
Partnership Lets Children Choose
which Conservation Projects to
Support
An African lioness rounds up her
wayward cubs and takes a long
drink from a pool of water to
restore her energy on the hot,
dusty savannah.
In another part of the world, a
polar bear
navigates an ice floe in search
of something to eat.
These aren’t scenes that we
normally get to witness, but a
new collaboration between
Conservation International and
Kango that is letting kids get
an up-close glimpse at the lives
of threatened species in part by
playing video games like Lion
Cub Rescue and Polar Passage.
These games – and many others –
can be found on the
Tales 4 Tomorrow™ website
that is home to an online world
that educates children about
threatened animals, and what
they need to thrive and survive.
CI and Kango are also partnering
on a new line of plush toys that
come with access to the T4T
website, which uses games,
videos and virtual animal
habitats to engage kids in a fun
and informative way about
conservation.
The partnership takes kids
beyond just video games by
empowering them to choose one of
four CI Endangered
species
programs to which 5% of the
proceeds of their sale will be
donated.
The four projects that kids will
choose to support through CI
include:
·
Raise the awareness of
conserving the Big-Eyed Tree
Frog habitat within the Eastern
Arc Mountains of Tanzania
·
Maintaining and restoring tiger
and Indian rhino habitat in
India's North Bank including
important linkages between
smaller reserves
·
Helping the International Tiger
Coalition alliance to secure a
long-term future for wild tigers
by stopping trade in tiger parts
and products
The toys themselves are made in
an environmentally conscious
manner, with the outer cover
made from soy and cotton, and
product tags made from recycled
paper.
Each plush toy’s tag comes with
the animal’s name and
information about its
conservation status. For
example, the Bolson tortoise
named Che Che is listed as
Vulnerable. By playing the games
on the site, kids earn “habitokens”
to create a virtual habitat for
their new friend. They can keep
Che Che happy by filling his
habitat with lots of plants and
flowers to eat – and even
schedule times for him to
exercise and to go to sleep.

