World Giraffe Day Wheresoever You Are
Giraffe face extinction. For the longest day of year, we celebrate the longest (tallest) living creature: giraffe.
I have written several children’s books on giraffe and a portion of the sale profits go to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to help in their effort to save giraffe. This year, they/we hope to raise enough dollars to install 250 Twiga (Swahili for giraffe) trackers on giraffe (no small task getting these solar powered small devices on the occicones of giraffe).
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Today, I read from my books and did a series of activities with kids on an Air Force base in Okinawa. That is important for several reasons:
- Reading matters wherever you are on this earth. It builds imagination and word fluency and promotes brain development. We did giraffe tongue twisters: say twiga tracker five times;
- Our military children need us to welcome them and encourage them as their parent or parents work to help protect our collective freedom. These kids move frequently and that is, whatever the benefits If seeing different cultures, not easy.
- Our best hope for saving giraffe and our planet is to educate our children. We want them to inherit a better earth, and we need to give them the knowledge and tools to save the environment (which we have damaged). Saving giraffe is one piece of this.
So celebrate the giraffetoday especially. Laud their many amazing features. Purple tongues, neck valve system, amazing strength. And teach our children that giraffe and the earth matter.
Happy World Giraffe Day — and given my being in Okinawa, I get to celebrate with time change for more than the usual 24 hours….how cool is that?
