ANIMALS ARE NOT RUBBISH COMPETITION
The thing about writing novels about a heroine who has a gift for saving wild animals is that I spend half the time wishing I could write myself into my own story and borrow Martine’s powers!
Wouldn’t it be amazing to lay your hands on a wounded leopard or a buffalo with a fever and have them feel whole again and free from pain? Wouldn’t it be the most incredible feeling in the world if you could open the cage door of a lion – one who has never known the African sun or the feel of warm grass beneath her paws, only concrete or snow – and watch her run free in the wild?
For years it’s been my dream to get kids across the world thinking about saving wildlife. That’s the inspiration both the Animals are Not Rubbish conservation challenge and the Last Leopard Fund, launched last month by my publishers Orion, in association with international wildlife charity Born Free and Waterstone’s Bookshop. Whoever you are, and wherever you are in the world, we’d love you to get involved. Actually we’re begging you to get involved! At least I am.
When I was growing up in Zimbabwe, conservation was an integral part of our school curriculum. At Hartley Junior School, we had a fantastic teacher called Mr Mitchley who drummed into us the rules of the Bush: Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. All our school projects revolved around conservation. We did projects on soil erosion, water conservation, and how to save plants and wildlife. My dream is to get kids around the world doing the same thing. I believe that a child who loves animals and nature today becomes an adult who takes action tomorrow.
In 2009, the Animals are Not Rubbish challenge, which aims to get kids across the UK making models of endangered animals out of recycled rubbish, is open to all kids in the UK and Ireland. We’re very honored because the models are going to be judged by a panel of celebrities, including Virginia McKenna, who starred in the movie, Born Free, and has devoted her life to saving animals through the charity she helped found, Born Free. We’re also going to be helped by the much-loved British actor, Martin Clunes, and Ruth Wilson, who reads the audio books of The White Giraffe and Dolphin Song. You can download entry forms, get teaching resources and find out all about the incredibly cool prizes at: www.AnimalsareNotRubbish.co.uk
Whether or not you live in the UK or Ireland, we’d absolutely love you to help us raise money for the Last Leopard Fund, which we’ve launched in association with wildlife charity Born Free, to help Rescue, Protect and Rehabilitate endangered animals. Hold cake sales, have sponsored trampoline jumps, or consider having an Animal Day at your school, where your whole class or everyone in your school dresses as an animal. You can read all about the Last Leopard Fund in the post below this one, or you can simply click here to donate. Get involved!
Click here to donate to: www.lastleopardfund.com
July 11th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
nowadays, we are seeing some water shortage and water conservation is even more necessary~::