Leap Year Special

Exhibiting at COP26 (Glasgow, 2021). We had artwork and photography in the Leaders' Lounge as well as in the corridors in the Blue Zone. This meant the next few weeks were spent glued to Twitter (now X) looking for pictures of world leaders with our artwork.

Puppy Power.  We are proud to have supported the training and deployment of ten specialist conservation canines - Primaa and Savas (Botswana); Vaala (Zimbabwe); Drum (Kenya); Perla, Dano, Pax, Rocky, Qualla and Hina (DRC). This is Rob visiting Vaala as a puppy in Tuscany. 

Gentle giant. In 2016 I met Sudan, the last surviving male northern white rhino (Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya). Sudan passed away two years later. Learning more about the northern whites led us to Garamba NP in the DRC and a partnership with African Parks. It has been incredibly rewarding to see the progress made in Garamba,  and the return of rhino to the landscape last year.

Peaking in Nepal. Rob made it to Everest Base Camp in Spring 2020, raising funds for our Young Explorer Programme. He followed the route taken by the 1953 British Everest Expedition that successfully reached the summit. This  entailed walking from the Kathmandu Valley to Everest, a journey of some 200 miles through some of the most spectacular terrain in the world. Every step was ascent or descent. 

Trekking in Bwindi. In August 2019 Rob & I spent some time in Uganda which included meeting members of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka who has studied gorillas for more than 20 years.  We had the great privilege of visiting the Mucunguzi gorilla family.  We went on to support a sustainable organic farming project in areas bordering Bwindi in 2021.

Taking Sketch stateside. In 2018 we held our first exhibition in New York,  at the Salmagundi Club on Fifth Avenue. The day after this photo was taken it started snowing, bringing Manhatten to a complete halt. The locals said the snow was unseasonal - it was October.

Thin air. In September last year we travelled out to the Spiti Valley in India, on the border of Tibet, to visit project partner Nature Conservation Foundation, based in Kibber. We funded a study on the impact of climate change on snow leopards. This is us during a trek at 4,600m in a known snow leopard hang out, with Thinley, one of the NCF scouts.

Royal connections. We've enjoyed a couple of brushes with Royalty over the years. This is Queen Camilla in the rain at the Royal Norfolk Show where one of our Young Ambassadors presented her with a Tshirt. Prince Harry came along to our 2016 event at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Prince Michael of Kent attended the CBE celebration for Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton which we were also at.

Going, going, gone. We worked with Sotheby's back in 2017 and they came along to run a live auction of several Sketch for Survival lots during our event at the Royal Geographical Society in London. This lot by Stephen Fry was a rhino. It's one of four sketches Sephen has donated to Sketch for Survival, with a record hammer price of £2,400 recorded in 2018 for a lovely elephant artwork.

Wind-blown.  We've held events in fields, aircraft hangars, churches, village halls, crypts (including a particularly spooky one in St Pancras), schools, convention centres, galleries, theatres and hotels. Usually, the weather is not on our side...

On the high street. We've worked with a number of corporate partners but our partnership with Lakeland, with our branding in all their stores up and down the country for one week only in 2014 as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, is the one that really stands out. We received thousands of sign-ups to our newsletter as a result.

Travellers' Tales.  As well as raising funds for project partners, we also aim to raise as much awareness as possible,  and organising talks and events where experts can share their knowledge is key. Here I am with Debbie Martyr talking tigers back in 2017. Debbie has dedicated her life to protecting the Sumatran tiger.

A Wild Life. One of the very first fundraising events we did was in 2015 at the Royal Geographical Society in London with Saba Douglas-Hamilton. It was a sell-out with a queue around the block and we ended up donating over $23,000 to support the work of Save the Elephants. I went out to visit Saba and the team in Samburu in 2016, which was fascinating.

