For the Love of Orcas – Incredible 9 year old raises over £700 for ORCA by bagging Munros

Olivia Dickson is a very special young woman, who has raised an extraordinary amount of money in support of ORCA by taking on an incredible challenge – to climb 20 of the legendary Munro peaks by April 2024.

In Olivia’s words; “Ever since I was little I’ve loved orcas. I don’t know why but there’s something about them I love. Whenever I do a wildlife presentation in class, I do Orcas. When I practice at home, I break my heart when I come to the slide about Orcas in captivity. I don’t think Orcas should be in captivity, because it’s like saying you should put me in captivity. They don’t deserve it, they are amazing creatures that we can study in our amazing ocean. I hate seeing animals unhappy! I wanted to climb 20 Munros (Scotland's highest mountains) to send money to charity to help save the orcas from captivity and pollution in the ocean.”

Growing up in a keen mountaineering family, Olivia had already climbed a string of Munros, but set herself the target of “bagging” 20 of them by the 30th April. She is currently on 18 and getting set to complete her challenge by climbing the final two.

Anna Bunney, Head of Education at ORCA said “Olivia’s determination to achieve her challenge has been inspiring. Her love of Orcas has been the driving force behind this phenomenal achievement and we are so proud and grateful for all her efforts. We can all take a lot of heart from the fact that many of our younger generation care so passionately about our marine wildlife and environment that they feel motivated like this. Olivia is an inspiration and an Orca superstar.”