We are so excited to adopt two endangered Penguins from South Africa! We have named them Waddles & Tiana and we will be checking in with Tamryn, Educator from SANCCOB, to see how they are doing throughout the year! Tiana was found abandoned & poor Waddles is recovering from an injured flipper. We are thankful for the rescue's hard work to save animals, and have talked about how everyone can make a difference! Even though the students are younger, they are able to use their voices to make a difference and work for what they believe in!
During our Skype, we learned that some penguins have come into the animal hospital because they were starving, struggling to find fish in the ocean after "massive boats would come collect it all and leave very little food for penguins and other marine animals to eat". We also learned that some of the penguins were stuck in garbage that people hadn’t thrown away properly, as well as being harmed from oil spills (ruining their feathers and making them sick). There were more than 4 million African Penguins living in Southern Africa, and now, there are no more than 21,000 breeding pairs left in the wild.
Here are some ideas about how to help:
*Reduce: Don't use as much "Stuff!"
*Reuse: Use things more than once before throwing them away.
*Recycle: Remember, we share this planet with billions of people and trillions of animals. It is important to follow recycling rules.
*Stop using straws (they can't be recycled most of the time).
*If you can ever choose between can or plastic bottle, go for the can.
The students have researched more about penguins through differentiated projects and will be utilizing information learned to complete argument papers as well. We are looking forward to keeping in touch with Waddles & Tiana. It feels good to be able to help and make a difference around the world!