2 days ago
Aussie kid's clever driveway idea raises $1,600 for critical cause
For most Aussie kids, the summer school holidays are filled with neighbourhood bike rides, video games and long afternoons at the beach building sand castles. But for 10-year-old Zara, there are more important matters at hand.
For the past three years, the Melbourne schoolgirl has spent her free time selling cupcakes and lollies at a stall at the end of her driveway, raising an incredible $1,600 for a good cause roughly 2,500km away— the Great Barrier Reef.
'When I was eight-years-old, I was listening to the radio and I heard one of the people on there saying that the Great Barrier Reef was going on the endangered list. So I wanted to do something to help it,' Zara told Yahoo News Australia.
'So I got inspired by my next door neighbour who was selling rosemary on her driveway, and I thought I could set up a little store my driveway with some cupcakes, cookies and home-baked goods to raise money, and then I donate it to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.'
Zara, who snorkelled in the reef when visiting the popular tourist destination with her family last year, said she was fascinated by the coral and 'really pretty' marine life, especially the turtles.
'All the unique wildlife there is and how big it is and how just… There's so many mysteries and discoveries to still be made,' she told Yahoo when asked what she loves most about one of the seven wonders of the world.
The 10-year-old has hosted four stalls so far with the help of her parents, little brother and some friends. Her family bake the treats together, but her dad is particularly proud of his 'Taylor Swift chai sugar cookies'.
'They are very yummy,' Zara, who has since added homemade colouring books and second-hand toys to the selection of goodies, said.
'I made pamphlets and I put them in letter boxes around my community. And we sent out a message on our some of our WhatsApp groups, and then we got quite a few [customers],' she told Yahoo.
While she has no set figure in mind, the schoolgirl said she wants to keep raising money for conservation efforts so everyone can continue to enjoy the iconic reef, which has suffered six mass coral bleaching events in the past decade.
Zara's mum, Vida, told Yahoo she is 'extremely proud' of her daughter's determination. 'It was all her own initiatives, and sometimes it was a lot of work, but when we saw the turnout from the community and the support… people were really, really generous, especially when they saw that it wasn't just for pocket money, it was towards a cause. It's really been quite inspiring to watch.'
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Last year, a report conducted by the Federal Government's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority found it had suffered "the worst summer on record", enduring cyclones, severe flooding, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and coral bleaching.
In May, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre urged the Australian and Queensland governments to do more to protect the reef, which it said could be considered for inclusion on its 'In Danger' list next year.
'For the first time UNESCO has requested Australia develop plans to mitigate impacts on the Reef during and after extreme weather events,' Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) Great Barrier Reef campaigner Simon Miller said at the time.
'We must treat events such as mass coral bleaching, cyclones and floods with the severity they deserve. We need an emergency response plan that responds to these events in real time, ensuring that key reefs are given the utmost protection to give them the best chance of surviving into the future.'
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