REASEHEATH College animal management students went orange to help save one of the world’s most endangered apes.

The students dressed in orange and asked others to do the same during fund raising activities for the ‘Go Orange for Orangutans’ campaign.

Their efforts raised more than £300 for the campaign, which was run by Chester Zoo as part of its ‘Act for Wildlife’ initiative to raise money for conservation projects worldwide.

Two groups of students took part, with 17 Level 2 Diploma in Animal Care ‘Group B’ students raising £227 after being sponsored by family and friends to dress up in orange while members of Reaseheath’s Conservation Society raised £76 by holding a social event in the student bar.

This included the free services of DJ Sam Walton, courtesy of Moo Media UK. As well as raising funds, the students also took the opportunity to talk about the plight faced by orangutans due to habitat loss.

The Level 2 Diploma students presented their cheque to Penny Rudd, Chester Zoo’s Registrar and Internships Co-ordinator, when she visited the campus last week. The Conservation Society members handed over their donation during a recent trip to the zoo.

Chester Zoo’s appeal has raised more than £13,000 to be used to provide specialist camera traps in Borneo, the last stronghold of the wild orangutan.

Penny Rudd, who is a former Reaseheath governor and has strong links with the animal management department, said: “It has been wonderful to meet students who are so keen to become involved in a real conservation project.

“Orangutans face a very uncertain future owing to habitat destruction, mainly caused by the widescale production of unsustainably farmed palm oil.”