89-Year-Old Adventurer Rows for Rainforest Revival!

Quick Smiles:

• 89-year-old Robin Hanbury-Tenison rows 22 miles to support rainforest restoration.
• His efforts raised over £64,000 for the Thousand Year Trust.
• The funds will help create the UK’s first Rainforest Research Station and Community Hub.

This past May, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, an 89-year-old adventurer, marked his birthday with a significant undertaking: rowing 22 miles along Cornwall’s River Tamar.

His mission was to gather funds for the Thousand Year Trust, aiming to raise £200,000 to revitalize Britain’s ancient rainforests.

Although he didn’t reach his full target, Hanbury-Tenison managed to collect £64,030 from nearly 500 supporters through his fundraising efforts.

The charity described the £50,000 milestone as “a game changer,” and Hanbury-Tenison himself felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

Reflecting on his past, he shared, “Thanks to training, I was pleased just to get out and do alright. I hope I’ll raise quite a lot of money for a cause close to a lot of people’s hearts.”

His adventurous spirit is long-standing; in 1958, he became the first to traverse South America from east to west.

Later, he crossed the continent from north to south, solidifying his reputation as an explorer.

Over the years, his journeys have significantly contributed to sustainability and biodiversity research, including leading a major scientific expedition to Borneo.

The preservation of Atlantic temperate rainforest is now his primary passion, a habitat he purchased a fragment of in 1960 on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

This piece of land inspired the creation of the Thousand Year Trust, founded by his son, Merlin.

The family has since worked to rewild their land, planting 100,000 trees and reintroducing grazing animals.

The Thousand Year Trust emphasizes the importance of this ecosystem: “Over the last few thousand years, we have slowly and steadily deforested this ecosystem until now less than 1% remains. The time to reverse that destruction is now.”

The funds raised by Hanbury-Tenison’s rowing challenge will help establish the UK’s inaugural Rainforest Research Station and Community Hub.

“There are hundreds of research stations dedicated to studying tropical rainforests worldwide, yet not a single one exists for Europe’s temperate rainforests,” his fundraising page states.

Supporting these efforts, a local university, which honored Hanbury-Tenison with an honorary doctorate in 2012, played a vital role.

Their staff and students offered logistical and medical support, with a creative writing student documenting the journey for her academic portfolio.

A psychology lecturer at the university remarked, “It truly captures all fields, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary work to achieve a goal.”

As Hanbury-Tenison continues to inspire, he advises, “A lot of people my age stop trying, but if there is a bit of you that still works, don’t give up.”

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