A CONISTON teenager is frantically fundraising for an environmental project that will see her leave behind the Lakeland fells for the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

Barrow sixth-form pupil Helen Russell raised £450 by staging her own one-woman triathlon around Coniston Water.

Canoeing, cycling 15-miles and running five miles, Helen completed the course in 2hrs 35 minutes and, despite the hard work and sore legs, she said the sporting challenge had gone well.

The 17-year-old is raising funds for her trip to Madagascar next July where she will help carry out conservation work on the coral reefs for three months as a voluntary research assistant for a Frontier project.

Miss Russell, who caught the conservation bug while on an expedition in Morocco with her former school, hopes the trip will give her inspiration for her future goals.

"I went on an expedition to study footpath erosion in Morocco with John Ruskin School and it got me interested in conservation work.

I saw an advert for the Frontier project in Madagascar at college and thought it was something I would really enjoy.

"I am now looking forward to seeing the coral reefs and working on them and I hope it will help me decide what to do with my future."

While recording sightings of dolphins, whales and turtles in the exotic waters, Miss Russell, who is in the final year of her A-level studies in Biology, Geography and Sports Studies, will take a BTEC in Tropical Habitat Conservation.

The motivated teenager has more fundraisers in the pipeline and is looking for generous South Lakeland sponsors to come forward and support her in reaching her target of £3,500 which will help pay for travel, scuba diving lessons and equipment.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Miss Russell should call 015394-41500.