Kinderland children band together to save endangered Sunda pangolin

Not all heroes wear capes. For the endangered Sunda pangolin, one of the last surviving native mammals in Singapore, their heroes are 500 children aged 5 to 6 from Kinderland Preschools.

On 27 August 2016 at Singapore Zoo, more than 1,500 children, parents, teachers and staff, pooled in their efforts and sold handmade crafts, home-baked cookies and conducted exciting games and activities at the ‘I Love Pangolins’ Carnival.

A whopping $12,800 was raised and donated to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund to help save the Sunda pangolin and other endangered native wildlife.

Kinderland children made handicrafts and sold them at the ‘I Love Pangolins’ Carnival.

(Photos courtesy of Beanstalk Singapore, ECDA)

Children painting the backdrop for the photo booth.

The community project is part of ECDA’s (Early Childhood Development Agency) ‘Start Small Dream Big’ initiative, which encourages young children to give back to society.

Supported by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), the project was an exciting experiential learning journey for the children to broaden their knowledge about pangolins; it included a meet-and-greet session with Pangolina, a rescued female pangolin at the Singapore Zoo.

Children learned about the pangolins and other endangered animals at the Singapore Zoo.

Ms Rekha Nair, Education Curator of WRS said, “We are very proud of the collaboration with Kinderland. Over 1000 children have become Little Pangolin Ambassadors under the ‘I Love Pangolins’ project, and they are no doubt bright sparks for the future of this critically endangered species and other native wildlife.”

Our Pangolin Ambassadors shared with guests what they learned about conservation of pangolins.

Minister for Social and Family Development, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, who graced the event, was encouraged by the overwhelming response from Kinderland children, parents and teachers to the ‘Start Small, Dream Big’ initiative.

Minister for Social and Family Development, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, was encouraged to see the overwhelming response and families’ active involvement at the event.