A KEEN walker and cancer survivor has completed an arduous year-long challenge in aid of wildlife.
Nicky Morgan, of Yelverton, completed a 2,024-mile walk last year, matching the number of years, around Dartmoor and her home to support her mental health while she recovers from cancer treatment and to raise money for an African conservation project.
Having raised £2,500 for the sponsored walk, she has already started a new walk for this year – a 2025-mile challenge.
She was raising funds for Musekese Conservation, a group based in Kafue National Park, Zambia – one of the largest wildlife parks in the world.
Nicky was diagnosed in 2019 with stage four non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – incurable, but treatable. In 2022 she was found to have a dangerous tumour on her spine, requiring a six-month course of chemo-immunotherapy. The therapy was effective and she is now in remission and optimistic for the future.
She found that the more challenging the conditions, the more rewarding she found the walk. She walked undaunted through pain and terrible weather and managed to squeeze 100 final miles in the last few weeks – with three weeks to spare.
“It was tough sometimes, especially with the storms with strong winds, driving rain and floods, but then I dig in and find it very rewarding and get a bigger buzz from finishing it than if it’s sunny and warm.”
Nicky’s treatment coincided with redundancy from a stressful corporate job. She said her world ‘imploded;’ at the time. But being away from work helped her cope with chemotherapy The major thing keeping her sane was walking on Dartmoor throughout her treatment.
She got a new job with ethical clothing company Stripe & Stare at Crapstone, but found it tiring adjusting back to fast-paced work after treatment, so turned to walking.
She said: “I found walking outside made me calm and created a positive perspective from my natural surroundings, before the workday began. I realised that I didn’t just want to walk, I needed to for my own mental health. After a suggestion from my hubby ‘Morgan’, I decided to walk 2,024 miles for a purpose – hence my fundraising ‘Musekese2024Challenge’.”
She needed to average about five miles daily – but because she started in May she had to do many more in the summer – getting up at 4.30am and walking six miles before work.
She said: “It’s been tough, and some bits hurt, but I’ve benefited by feeling more positive, pragmatic and calmer. Without my walking I am not sure how I’d be.”
Nicky gave a talk locally on her background and the importance of combining conservation with education and ecotourism. She was born in Zambia where her parents worked. She paints African animals.
Musekese Conservation was co-founded by ecologist and wildlife safari guide Phil Jeffrey, an ex-Tavistock’s Mount Kelly student, to promote eco-tourism to fund nature conservation.
All her sponsorship will help fight habitat loss and poaching of animals in a river-based ecosystem which is under constant threat. More details on the Musekese project here:
