A Bump in the Road: Crowdfunding my Master's

If you’ve already been following my story you’ll know that I have embarked on the challenging mission of attempting to crowdfund my master’s degree during an ongoing pandemic. Not an ideal situation to find myself in but a necessary undertaking since the student loans company wouldn't offer me a loan!

I am forever grateful to everyone who has already donated and shared my GoFundMe campaign, please continue your kindness. I’m very touched by those who have shown their support of my dolphin research. So far my crowdfunding journey has led to a feature in my hometown’s newspaper, an exciting and family-pride inducing accomplishment to have my dolphin work shared with the people of Wigan. I also had a very generous surprise donation from The Dolphin Project who printed an interview with me, sharing my dolphin enthusiasm and efforts in Japan with their 330k followers!

© Mutsu Bay Dolphin Research

As it stands I'm just shy of £4,000, an amazing milestone but unfortunately still a long way off the amount needed to join this year's course. So, after much agonising, I decided to defer until next year (September 2022) and hope the extra months will give me a better shot at raising the money. A decision that was also influenced by the continued uncertainties arising from the coronavirus. I also see this as a great opportunity to write up some more of the research I've done in Japan so stay tuned to learn about Pacific white-sided dolphin feeding behaviour and flipper rubbing in bottlenose dolphins!

I'm determined to build on everything I have learned here in Japan and take my dolphin journey to the next level. This is an amazing master’s course, ideal for furthering my scientific capabilities and learning the vital skills needed to push my research towards a more conservation-minded focus. The world is in great need of more conservationists who can help implement better protection for animals alongside restoring nature and our wild spaces. We need the oceans to survive. Not only do they produce half of the world's oxygen but they also regulate the climate. By helping to preserve sea dwellers, such as dolphins, we can restore marine biodiversity creating a healthier ocean and in turn improving life on earth. I want to contribute to the plight of saving our seas and my next step is furthering my education. With your help I can be a part of restoring balance to earth's 'life support system'.

Please consider supporting me in raising the funds for my master's degree in Marine Conservation.

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