Students in Mrs. Harrison’s third grade class at Pashley Elementary School will 
soon be studying Australia. Given the recent devastating fires in Australia, Harrison decided to use these current events to teach her students about the effects the fires are having on the land, the people, and the wildlife. The students also asked questions about things they were hearing, such as koala bears becoming extinct as a result of the fires. This in turn led to a deeper conversation about what could the students in Harrison’s class could do to help Australia.
“I was so moved by the students’ compassion and concern, said Harrison. “This is a wonderful group of kids and I believe that they can do anything they set their minds to.”
With Mrs. Harrison’s assistant, the students researched ways to help. Relying on reputable sources, they found links to four different charities on the CBS News Wildlife Help webpage. They worked together to review each charity’s website to learn how the donated funds will be used to help Australia. Because everyone had a different charity in mind, the students agreed the best way to choose would be with a classroom vote.
The highest vote was for WIRES Wildlife (NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service), which is the largest wildlife rescue & rehabilitation charity in Australia. It is a non-profit organization providing rescue and rehabilitation for all native Australian fauna for more than 30 years. All animal rescuers and carers are volunteers. It is funded by public donations and operates throughout the most populous Australian state, New South Wales.
Donations are being accepted here: https://www.wires.org.au/donate/online
Anyone who does donate, please let Mrs. Harrison know. She will keep your name anonymous, but would like show the class the difference that is being made for future generations.