press space How you can help :) (Not mine I found on internet) Draw Pictures - You can find out which species on the endangered species list live in your area and why they are endangered. Then draw a picture of the animal and the biggest threats to its survival. If you need a picture of the species, you can probably find one at your public library. Send the picture, along with a short letter explaining why you drew it, to your Senator or Representative. Be sure and tell them how you feel about endangered species. Write A Letter - You can write a short letter to your U.S. Senators and Representative, the people who are in charge of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. law that protects endangered species. Write in your own words how you feel about endangered species and when you think it is important to protect them. You can use information on our endangered species web pages for ideas. In your letter, you might select a species that is of particular interest to you and discuss why you feel so strongly about that species. Letters like yours help senators and representatives know how people in the districts they represent feel about endangered species protections. Addresses: To a Representative: To a Senator: The Honorable (name) The Honorable (name) U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510 If your parents do not know the name of your U.S. Senators or Representative, you can call your local library to find out. Make Masks And Costumes - Based on a picture of an endangered species, make a mask or a costume using paper mache, paper bags, construction paper, or whatever you can find around the house or in the art room at school. You can even make it a group project or a game at a party. When you finish, maybe you and your friends can wear your costumes and march in a parade. Be sure to take photographs. Make Puppets - Find photographs from magazines or books of endangered species. From these images, create a puppet that looks like your favorite endangered animal. You can use socks, buttons, glitter, felt, orange juice cans, small bowls, plastic and aluminum wrap, glue, thread and needle, magic markers, pipe cleaners, and other odds and ends to make your puppets. Once you have made your puppet, you can create a story explaining why the species has become endangered. Use your local library and the internet to research why the species is endangered. Using your puppet, tell your story to an audience. Make A Storybook - Select a single, or many, endangered species that interest you. Do research in your local library and on the internet to learn more about the species. Determine where they live and why, what they eat, what eats them, who shares their home, and why they are endangered. Draw pictures to illustrate your story. Share your storybook with others. Personal Reading - Read and learn as much about endangered species as you can. Your local library is probably the best place to begin. You could look in encyclopedias, reference books, picture books, storybooks, magazines, and even cd-roms using a computer. Local Species Research - Research to determine if there are any endangered species in your hometown. Try to find out what other people in your community are doing for these species. Perhaps you can interview them and ask why they are interested, and what they are doing. Tell Others! - Share your new knowledge with others. Tell them about endangered species and explain why they are endangered. Encourage others to learn more about endangered species. Let them know that together, we can all make a difference. Conserve habitats One of the most important ways to help threatened plants and animals survive is to protect their habitats permanently in national parks, nature reserves or wilderness areas. There they can live without too much interference from humans. It is also important to protect habitats outside reserves such as on farms and along roadsides. 1. You can visit a nearby national park or nature reserve. Some national parks have special guided tours and walks for kids. Talk to the rangers to find out whether there are any threatened species and how they are being protected. You and your friends might be able to help the rangers in their conservation work. When you visit a national park, make sure you obey the wildlife code: follow fire regulations; leave your pets at home; leave flowers, birds' eggs, logs and bush rocks where you find them; put your rubbish in a bin or, better still, take it home. 2. If you have friends who live on farms, encourage them to keep patches of bush as wildlife habitats and to leave old trees standing, especially those with hollows suitable for nesting animals. 3. Some areas have groups which look after local bushland or nature reserves. They do this by removing weeds and planting local native species in their place. You could join one of these groups, or even start a new one with your parents and friends. Ask your local parks authority or council for information. By removing rubbish and weeds and replanting with natives you will allow the native bush to gradually regenerate. This will also encourage native animals to return. Control introduced plants and animals Non-native plants and animals are ones that come from outside your local area Some parks and reserves, beaches, bushland and rivers are now infested with invasive plants, and native species often cannot compete with these plants. Many environmental weeds come from people's gardens. Sometimes, the seeds are taken into the bush by the wind or by birds. Do not dump weeds in the bush Plant native plants local to the area rather than introduced plants 4. Ask your parents if you can plant native plants instead of non-native ones in your garden. You don't want seeds from introduced plants escaping into the bush. Native grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees are more likely to attract native birds, butterflies and other insects, and maybe even some threatened species. Many of the animals that people have brought to Australia, particularly foxes and cats, are very good at killing native animals. Cats climb trees or enter burrows to catch their prey. They hunt and kill native birds, as well as other small animals such as possums, bandicoots and lizards. Aquarium fish which have escaped or been released from people's homes have gone into rivers and now cause problems for native fish and frogs. Wild rabbits eat the food of native animals and even live in their burrows. Green kids can make a difference Do not dump pets in the bush 5. If you have a pet that you no longer want, do not dump it. Fish, cats, dogs and other animals can survive and breed. They can end up in the bush or in rivers and feed on or compete with native species. Give the pet to a friend, sell it or take it to the RSPCA. If you have a native pet, contact your local wildlife authority for information on how to care for it. Control cats 6. If you have a cat, make sure it does not catch native birds or other animals. You can do this by attaching three small bells to its collar to warn animals that it is coming, and keep the cat inside as much as possible to stop it from roaming, especially at night. Take the cat to the vet to have it desexed so that it won't have unwanted kittens. 7. If you go fishing, throw back fish that are too small. Also be careful not to lose your nets, lines, hooks and sinkers in the water. Fish and birds can get tangled up in these things and may die because they cannot breathe, move or eat. Many things that we use or make in our lives have an effect on our native plants and animals. Building a large dam so that people in cities can have water, building roads and houses, producing plastics and metals - even growing food - takes up land that was originally habitats for native plants and animals. So we must be very careful not to waste these resources and not to create a lot of rubbish. Cities now have a big problem because people are making more and more rubbish. You can do a lot to help solve this problem. Many things we throw away can be reused or recycled. Reuse or recycle whatever you can 8. At home and at school, you can help sort rubbish into things that can be recycled and things that can't. Many things can be recycled, including steel and aluminium cans, glass bottles and jars, milk bottles, some plastics, paper and cardboard. If you have old books, toys or clothes in good condition that you don't want, you can give them to a charity instead of throwing them away. Make compost 9. About one-third of your rubbish is made up of things that will rot away naturally in the garden - this is called organic or biodegradable waste. Ask your parents to help you make a compost heap where you can throw all your organic waste - fruit and vegetable matter, garden scraps and lawn clippings. When it has rotted down, put it on the garden and it will help plants grow. Join a group There are many community groups working on conservation activities. Join one of these groups and assist with conservation activities. The future Australians are now aware of the problems facing our threatened species. We are aware that we should change the way we do things. We need to recycle, create less rubbish, use less water and not destroy the bush. With help from everyone, Australia's threatened species have a greater chance of survival. For general information about threatened species and threatened ecological communities contact the Department of the Environment and Heritage's Community Information Unit on 1800 803 772 or email ciu.gov.au (By me:)Or make a scratch project like me! I love animals. But humans act like because we are smarter we can trash them! Well I know that that is not true and we need to act now or there will not be a planet to save! (Anyone seen the movie Wall-E?) Just try your best! Ive heard of many kids who have made a big difference and you could be one of those kids! I hope I can too! So lets all work together and SAVE ENDANGERED ANIMALS!
