Go Ape Foundation

15/10/2026

Back to London in 2022, when we visited the wonderful Chimps Are Family exhibition by artists GILLIE AND MARC

Surrounded by all those incredible chimpanzee sculptures, we obviously had to try a few chimp poses ourselves! 😂🐵

But what I loved most was the idea behind the exhibition. Through art, Gillie and Marc brought the personalities, emotions and behaviours of chimpanzees into the heart of London, inviting people to look a little closer at these amazing animals.

That’s the beauty of art. It can make us smile, spark curiosity and help us feel connected to wildlife in a completely different way.

Who nailed the chimp pose best? 😂

10/10/2026

And we would do it all again in a heartbeat ❤️

231 FRIENDS. MORE THAN $47,000. AND WE ARE STILL TRYING TO TAKE IT ALL IN.

Yesterday was extraordinary.
For weeks, friends and volunteers of Tacugama worked behind the scenes and rallied people around the world to stand with us on Giving Day for Apes.
And you did.
231 of you❤️

Together, you gave us a result far beyond anything we had dared to hope for.
We watched donations come in from across the world. Behind every single one was a person saying: I care about these chimpanzees. I care about this work.
And that is what moved us most.

Thanks to your incredible support, we also finished second in the Most Dollars Raised challenge. Something we are incredibly proud of.

This campaign was pioneered by the charities supporting Tacugama in the UK and the Netherlands: Friends of Tacugama UK and Go Ape Foundation with the wonderful support of friends and volunteers who helped spread the word and mobilise support.

To all 231 friends who donated, shared, encouraged us or stayed up until midnight to donate, thank you. You made this a Giving Day we will never forget.

Our sincere thanks also go to the Giving Day for Apes organisers, presenting sponsor GFAS and all event sponsors for making this day possible.

And now, full of energy and gratitude, we get back to work.
Because, as you know, the work never stops💚

10/10/2026

NOT EXACTLY LIGHT WEEKEND READING… BUT THERE’S HOPE! 🌿💚

WWF International released its new Living Planet Report this week. And the numbers are pretty shocking.

Since 1970, monitored wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73%.

The report doesn’t specifically discuss great apes, but of course I immediately think of chimpanzees. Around a century ago, an estimated one million lived in the wild across Africa. Today, only around 170,000 to 300,000 remain.

Fortunately, there’s good news too. The report is called The Science of Hope, and it shares some encouraging examples of wildlife recovering after years, sometimes decades, of conservation work.

But it’s also clear that protecting nature takes more than individual conservation projects. We need major changes in how we produce food and energy, and how money is invested. And local communities need a real say in decisions about their natural environment.

That last point is also very relevant in Sierra Leone, where people and wildlife still share the same landscapes.

Through Go Ape Foundation, we support nature education programmes run by Tacugama , a conservation organisation with over 30 years of experience. Children learn about the chimpanzees and forests around them, and why protecting them matters.

Of course, nature education alone won’t solve the biodiversity crisis. But it’s one important piece of a much bigger puzzle.

There’s a lot to worry about, but also good reason to keep going. 💚

If you’ve got some time this weekend, it’s worth a read!

📖 WWF Living Planet Report 2026: The Science of Hope
https://www.wwf.nl/wat-we-doen/focus/biodiversiteit/living-planet-report/living-planet-report-2026

08/10/2026

Ever thought your studies might take you to a conservation organisation in Sierra Leone?

On 15 October, I’ll be sharing stories from Tacugama , the challenges and joys of conservation work in Sierra Leone, and how an unexpected career path led me to start Go Ape Foundation to help fund and support conservation initiatives like those at Tacugama.

Perhaps there’s an opportunity to contribute through research, an internship, volunteering or a future career you haven’t even considered yet.

Who knows? Maybe this talk will inspire you to visit Tacugama and experience conservation work in Sierra Leone for yourself. 💚

📍 HAS Green Academy, room 2A.12
📅 15 October | 15:00–16:00
🌿 Organised by Future For Nature Academy

Free registration via the QR code on the poster.

07/10/2026

81 TIENTJES (EN MEER!) VOOR TACUGAMA.

Wat een Giving Day for Apes.

81 keer besloten jullie vanuit Nederland om mee te doen met Een Tientje voor Tacugama. Soms met een tientje, soms met meer. Samen brachten jullie ruim $2.000 bij elkaar.

En gisteren, precies tijdens de eerste “Power Hour”, hebben we al die donaties namens jullie ingebracht in de internationale campagne.

Daarna bleven we natuurlijk kijken. En kijken. En nog een keer kijken. 😄
Want wat er gebeurde was echt ongelofelijk.

Uiteindelijk stonden 231 mensen achter Tacugama en is er ruim $47.000 opgehaald. Tacugama eindigde zelfs als tweede van alle deelnemende organisaties in de Most Dollars Raised challenge. Dat is nog nooit eerder gebeurd.

En wij weten dat daar ook 81 Nederlandse bijdragen tussen zaten. 💚

Dus vandaag vooral dit:

Dank jullie wel.

Voor ieder tientje. Voor ieder beetje meer. Voor het delen, meeleven en liefde voor de 120 chimpansees in Sierra Leone.

Deze prachtige foto van Ramba met haar verzorger Daniel is gemaakt door Renato Granieri

06/10/2026

Om precies 17.00 uur maken wij alle Tientjes voor Tacugama over aan de Giving Day for Apes-campagne.

81 donaties. Ruim $2.000 (omgerekend)

Van tientjes tot meer, samen is het een prachtig bedrag geworden.

Wat een liefde voor de chimpansees. 💚
Dank jullie wel!

En nu duimen maar… want onze gezamenlijke donatie doen we in de eerste Power Hour, waarin Tacugama kans maakt op extra geld💪🏾

Natuurlijk houden we jullie op de hoogte van hoe Tacugama het vandaag doet en wat onze gezamenlijke bijdrage uiteindelijk heeft opgeleverd.

81 keer dank. 💚🐵

06/10/2026

VANDAAG IS HET ZOVER! 💚🐵

Giving Day for Apes.

En dankzij 79 geweldige supporters in Nederland staat Go Ape vandaag niet met lege handen. 79 mensen die een tientje gaven, en vaak nog wat meer. 💚

Om precies 17.00 uur doneren we alles in één keer aan Tacugama.

Dus… je kunt nog meedoen!

Je hoeft niet groots te geven. Als je maar meedoet. Een tientje erbij betekent weer één supporter extra achter de meer dan 120 geredde chimpansees van Tacugama.

Wie sluit zich vandaag nog bij die 79 aan? 🐵💚

👉 Doneer jouw Tientje voor Tacugama via de link in bio.
🔗
https://donorbox.org/tientje-voor-tacugama-of-meer-2026

Om 17.00 uur gaan we ervoor!

01/10/2026

“Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help.”
Jane Goodall

One year without Jane. 💚

Of all her words, these have always stayed with us.

Because protecting chimpanzees doesn’t start when an orphan arrives at a sanctuary. It starts much earlier. In a classroom. In a village. With a child who discovers why the forest next door matters, and why the chimpanzees living there are worth protecting.

That is why education has always been such an important part of Go Ape’s work.

Jane understood that long before most of us did.

And that is one lesson we intend to keep putting into practice🌱

📸 Jane Goodall Instituut Nederland