Wild for Wildlife!

manatee.ap.jpg As the title of a recent news report on CNN suggests, "Clever manatees happy, not dumb." Maybe that’s what the folks at the World Wildlife Fund and Doubletree Hotels were thinking when they decided to include them as one of ten possible endangered species that schoolchildren will be able to “adopt” as part of a campaign they’ve titled "Wild for Wildlife". Essentially, the hotel chain lays out the cash so that 1000 animals can be symbolically “adopted” through WWF on behalf of the schools… Kids then choose which of the ten endangered species their class will adopt, and engage in both fun activities and serious research to learn more about the species plight in general and what they can do to help…

Both Doubletree and WWF will also be bringing animals into these kids’ classrooms through so-called “Zoo to You” programs by working closely with local zoos and wildlife parks across the country... As anyone who has worked with kids and wildlife can attest, live animals are an incredibly effective way to help reach children with the idea of becoming more environmentally friendly. Hopefully the 10,000 kids expected to go through the program this fall will be inspired to take better care of the planet as a result...