Creative kids take action for animals
‘‘Even kids can make a difference.’’
A group of young Wellingtonians, each with a love of animals, are using their passion to help raise money for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Raya Tietjens Hotter, Arabella Tries and Lilly Athfield, all age 12, have created their own conservation-themed magazine, Sparkler, featuring 30 pages of unique, animal-related content.
It started as a school project at Raroa Intermediate, in Johnsonville.
But the girls decided to keep working on it through their summer holidays and raise as much money as possible for WWF.
‘‘We thought it was a really good charity, which was doing a good job helping the environment and we knew they did lots of stuff in New Zealand,’’ Raya says.
‘‘Wildlife is in danger with many species on the absolute brink of extinction and many more are about to be.
‘‘Luckily, there are some people and organisations that take action such as WWF.’’
So far, the girls have raised $60 from magazine sales, with 100 per cent given to the Wellingtonbased wildlife charity.
It’s just a drop in the bucket, but it’s one that WWF New Zealand chief executive Livia Esterhazy says makes all the difference.
‘‘Every dollar counts and is used towards helping with conservation in New Zealand, so this money will be used in our work with Maui dolphins and with sustainable fisheries.
‘‘Knowing that there are people out there doing some good is so important because we know we’re not on our own.’’
Esterhazy, who sat down with the trio last week, was impressed by their dedication and the professional-looking title they ended up producing.
‘‘It fed us with a lot of positive energy to keep cracking on.
‘‘It was a huge lift for the team to have them here.
‘‘WWF is 18 people who are very passionate but we can’t change the world and New Zea- land all on our own so we need a lot more people doing things like this.’’
Putting together the magazine, which features photos of pets, drawings and tales of their classmates’ embarrassing moments, wasn’t always easy with the three girls spending a lot of time researching and discussing potential story ideas.
‘‘We wrote down a big list of stuff we wanted to do and just got started,’’ Arabella says.
They also asked friends and family for ideas and pictures to complement their own ideas.
‘‘We hope our story inspires [others] to make a difference and help the world in their own way. Even kids can make a difference,’’ Raya says. ‘‘I thinkWWFis a very good charity and everyone should donate some money to it.’’