Park House students rais QAR9700 for worldwide wildlife

Park House English School children took part in an impressive fund-raising campaign to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to mark World Environment Day.

Children raised QR 9,700 and opted to ‘sponsor’ 55 rare and endangered species throughout the WWF sponsorship scheme. The WWF mark each sponsorship by giving a stuffed animal and children welcomed their new class mascots at Park House today.

Science teacher and project coordinator, Gabrielle Patterson, was delighted with not only the response but also the efforts of the children. “The children really got behind this excellent WWF initiative to support rare and endangered species and I was absolutely astounded by the amount raised and therefore the amount of animals that we were able to sponsor. It is a fantastic way to support World Environment Day.”

Headmaster, Dougie Smith, said: “It is very satisfying to see our children take such a responsible approach to being global citizens. Not only is this an excellent programme which children at Park House can be involved with now and in the future, it has also encouraged a lot of thinking about the world in which we live in and our environment. All involved should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

In a first for Qatar, other activities at Park House included a writing competition where children wrote some very creative and moving stories about what it might be like to be an animal on the brink of extinction and the healthy discussions that followed on. The WWF have indicated that they would like to use for promotional material in the future.

The money raised by WWF is used in areas where they deem there is the greatest need for support for endangered animals. Traditionally these efforts have concentrated on habitat protection, but WWF also invests time and resources is educating communities around the world on how to live alongside endangered wildlife and to understand the ecological and economic benefits that can flow from ensuring a balance between humans and wildlife, including through eco-tourism.

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