Children and staff at River Mead School, in Melksham, have responded to the recent bushfire crisis in Australia by fundraising and donating £320 to the Longleat Just Giving collection.
The school said, “Children had been upset by the devastation caused and wanted to do something to help the animals.
“We found out that Longleat had sent two of their animal keepers over to Australia to support the rehabilitation and rescue efforts of Cleland Wildlife Park. Children across the school came up with the idea of an Australian fundraising week.
“The week kicked off with a Great Australia Bake Off competition. Children were invited to make an animal or Australian themed cake to sell and were delighted when Graeme Dick, head of Animal Adventure at Longleat agreed to attend a school assembly and donate some prizes.”
Mrs Feierabend, PSHE lead at River Mead said, “We were so proud of the talented bakers we have in our school. The amount of cakes received was incredible.” Cakes were sold after school.
The school continued, “The second day of fundraising saw some of the teachers face the peril of the ‘I’m a Teacher Get Me Out of Here’ gameshow assembly. Teachers had to face a variety of gruelling challenges, including eating unusual foods and searching for a marble in a box of noodles, jelly or cat food while blindfolded. The losing teacher ended up getting a soaking in the paddling pool (or in the case of the River Mead children, swimming in The Great Barrier Reef!)
“The week ended with a non-school uniform day with an Australian theme and a presentation from Graeme Dick that explained what Longleat has been doing and shared the plans for the future.
“In total the school raised £320.
You can donate to Longleat’s Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Longleat-sup ports-australias-suffering-wildlife.
