In the Michaelmas term each child in Form 5 created a clay rhino sculpture as part of their Thursday Afternoon Enrichment Programme at Senior House. The children learned about the risk of extinction to many species of rhino, particularly the Northern White Rhino. The collection of rhino sculptures are now on display outside in the Piazza for all to admire. The children themselves came up with the idea of donating £1 each to The World Wide Fund for Nature as a contribution to help protect these endangered animals and have since raised £169 for the charity.
WWF is the world’s leading independent conservation organisation. Their mission is to create a world where people and wildlife can thrive together and their aim is to find ways to help transform the future for the world’s wildlife, rivers, forests and seas; pushing for a reduction in carbon emissions that will avoid catastrophic climate change; and pressing for measures to help people live sustainably, within the means of our one planet.
Only 5,200 black rhinos and around 20,000 white rhinos remain, both are critically endangered and are affected by the illegal wildlife trade. Poaching of rhinos for their horns and habitat loss are huge threats to both white and black rhinos. Sadly, there are no ‘northern’ white rhinos left in the wild, and only a handful in captivity. For the black rhino the worst period was between 1970 and 1992, when around 96% of them were lost to wide-scale poaching. Poaching of rhinos for rhino horn is still a huge threat, and the poachers have become increasingly better equipped. Raising money for charities such as WWF will make sure these incredibly precious creatures are not lost forever.
Form 5 gained further insight into the plight of the Northern White rhinos when two of their peers gave an educational and informative Assembly about these endangered creatures and why they should be protected. One child remarked, 'My family already has a yearly membership with WWF and we have adopted an animal on the charity's website but, after we had listened to this powerful Assembly, I donated my pocket money to help save the rhinos.'
To donate please follow: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/st-john-s-college-school-cambridge