What started as a class discussion quickly turned into a call to action for Selina Emerson’s first-grade class at Dresden Elementary.
The class was looking at a world map and saw Australia, this lead to a student sharing what they saw on the news about a big fire.
Over 24.7 million acres have been affected so far by the brushfires which began in late July making this the worst wildfire Australia has witnessed in decades. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more than an estimated 1.25 billion animals have been killed including koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, potoroos, cockatoos, and honeyeaters. Of course, it is too early to know the full effect the fires have made on the continent’s inhabitants.
It was not long before the entire class engaged in a discussion about the tragedy. That discussion turned into a desire to help the koalas and other animals. Emerson went to the WWF website and saw that they were accepting donations to help the wildlife in Australia and rebuild their habitats once the fires are fully extinguished.
The class was eager to find ways to gather enough money to make a donation. Their first goal was $50.00 which would plant 10,000 eucalyptus trees for koalas. As a class, they discussed ways to get others involved. The students took action making posters, speaking about the fundraiser during morning announcements and talking to friends and other people about their plans to help the koalas.
“They get so excited when they see someone reading their posters in the hallways. Many students in our school have complimented them and their faces beam with pride,” explained Emerson.
As their enthusiasm grew so did their ideas. The class asked the school principal if they could ask for donations. It was decided that a hat day with a minimum $1 donation would take place on January 17th. The new goal was $500.00 since there are about 500 students at Dresden Elementary.
It was not long before other classes were also making posters and helping to spread the word. Students were making posters and signs at home and talking to their parents about the devastation in Australia. Just like with their classmates, their passion to help inspired many parents to take the conversation further by doing more research and having discussions at home. One family made a video and set up a link for donations which lead to other parents sharing the link and making their own videos. At the moment the amount of out-of-school donations collected is $1,640.00. The class hopes to reach their new goal of $2,000 after Friday’s hat day fundraiser at the school. If they reach their goal an amazing total of 400,000 trees will be able to be planted!
“I asked them how they felt about all of the money they raised and they said they felt happy and proud,” said Emerson.
Emerson added, “It is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had as a teacher. From the very beginning, I knew this was going to be something special. I saw immediate passion in their eyes and the way they jumped right into action with ideas, discussions, and excitement to learn more was amazing. I literally sat back and just watched them thinking these are the leaders of tomorrow! Some students were reading books online about Koalas, others were making posters, some were just chatting about information we had discussed, every single child was engaged in some way. My heart was so full of love and pride!”
The students want to say a “very big THANK YOU” to everyone.
“This has truly shown the children that anything is possible and that even as a child they can do really big and important things!,” said Emerson
Anyone wanting to make a donation may contact the Dresden Elementary School or if you would like to make a donation online you can do so through Facebook by following this link.
