Truro preschoolers do their part for Australian wildlife
TRURO, N.S. – They’re young, but that’s not stopping students at the Dr. Jane Norman Child Study Centre from making a difference in the world.
Ranging in age from three to five, the youngsters heard about the devastation bushfires have caused to the koalas’ habitat. They’ve adopted four of the animals and sent money to have four eucalyptus trees planted.
“We wanted to help because they don’t have a home anymore,” said Callie Blois.
With help from their parents, they raised money to adopt Hockey Luna, Lion Leo, Oxley Twinkles, and Crescent Head Jimmy through the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
“I like their names,” said Josephine Macisaac, when asked why those koalas were chosen.
Cumberland Colchester MP Lenore Zann recently stopped by the centre to commend the children for their efforts. She told them stories about her childhood in Australia and travelling to Canada by boat. Then, she introduced them to the characters in the Aussie Six book series, written by her father, Paul Zann. She also left three books for the school so teachers can read the entire stories to the youngsters.
“We’ve been doing a lot of things on acts of kindness with the children,” said Stacey Johnson, assistant director at the centre. “They know what’s happening in Australia and they were enthusiastic about doing something to help. Adopting koalas was their idea. They really get it.”
There are 28 children attending the centre and they’ve painted kindness rocks to leave in the community, made cards for veterans at Christmas, and donated to the food bank drive. They regularly make visits to the seniors at Wynn Park.