Inspiring kids to save Australia’s critters

Australia is one of the world’s most biodiverse hotspots, with more than 80% of its flora and fauna found nowhere else. But tragically, we have the worst mammal extinction rate, and 1800-plus plant and animal species are now threatened due to wild weather and drought. For zoologist Chris Humfrey, protecting Australian animals is a lifelong calling, and he wants to educate and empower kids to help stop the extinction crisis. He thinks young people are the key to saving Australia’s precious wildlife – ‘getting kids involved with nature; immersing in it, understanding it, reading it’. Young wildlife warriors can build up knowledge via junior zookeeper programs, veterinary holiday camps or online ‘wildlife classrooms’, as well as watching nature documentaries, observing wild animals in their own backyard and diving into the pages of Humfrey’s new interactive book, Awesome Australian Animals (New Holland, $19), which showcases fascinating critters in close-up detail as never before! Available at bookstores and online.

WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING NATIVE SPECIES SUCH AS KOALAS, EDUCATION IS THE KEY!