When Nina Radford and Ellie Hawcutt broke up from their studies in Spring they found themselves at home, in lockdown and with lots of time on their hands. Both liking to get stuck in to a project, they decided to start Fixing the Earth.
Nina and Ellie both study Conservation Biology at the University of Plymouth and are truly passionate about their subject. Next year they've decided to take their third year out of University and spend it undertaking vital work in Costa Rica as Conservation Biology students:
"In 2021 we start our conservation placement in the wilderness of Costa Rica. We aim to spend 6 months out there gaining experience, refining our field work skills, sampling, surveying and gathering data on wildlife. This placement year will not only help in our degree but it will kick start our careers in a field that we consider to be one of the most important in the world with climate change and extinction becoming increasingly significant threats."
In their spare time both Nina and Ellie enjoy painting and creating art. With daily life effectively paused during lockdown, they decided to harness their hobby and use it to raise money for something that they felt passionate about - and Fixing the Earth was born.
"We built the website and started painting and before we knew it we were up and running selling our art works. Feeling that more people should be able to appreciate nature we also started blogging, writing about our wildlife encounters, and small scale conservation we did closer to home, we find it rewarding being able to share them with our friends in a way that we couldn't before."
100% of the proceeds from the art sold through fixingtheearth.com will go towards funding their project, protecting one of the most valuable hot spots for biodiversity in the world from threats such as deforestation and overfishing.
Browse Nina and Ellie's art and support a vital cause Click here
So what's next for Nina and Ellie?
"We are looking forward to getting back into our studies, selling more artworks and eventually making it to Costa Rica! In the future we also hope to make documentaries about wildlife as another way to raise awareness and share with people the some of the joys that being outside has to offer. Everyone one has been so supportive, which has only got us more fired up and ready to get out and do some all-important conservation."
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