We know that many of our followers are keen conservationists whose care and love of the planet and all things on it most likely rubs off on everyone around them – little people especially so. For those of you who would like more help with ideas on how to nurture the innate love for animals children have – this blog is for you.

If you have children or you’re around them a lot, you will already know they are naturally curious and eager to explore their own and new environments. By exposing them to the world around them, different ecosystems and cultures, we can nurture a love of nature in our youngest members of society.

In educational settings, outdoor learning offers a stimulating and engaging approach to learning. We are born to see connections with nature and other forms of life and being outdoors in nature has been proven to improve mental health and wellbeing.

We take children to the park and the beach because we know it is good for them, they get to run around in fresh air, they exercise and they explore their environment – this is a huge opportunity to simultanuously teach them to value and respect the living environment surrounding them.

At home, we might have pets we love dearly and consider them to be part of the family. What about wildlife? This love of pets can encourage the same love of wildlife in children and lead them to respect and care for all creatures great and small.

Ways to inspire budding conservationists

Spend time outdoors: We can spend more time outside, pointing out the bugs, birds, fish and any other animals that we might see. We can teach children to identify the different animals and trees around us – and most will LOVE the opportunity to learn because it’s fun and doesn’t feel like learning.

Take a koala tour: If you’re living locally, we operate koala tours, your little ones can come and visit and catch a glimpse of our resident koalas. You could take your child to a farm or sanctuary that mimics, as closely as possible, how animals would live in their natural environment. Make sure to do your research about where the animals are kept, how they are treated, where they come from and if they are there for the entire lifespan. Some zoos and aquariums keep animals in unnatural habitats and we don’t want to perpetuate this type of restrictive captivity for wild animals. We want to encourage respect for animals and their right to live autonomously.

Encourage imaginative play: Children naturally love imaginative games and role play featuring animals and might even want to set up their own imagined koala or wildlife hospital. A few choice quality toys will suffice – again we try to encourage sustainability as much as possible. Nana Huchy have beautifully made Australian animals including the koala – their campaign helped raise $2,000 over Christmas 2023.

Make your backyard wildlife friendly: Where do you live and what animals might wander into your backyard? If you live locally, we encourage you to create a koala-friendly backyard and get the children involved. If birds visit your garden, you could make a birdfeeder and birdbath, some neighbourhoods have built insect hotels that provide shelter for insects – build your own or seek one out! Read more about creating a koala-friendly backyard here.

Read books about animals: Children love books and love animals – bingo! There are some wonderful animal-friendly books to teach our youngest children about animals and how we can respect them. Ask children questions that encourage association and empathy – like: ‘what do you think it is like to be a koala?’

Watch nature shows and wildlife documentaries together: there are family-friendly TV shows and wildlife documentaries that we can watch together with our children. Some feature children and highlight their compassion and emotional connection to animals. Most are wholesome viewing with themes of empathy and curiosity that can prompt lots of conversations about animals and how we can protect them – but of course read the reviews first! Remember we are teaching children about conservation long-term so if the show has animals in captivity – that’s an unnatural habitat. If the show features humans who are always holding and cuddling wild animals that too is an unnatural environment. Animals like koalas have not adapted to be around humans. Studies show that koalas for example, generally find it stressful to be around humans and a hands-off approach is crucial to their survival.

Encourage them to raise money for wildlife: did you ever fundraise as a child? Do you fundraise now? We can teach children about being responsive to the world around them and support organisations that protect animals and the environment by fundraising. Children can really feel good about giving and making a difference, it is a wonderful learning opportunity too!

Volunteer with Friends of the Koala: your child can see how you care about the world around you and our beautiful koalas.

When you teach children about nature and wildlife – a whole new world of wonder could open up for them and teaches stewardship of our planet and all living things on it – this is conservationism.

Take Action

If this blog has inspired you in any way – that is amazing! If you would like more help at your school or business to create more awareness about the issues that koalas face, we would be delighted – please let us know your ideas! Or maybe your child would be keen to adopt a koala?

Adopt a koala

Adopting a koala is a fun and impactful way to protect and preserve the species and makes the perfect gift for the animal lover in your life. The symbolic adoption of a koala – also makes a great educational tool for the little person in your life or in a classroom setting – children just love the idea of adopting a koala and learning all about them. We have a new girl on the block, Polar Star, and she is now available for adoption! Aw we love this special girl! Please visit our Koala Adoption Program.

Book a tour with us here – Koala Tours.

Volunteer – every volunteer makes a difference, apply now and help us save koalas!

Fundraise: there are lots of ways that children can fundraise for koalas, some children even ask friends to make a donation to Friends of the Koala for birthdays instead of receiving toys. This is an incredibly selfless act and we understand that not all children can do this or would want to. Organising raffles, participating in fun runs, bake sales, face painting, dance-a-thons or anything they can think of! If you would like to spread word of their fundraising efforts, you can find help for fundraising online here.

Recycle like Riley with TOMRA’s Return and Earn scheme – this is a local initiative but there could be other initiatives where you live.

Another child-friendly favourite is of course Joey Buddies, which is a subscription based program, where children learn all about our youngest koalas – joeys and costs just $5 per month.

We also have a wonderful kids corner on our website, where you will find free koala activities, koala printables and cute koala colouring pages!