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For the fourth year, one hotel company is stepping up to the task by helping kids take a more active role in protecting endangered animals. Doubletree Hotels, with help from the World Wildlife Fund, is taking elementary school students in the U.S. and Canada on an educational adventure that will help them save a life-wildlife, that is-in the process.
The education initiative is an extension of the hotel's Teaching Kids to CARE program, a community outreach initiative that pairs hotel properties with local elementary schools and youth groups to educate and empower children to make a difference in their community, state, country and even the world. This fall, Teaching Kids to CARE volunteers will help children learn how they can save endangered animals through environmental understanding and conservation. Thousands of students nationwide will symbolically adopt more than 1,000 endangered animals.
For those parents and mentors wanting to engage their kids, nieces, nephews or grandkids in raising awareness about endangered animals, here are a few tips:
1. Adopt an Endangered Animal-Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund allow you to "adopt" an endangered animal of your choice. Celebrate your family's contribution to wildlife conservation by proudly displaying your symbolic adoption certificate in your home!
2. ABC of Endangered Species-Work with your children to create an ABC Book of Endangered Animals to be shared with family and friends. Ask your children to choose one endangered animal for every letter of the alphabet (assist them in their research by consulting various educational resources) and draw a picture to match. Compile the pages into a booklet and encourage your kids to showcase their creation and knowledge of endangered animals to classmates, teachers and even elected officials.
3. The Zoo and You-Take your children on a field trip to a zoo. Talk to a zookeeper to find out what steps the zoo is taking to protect endangered wildlife and how you and your kids can contribute to the conservation efforts.
4. Become an Endangered Ranger-Endangered animals don't just exist in faraway forests and jungles-some may exist in your own backyard. Have your children pledge to become "Endangered Rangers," the ultimate protectors of wildlife, and commemorate their commitment with an official pledge certificate and badge that you and your children create together. Encourage your children to care for endangered animals and their natural habitats in your community by picking up litter and planting flowers and trees indigenous to the area.
5. On the Prowl for Endangered Animals-To help your kids gain an understanding of the importance of protecting endangered wildlife, try this simple exercise in your home: First, hide 100 dried beans around the room while your children are outside. When they come back in, ask your kids to hunt for the beans. After a few minutes of hunting, count and see how many beans were found (they likely won't find them all). Repeat the hunt two more times and count each of the results. Discuss with your children how each time they looked for beans, they became harder to find as even fewer remained around the room. The same is true with some animals on Earth. Animals that are increasingly difficult to find in the wild are endangered animals.
Remember, "endangered" means there's still time. If we encourage our children to think locally and act globally, we can collectively stamp out extinction. A small effort from kids today may mean a brighter, greener future for our planet's endangered animals.
To learn more about how to protect endangered animals and how you can make a
difference, visit the Teaching Kids to CARE Web site at www.doubletree.com/
teachingkidstocare. A fascinating program helps youngsters learn about
endangered animals and how to protect them.
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