The CCF raised almost £60,000 in it’s first year and the team at Chessington are set to make 2012 even bigger and better; aiming to raise even more money for the charity partners it continues to support – World Land Trust, Surrey Wildlife Trust, EAZA and Ape Action Africa.

One of our annual fundraising events is our CCF Evening. Last year’s event proved extremely popular and this year it is set to be even bigger and better! Running from 6pm until dusk on 23rd June 2012, guests will gain entry to the zoo, where you will be able to chat one-to-one with keepers and get up close and personal to a variety of animal during a host of shows and feeds. There will also be a variety of stalls including local trades and crafts. As part of the evening we will be auctioning off a number of exclusive meet and greets with some of Chessington’s fantastic animals, where you can meet your dream animal up close such as our critically endangered Sumatran tigers. Tickets are just £5 each with all proceeds going towards helping protect animals in the wild and are available now on Chessington.com

Supporting the World Land Trust

One of the charities supported by the CCF is the World Land Trust. Using a proportion of the monies raised in 2011, Chessington World of Adventures has recently enabled the purchase of an area of land in Ecuador that is equal in size to that of the Resort in Surrey. Working with the World Land Trust and Nature & Culture International, the land purchase will help to protect 128 acres of the most threatened and bio-diverse rainforest in Ecuador.

This will help to safeguard diverse wildlife in an area where over 80% of the tropical rainforests have already been destroyed, leaving many species globally threatened. These rainforests in South America provide critically important habitats for many rare bird species, as well as a wide variety of other animals such as Jaguars and Howler Monkeys. A number of the species of wildlife being protected are also cared for within the Zoo at Chessington.
One animal that lives within Ecuador but isn’t common to the rainforests is also a popular resident in Chessington, the Andean Condor. Condors, although they prefer rocky scrubland to tropical rainforests, are the national bird of Ecuador, and are on the flag’s coat of arms. They play an important part in the folklore and mythology for the region.

Chessington has a very successful Andean Condor breeding programme, reputed to be one of the best in Europe. In fact, May last year saw the arrival of a new member of the condor family at Chessington when Sumaq – whose name means ‘beautiful’ in Quecha (a language used in South America) – was born to parents Quito and Chester.

Sumaq is the only parent reared condor chick in the UK at present and Quito and Chester have now parent reared two condor chicks together whilst at Chessington. The Andean Condor is a highly endangered species so conservation and breeding of these amazing animals is key to their future.

Case Study: Sumaq the Andean Condor celebrates his first birthday!

Sumaq hatched on 25th May 2011 at Chessington World of Adventures. His name means ‘beautiful’ in Quecha which is a language used within the condors’ natural range in South America. Both the male, Chester, and the female, Quito, took turns to incubate the egg for 55 days. At 6 months old Sumaq was fully grown and as he approaches his first birthday, he is already slightly larger than both his parents.

He still has his juvenile brown feathers but he’ll slowly start to grow his black and white adult feathers over the next year. It takes young condors quite some time to get their adult plumage because they will usually only loose one or two feathers at a time – in the wild this ensures their amazing gliding flight isn’t hampered and they can still fly around for miles to look for food. It could take Sumaq up to two years to go through a ‘full moult’ and replace all his feathers!

Sumaq has a big personality and loves to play with sticks, ropes and also tries to play fight with his parents. He is very much a Daddies boy. He tends to follow Chester everywhere, and can usually be seen sat next to his Dad. They still groom each other too!

Condors will only eat carrion, the carcass of an animal that has already died. Their massive wingspan allows them to fly for hours at a time without really needing to flap their wings, and their feathers are very strong to withstand the pressures they face when in flight. When they see a carcass (often found by looking out for other vultures that a congregating together) they get to indulge in the meat first, other vultures have to wait for them to finish before they try to feed. If the condors are hungry enough they will eat so much they will be unable to fly again for a few hours as they’re too heavy. Their stomach acids are so strong that they can digest food that contains anthrax or botulism bacteria, which would kill off any other animal!

In the wild Andean Condors are threatened purely due to human persecution. They are often killed for sport, or by farmers who mistakenly think they are pests (when actually they help prevent the spread of disease by only eating the carcasses of animals that have already died). Because condors only lay eggs every two years, their population is at risk of declining rapidly as adults are killed off by humans and there aren’t many younger birds to replace the numbers that are being killed.

The government has today been urged to prioritise the sport that saves lives after shocking new statistics show a third of children cannot swim the required 25 metres by the time they leave primary school.

The report released by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and Kellogg’s shows of those children unable to swim, 39% have never been offered school swimming lessons despite it being a statutory element of the National Curriculum.

This means around 200,000 children will leave primary school this summer unable to swim with 75,000 of them never having the opportunity to learn the life-saving, life-enhancing skill .
With drowning the third most common cause of accidental death of children in England and the number of deaths increasing year on year by 35%, the findings have been labelled as “concerning” by the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

In response, the ASA and Kellogg’s will present ‘The 2012 School Swimming Census’ to government today outlining a six point School Swimming Manifesto calling for schools to prioritise swimming lessons so every child has the opportunity to learn to swim irrespective of socio-economic and ethnic background.
It will also outline the need to monitor school swimming as part of Ofsted inspections, prioritise school swimming budgets and improve training for primary school teachers.

The census highlights significant regional disparities in school swimming and water safety attainment as only 26% of children in Middlesbrough could swim the required 25 metres in 2011 compared to 91% in South Northamptonshire, uncovering a postcode lottery in provision.

The research also revealed the role of parents in helping their children learn to swim and discovered that without school swimming many children would miss out completely on the chance to learn as one in six (15%) parents admits they never take their child swimming.