On the South Bank. We've done quite a few exhibitions over the years but the 2023 exhibition at gallery@oxo on London's South Bank saw the highest number of visitors recorded in any one single day (at a solo event) - over 500. It was sunny:)

Keeping it real. We do get to meet some fascinating people, enjoy some wonderful events and have taken advantage of some brilliant travel opportunities too,  but we also spend a lot of time working very hard to make things happen! It's not a glamorous job - this is a freezing cold Sunday night at London Olympia with a lot of boxes to move...

Put your hands up... We've been very fortunate to enjoy a lot of celebrity support. This was a particularly funny moment as JB Gill (from boy band JLS) popped by at our stand at Blenheim Palace to say hello, and was sidelined by volunteer Charles who ended up selling him a load of raffle tickets and had no idea who he was!

Getting lost in Murchison. We shadowed the Murchison Falls Giraffe Conservation Foundation team, led by Dr Sarah Ferguson,  in Uganda in 2019. We partnered with GCF to help fund a translocation of Nubian giraffe from Murchison Falls to Pian Upe and spent a day out in the field watching the team at work.

Speaking up. Rob in full flow and in the spotlight at the Explorer Club in New York in 2018. We had a packed hall, and a live stream!  The first question came in from Costa Rica! Andrea Heydlauff also presented, giving a fascinating insight into the work of African Parks. 

Elephants everywhere. Meeting with Peter Mbulu at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on the edge of Narobi National Park in Kenya - we've supported Sheldrick for a number of years, donating over $25,000 USD and we hosted their UK 40th anniversary party in 2017. I also met with Angela Sheldrick during my visit.

Caught on camera. UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the Leaders' Lounge at COP26 in Glasgow with Sketch for Survival artwork in the background. This picture was captured by Kiara Worth, one of the official photographers. 

Back in the Big Apple. We returned to New York in Autumn 2022 for an exhibition and event at the Explorers Club. Here I am with artist Ali Nicholls outside.  The event would not have been possible without Ali's help, and my daughter's help too. Liv (who was on a gap year before starting at Uni) was parachuted in last minute when Rob's US visa was rescinded - something to do with Cuba stamps in his passport... 

Animal magic. We somehow persuaded the Royal Geographical Society in London that it would be OK to have a live display with an anti-poaching dog. The brilliant team from Animals Saving Animals came along and noone was left in any doubt about the power of these specialist dog units and their ability to help rangers on the frontline.

Feeling green.Rob & I joined a Kordofan giraffe monitoring flight over Garamba National Park in the DRC with French bush pilot Alain, and scientist Achille, who heads up the programme. It was quite the experience. Strong stomach required. 

Running after rangers. This is Tipper, one of the anti-poaching dogs, a bloodhound specialising in tracking,  working at the Lewa Conservancy in Kenya. I joined the unit for a tracking exercise in 2016. When Tipper picked up the scent, he was off. It was impressive.

Safari stories. Promoting responsible travel is a huge part of the charity. A love of wildlife and wild spaces was the inspiration for founding the charity, and the commission we earn through our travel programmes which include Real Africa, Real Asia and Real Americas supports the charity. 

Bird's eye view. Travelling to Garamba in the DRC involved catching a lift on a light aircraft which was taking supplies back to base. I was basically in the baggage hold, on the floor in the back with the avocados! We visited during the height of Ebola so we had numerous check points to pass through and saw lots of UN envoys.

Living legends. In 2017 our event at the Royal Geographical Society was headlined by two of our patrons - Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Col John Blashford Snell. What a special evening  - the stories they have to tell ...

Palace plans. It's taken over three years but we're in...we have an exhibition in the Palace of Westminster this coming April.  It's a great opportunity for us to raise awareness.

Heart-pounding. We've featured many celebrity sketches over the years with Stephen Fry, Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Nick Park, Axel Scheffler, Frederick Forsyth, Kevin Pietersen, Richard E. Grant, Joanna Lumley and Dame Helen Mirren among them. But in 2021 it was one of our Young Explorers, Maisie, who wrote to Joni Mitchell, securing a sketch of a jaguar.  It sold at auction for £17,000 GBP - the highest hammer price to date.