A group of 4-year-old kindergarten children from NIDO in Montrose have been on a wonderful inquiry journey, exploring the fascinating world of penguins. It all began with an interest in Arctic animals and reading the book ‘Parcel for Penguin’, which sparked curiosity and excitement about little penguins.

To follow this interest, the educators reached out to the Phillip Island Penguin team to ask how they could send a parcel to the penguins. The children and the NIDO Montrose Community were warmly invited to be part of the Penguin Foundation’s ‘Knits for Nature’ initiative. The Penguin Foundation raises vital funds through the sale of plush penguin toys dressed in bespoke knitted jumpers, generously sent in by crafters from all over the world.

This led the kindergarten to discover the book ‘Flipper and Finnegan’ — a heartwarming true story about how knitted jumpers helped save Phillip Island’s little penguins after an oil spill endangered their colony. NIDO educator, Linda, knitted 19 jumpers and sent them off, along with a floor book with loads of drawings, notes, and special creations from their kinder children.

Inspired by this, the children came up with the idea to adopt a penguin through the Penguin Foundation. They organised a bake sale to raise the necessary funds. All money raised went to supporting and caring for injured little penguins — a cause that the children have become truly passionate about. As a community they raised an impressive amount of $752.00. This resulted the incredibly generous donation of $100 x 7 to adopt 7 different penguins - Penguin, Mac and Cheese, and Sally (named by the children!) The group spent the remainer of the raised funds from the bake sale on a plush Penguin to keep in their learning environment and named him Pesto.

Many NIDO families also got knitting and some have even made the trip to Phillip Island to visit their penguin friends and explore the Nature Parks firsthand. They have loved every minute of their experience and it has been wonderful to see how engaged the children and their families have become.

A few children shared their thoughts after visiting Phillip Island Nature Parks:

“I went to Phillip Island, and I got a penguin. I named him Tom. I watched the penguins run and I watched the penguins do a dance.”

“My poppy and me watched the penguins walk and we liked the little ones the best because they are so cute.”

Another child was so excited to share with his peers and educators that he saw the very jumper his nanna had knitted on display when he visited Phillip Island.

On behalf of the little penguins and all the other wildlife that call Phillip Island home, we wholeheartedly thank the NIDO Montrose Community, children and educators for choosing the Penguin Foundation as the lucky recipient of your fundraising efforts.

Gifts like these make a truly lasting impact on the conservation and research projects that help us understand and create safe havens for these important and iconic Australian species into the future.

If you or your organisation would like to create your very own fundraiser to support the Penguin Foundation, we are keen to hear from you via our community fundraising contact form.