Wild night in aid of wildlife...

Party animals flocked to Scamblesby on Saturday to hear the funkadelic heavy metal music of Louth rockers Astral Soup, indie groovers Deluge, and a group of top DJs, at a benefit gig held in aid of ecological charity Operation Wallacea.

Deluge played to an appreciative audience, followed by my personal favourites Astral Soup. Their hard-edged sound was set off by Andy Neal's smooth vocals.

Somehow, their music managed to bypass my ears and go straight to the button in my head marked "groove".

The DJs - Goodfella, Paul Hardcastle, Andrew Swallow, 5-HT, Chris Stephenson and Jonny Neal - had people dancing into the early hours with a mixture of breakbeat, hip-hop and techno.

All the acts agreed to appear free of charge for the event, which raised £100 for Operation Wallacea's research projects and expeditions to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Gemma Sanderson, a volunteer for the charity, is trying to raise enough money to fund a four week research project into the opportunities for eco-tourism in south-east Sulawesi, one of the islands in the Wallacea region.

Gemma, 21, has recently graduated from Liverpool University with a degree in zoology. She must raise the cost of her flight, plus £1,650, in order to be able to join the expedition later this year.

She will be working closely with the local people in an attempt to find ways of reducing the harmful effect of tourism on the environment.

Having already visited Tanzania, she is undaunted by the culture shock she will be facing.

Gemma plans to go on to Australia, and hopes to secure another voluntary post whilst she is out there. She will be seeing in the millenium in Sydney.

Operation Wallacea began in 1995 with the aim of helping to survey the rainforests and coral reefs of south-east Sulawesi. They have succeeded in having the seas around the archipelago designated a marine national park.

Many of the surveys have found species new to science. However, the wildlife of the region is threatened by tourism, although it supports the local economy.