian’s Pizza free slice cards. Participants track miles by the honor system; and there are no distances required, Torkelson explained.

“Personally, I run a little bit, but before I started, I would not sign up for something that had a specific number of miles,” Torkelson said. “So, it’s even more helpful for people who don’t get outside much or are not active.”

Registration costs $35 and along with other donations, all proceeds go toward the organization’s wildlife conservation project in Borneo, Malaysia.

The area of Borneo is home to various wildlife. Most notably it holds one of the largest populations of orangutans, according to Community Conservations.

As part of surveying, researchers have employed local men in the area to monitor wildlife. However, they quickly learned that the local women were also greatly interested in helping, Dr. Teri Allendorf, executive director, explained.

“We just said, ‘Hey, are you guys interested in learning how to camera trap and participating,’” Allendorf said. “And they were like, ‘Yes, why didn’t you ask us like three years ago when you came to the community, of course, we want to learn!’”

The project aims to train local women in camera trapping through partnership efforts with the Smithsonian, Sarawak Forestry Corporation and researcher Olivia Cosby. This allows them to learn conservation efforts and earn additional income for their households, Allendorf said.

The hope is that through these measures, they will be able to lead into more community-driven conservation initiatives for the area. In a way, it helps the Borneo residents become aware of their actions and how to help these animals that they have come to love, Allendorf said.

“They learn it’s not just for some kind of research,” Allendorf said. “It’s so that they can start to put in their own monitoring projects and understand what wildlife is there and how to protect it.”

Community Conservation’s “Pedal, Paddle, Plod” runs until Monday, July 26 and has currently raised over $3,000. Its final goal is $5,000. It has wide-spread engagement, Torkelson said, but are always encouraging more participants to sign up. Those interested can join as either an individual or a team. If not interested in the activity side of things, standalone donations are also accepted.

Further information, including registration and donating, can be found at http://communityconservation.org/ppp2021/.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Community Conservation, Dr. Teri Allendorf, Hayley Crandall, Pedal Paddle Plod, Wildlife Conservation

Read More - Related Articles

  • President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to Help Restore Bison Populations and Grassland Ecosystems in Tribal Communities
  • Milwaukee and Madison Receive $200,000 Each from EPA for Environmental Justice Initiatives
  • Get Your Walking Shoes On: Celebrate 15 Years of the Milwaukee River Greenway With the HIKE15 Challenge
  • Yoga Studio Helping Veterans Through Free Weekly Yoga Classes
  • American Red Cross and American Cancer Society Calling for Blood Donations


Connect With Us

Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On Twitter
Follow Us On Twitter

Editorials

Karma Chavez
Amanda Zhang
Julianne Malveaux
Benjamin Chavis
George Curry

Journalists

Jacklin Bolduan
Brianna Rae
Aarushi Agni
Rob Franklin
Claire Miller

Topics

Brown Girl Green $
Young Gifted & Black
Universally Speaking
Ask Progress
Civil Rights

Topics

Police Shooting
Police Brutality
Black Lives Matter
NAACP
Racism

Politicians

Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Gwen Moore
Paul Soglin
Scott Walker

Contact Us

Phone:
414-449-4860

Copyright © 2025 Courier Communications. All Rights Reserved.
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.