BIRDWORLD is delighted to wish keeper Zoe Keeping bon voyage as she is currently on her way to Robben Island in South Africa.

Zoe will be working with African penguins as a volunteer Earthwatch field assistant for the next two weeks.

Robben Island is a hotspot for seabird biodiversity including threatened bank cormorants, African black oystercatchers and not to mention 4,000 African penguins.

It lies in the middle of major shipping lanes and the risk of oil spills to local seabirds is high. Zoe will be helping a team of Earthwatch scientists to monitor these birds and assess the risks that impact them in their fragile environment.

Working with experienced researchers Zoe’s team will gather data contributing to the larger study being carried out on the island. This will include low- tech observations with binoculars as well as using high-tech equipment to monitor the penguins’ movements more remotely.

Zoe’s work will bring her face-to-face with the problems seabirds find themselves up against on a daily basis such as predatory seals and competition with fisheries. She will work with respected scientists investigating critical environmental issues.

“This is a calling for me. I’ve been working with penguins at Birdworld for several years and really want to do more to help these incredibly vulnerable birds survive in the wild” said Zoe.

She will be assisting Dr Nola Parsons researcher for SANCCOB an organisation at the forefront of saving African penguins and other threatened seabirds.

Birdworld has for many years supported SANCCOB, sending trained staff out to South Africa to work with the project and share their expertise as well as actively fundraising for the group.

Duncan Bolton, Birdworld’s curator and himself an Earthwatch team leader said: “We’re delighted to be helping SANCCOB. The chick rearing project is a vital way to ensure that as many African penguin chicks as possible make it through those first few months of life and are able to swell the threatened wild population.”