Wild Banbury officer raises more than £1,000 for charity with 'Big Indoor 3 Peaks Challenge'

The typical National Three Peaks Challenge involves climbing the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland in 24 hours.

During the coronavirus lockdown Tara wanted to find a challenge she could do while still at home.

So she calculated the number of stairs she needed to climb to ascend each mountain based on her stair height of 18cm. In total she climbed more than 17,000 stairs as she reached the equivalent of the three peaks.

Tara said: "I have decided to set myself this challenge to raise money for a charity that is close to my heart and could really do with some help during this difficult time."

She raised more than £1,000 during Tara's Big Indoor 3 Peaks Challenge, which benefits the Berkshire Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

She added: "I climbed and descended each mountain in a day. It was hard on the legs and took three to four days after each climb for me to want to tackle the stairs again."

She climbed the English mountain, Scafell Pike, or its equivalent of 4,911 steps up her stairs on St George's Day on April 23.

She then climbed Scotland's Ben Nevis mountain or rather its equivalent of 7,278 steps on April 28 and then completed the challenge this past Monday on May 4 by climbing Mount Snowden in Wales or its equivalent of 5,122 steps up her stairs.

Tara said: "I was looking for a challenge to do a fundraiser while I am on furlough leave as the wildlife trusts are suffering a dramatic loss in income as all our events are cancelled and donations have decreased.

"I am very passionate about protecting our environment, and have always supported the Wildlife Trust so it is something that is personally important to me."

The Wild Banbury Project is run by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Banbury Town Council and supported by Cherwell District Council.

She added: "The aim is to inspire people to discover Banbury’s wild spaces and parks and get involved with the habitat work we do.

"There are huge benefits to connecting with nature, learning about the environment we live in and helping to manage and protect it.

"As the Wild Banbury Project Officer I organise regular volunteer work parties in Spiceball park, Hanwell Brook Wetland and the Mineral railway.

"With the success of the project and support from local people we have been able to achieve so much and are looking to expand further into other parks.

"Another aspect of the role is to engage with the local community, run events and help people to connect with nature and learn about what they can do to encourage wildlife into their gardens."

Anyone who would like to contribute to Tara's Big Indoor 3 Peaks Challenge for the Wildlife Trust can see her online Just Giving web page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tarastrekShe added: "This will have a massive and lasting impact on their ability to care for our green spaces, protect our wildlife, and tackle climate change."

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