Larapinta Trek for Animals 2023
LARAPINTA, NORTHERN TERRITORY 19 JULY - 24 JULY 2023 NEW DATES!
Challenge yourself on the Larapinta Trail and lead on climate action for animals
Join Vets for Climate Action’s Chair Dr Jeannet Kessels and our supporters in July 2023 as we take on an incredible adventure to raise funds, The Larapinta Trek for Animals. The Larapinta Trail gets you up close to the best landscapes in Australia’s outback. You’ll walk through this majestic and ancient land and sleep beneath a million stars. There’s also a chance you’ll spot native animals like rock wallabies, dingoes, goannas and wedge tail eagles during the hike. You’ll raise money to help Vets for Climate Action to take urgent action towards a safe and beautiful world for all species to live in for decades to come, and meet like-minded community members including supporters of other charities including Habitat for Humanity and Miracle Babies.
What’s this trip all about?
Australia is a nation of animal lovers, from our pets to important livestock, and our unique wildlife. Of course, vets and the animal care community care deeply about animals, humanity and the environment. And, climate change is a real and present danger. It's an animal health and welfare issue, with our native wildlife and country’s livestock threatened by floods, bush fire and drought. Thousands of our burrowing animals and livestock have been killed in recent floods, as well as pets displaced with their families. During the 2019–20 bushfires, 3 billion native animals were killed or displaced. Every summer, our own pets suffer from heat stress. On the frontline, and experiencing firsthand the impact of climate change on wildlife, livestock and pets, are veterinary professionals and animal carers.
The Larapinta Trek for Animals is a fantastic way to combine your passion for animals, the environment and humanity, while raising much needed funds for climate action. Animals hold no responsibility for the causes of climate change, yet they feel the consequences most strongly.
Additionally, you will have access to an all-in-one fundraising hub which includes a dedicated fundraising page, a toolkit and planning resources, and as many ideas as you can imagine! If you’d prefer, you can make a one off donation.
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What’s included?
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What’s not included?
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Why get involved?
- Help protect animals from climate change
- Make an impact for the cause you care about
- Discover the Australian outback on one of the country’s best hikes
- See sunrise from the peak of Mount Sonder
- Get up close to iconic Red Centre sites, like Standley Chasm and Ormiston Gorge
Many would have seen the devastating news footage: koalas coming out of the bush to beg for water from fire crews, entire herds of cattle swept away by raging floodwaters. Australia has already lost a species of mammal, the Bramble Cay melomys, to rising sea levels. Unless we all do something now, it’s not going to get any better. By joining Vets for Climate Action on the Larapinta Trek for Animals, people will make an impact for a cause they care about: helping to protect animals from climate change.
Joining the Larapinta Trek for Animals will not only generate much needed funds for climate action, it will also create an opportunity to meet like-minded members of the veterinary and animal care community, and beyond! The experience is open to all who wish to join us.
How the trip will help animals and climate change
By supporting Vets for Climate Action, you’re funding urgent climate action by the veterinary profession and animal care community. We’re striving to halve carbon emissions of veterinary clinics and hospitals by 2030, with the support of our 12-month, online Climate Care Program. This program will work with more than 4,000 clinics, as well as zoos, aquariums, shelters and other animal care facilities to take on a step-by-step process to implement initiatives to achieve emissions reduction goals. There’s also a rural and regional program to empower vets to have meaningful conversations with farmers about emissions reduction. Finally, we plan to launch a national education campaign to engage with all animal lovers to ensure they understand the impacts of climate change on their pets, livestock and wildlife.
The funds raised from this challenge will help us employ another full-time member of staff so we can take our message even further faster. This is the critical decade for climate change action and every decision we make matters, for all time.
Plus, Inspired Adventures is a certified B-Corp and they are mindful of the communities we visit and the wellbeing of our planet. $10 from the trip’s travel costs will support carbon credit programs in partnership with Carbon Neutral to offset the emissions from this trip.
About Vets for Climate Action’s Chair, Dr Jeannet Kessels
An entrepreneur, business consultant and highly respected veterinarian, Dr Kessels graduated from the University of Queensland with First Class Honours in 1986. She is also an alumni of the Lincoln Institute’s Leadership programs. 
Dr Kessels started a small home-based clinic in 1995, which gradually grew into the Greater Springfield Veterinary group, now with 50 staff across three locations; Springfield, Augustine Heights and Edens Crossing. Greater Springfield Veterinary operates on the Patagonia model with 1% of turnover, or 10% of profits, donated to environmental work.
With her daughter, Dr Kessels established and is director of the community program Groodles Australia, which has donated over $580,000 to charity so far.
Since 2018, Jeannet has focused on what she considers the most critical issue of our time: Climate Change. She co-founded Vets for Climate Action in 2019. As a catalyst for meaningful change, Dr Kessels provides a voice for all Australian animals, inspiring the veterinary profession and reaching thousands of Australians through her leadership, writing and speaking engagements.