Worryingly, it appears that nearly one in three parents (29%) don’t take their children swimming because they either can’t swim themselves or they do not feel confident enough in their swimming ability to help their child in the pool.

David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA, the governing body for swimming in England that has taught millions of children to swim through its learn to swim programmes, said: “Children love swimming and it’s a great way to start them on the road to a healthy and active lifestyle. Swimming is also the only subject on the national curriculum that can save your life so it’s essential that government, schools and parents join us in taking action and break the cycle before we create a generation of non-swimmers unable to pass on this life-saving skill to their children in the future.”

David Walker, RoSPA’s Leisure Safety Manager, said: “We are concerned to see that so many children are struggling to swim at an acceptable standard. RoSPA believes that a good awareness of water safety and the ability to swim are essential skills, one which everyone should have the opportunity to acquire.”
The Kellogg’s Corporate Citizenship Fund and ASA also announced a funding package of £100,000, which can be used for school swimming projects that will help to increase the number of children learning to swim in the areas that need it most.

Bruce Learner, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Kellogg’s, said: “It’s vital we safeguard the future of school swimming and take action today to ensure that swimming remains the UK’s biggest participatory sport, enjoyed and supported by the whole nation.”

National sunflower campaign encourages children to learn about the environment and growing plants while raising awareness and funds for charity Action Duchenne

Action Duchenne is launching its national campaign, the Seeds of Hope Appeal for the third year running. Seeds of Hope is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 11 years old, with the objective to raise awareness of the life limiting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The appeal, which has been very successful in the last two years with over 3,000 participants last year, will raise funds for the charity, which campaigns to find a cure and viable treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

For a donation of £1 each child receives a pack which contains a range of activities and fund raising ideas, as well as a pack of sunflower seeds with instructions on how to plant and look after their sunflowers. Children are also encouraged to get sponsorship for their sunflowers, with every child raising £10 or more receiving a special Seeds of Hope pencil case. Teachers of each class involved in the project will receive a support pack with ideas and activity sheets for learning in the classroom as well as outdoors in the garden. Worksheets for teachers at Key Stage 1 and 2 give ideas for introducing sunflowers and the Seeds of Hope Appeal into the classroom. They cover planting seeds, watching them grow and learning how they produce more seeds. Ideally the project is run over the summer and autumn terms. Action Duchenne is also giving a series of child friendly talks at schools about the work of the charity.

Designed to both generate funds and stimulate children’s interest in nature and the environment, the project also provides the opportunity for them to engage with their communities outside of school. It includes activities that support the children’s learning – measuring the flowers, counting the seeds, monitoring weather, drawing pictures, recording data and publicising their efforts. The project has been designed to link many subjects of the national curriculum including literacy, numeracy, science, IT and art and design.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a muscle wasting disease that affects boys and very occasionally girls. It affects 1 in 3,500 male births, affects 2,500 people in the UK and 40,000 globally. Action Duchenne is the only national UK charity focused on raising awareness and funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The charity aims to find treatments or a cure for Duchenne by funding research and clinical trials, campaigning to make sure that everyone has access to the best standard of medical care, providing up to date support to families living with Duchenne and also to run a specialist education programmes (one of which received National Lottery Award in 2011).

Nick Catlin CEO of Action Duchenne said; “This is a great way for children to appreciate the wonders of nature. They learn about the environment and growing plants, in a fun and interesting way, while helping those less fortunate than themselves.

“As government grants are cut, charities like ours must find ever more ingenious ways to raise the funds needed to continue our critical work in finding viable treatments and a cure for this devastating disease. Despite finding the gene that causes the condition in the 1980s there is still no cure, although scientists say we are tantalizingly close. Action Duchenne is committed to not only finding a cure, but to raising awareness and improving medical care, which can substantially increase both quality of life and life expectancy. Action Duchenne also provides support to families living with Duchenne and educational programmes.”

All proceeds from the campaign will go towards funding medical research – the ‘Seeds of Hope’ for those living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Entrants can register for the competition on the Action Duchenne website from March, www.actionduchenne.org (£1 per participant) to receive their individual pack, containing full instructions, a pack of seeds, Action Duchenne stickers and a sponsorship form.

To take part in the Action Duchenne Seeds of Hope campaign, please go to www.actionduchenne.org and complete the registration form

Child Neglect is a three-module learning programme which is suitable for anyone, in any organisation, who has a basic understanding of child protection. It explores neglect and how it can harm babies, children and young people. It also describes the reasons why children and young people may be neglected and looks at how parental ability and a wide range of different circumstances can all contribute to neglect. Signs and indicators of neglect are given for the key stages of development and finally, the third module focuses on what you should do if you are worried about a child. There is a helpful list to use when seeking advice or making a referral and it concludes with signposts to nation-specific definitions, guidance documents and common assessment frameworks.

Child Sexual Abuse is a four-module programme that is for anyone who works in an organisational setting, including those with responsibility for recruitment. It contains facts about sexual abuse and those who may pose a sexual threat to children. It also gives guidance on how you can create a culture of safety for children within your organisation and there are practical steps to help you promote vigilance amongst staff members. It also contains pointers to good practice in the recruitment and vetting of new staff.

Both programmes cost just £26.00 + VAT for the online version (including questionnaires and downloadable certificates) and £27.50 + VAT for the paper-based format (inc. questionnaires and paper certificates).

For further information or to purchase a programme in either format, please visit www.educare.co.uk. For further information about the NSPCC, please visit www.nspcc.org.uk/inform  .