I was made aware of the plight of orangutans a couple of years go whilst on a wildlife education conference at Melbourne Zoo.
They were inspiring their visitors to act for orangutans with their Palm it Off campaign and during that visit I connected with those beautiful animals and learnt a lot about how I could help.
I’m not perfect and some times I need new inspiration to get me actively helping  a species in need. There’s so many animals to help and so little time.
Help Orangutans
In light of a new campaign to help orangutans, the Bloggers to Borneo campaign in collaboration with Digital Parents and  The Orangutan Project has inspired me to act again and help create change for these animals that are so like us!  This time Miss Possum helped me too.
Just look at those eyes. Â I showed Miss Possum a picture of an Orangutan and she connected with the eyes straight away. Those eyes are almost human. They’re more expressive than most animal’s eyes and although I feel like all animals have a soul, this one feels different. They understand us more, they feel more.
‘During the past decade the orangutan population has decreased by approximately 50 percent in the wild. This is primarily due to human activities including rainforest destruction for palm oil plantations. At present, 80 percent of orangutan habitat has been altered or lost.'(Â (The Orangutan Project, 2013)
If you haven’t heard much about orangutans and their major threat than palm oil plantations are the equivalent of a huge bulldozer destroying thousands of animals lives and homes (many endangered). Palm oil is in a lot of products and we need to be aware of the companies that aren’t making the change to more sustainable practices. Â They need to know that we aren’t happy about what they’re using in their products and how that impacts the environment.
Act for Orangutans
Miss Possum and I decided that we would send a postcard to McDonald’s who apparently are still using palm oil in their frying process. We would love for you to send one to McDonald’s too. I’ve made postcards to download that can be used for any company you know is doing the wrong thing. Â Public pressure can help to stop the destruction of Orangutan habitat.
*note: MotherNatured used to be called Wildlife Fun 4 Kids

Send your postcards to:
The McDonald’s address:
Managing Director
Catriona Noble
McDonald’s Head Office
21-29 Central Ave
THORNLEIGH NSW 2120
Please help act for orangutans
I can’t save the world, I can’t save all animals (I wish I could) and  I don’t want my children to feel they need to save the world either but I do want them to recognize that small changes in their lifestyle can help wildlife and make a big difference. I do want them to understand that feeling sad about an animals destruction achieves nothing  but acting for the animals makes a difference and you feel great doing it.
Please help the Orangutans and join with me to tell businesses that it’s not okay!
Download the postcard set by clicking on the picture below.
Print the postcard pack and then decide on the colouring-in option or the open-ended postcard option. Your child can draw a picture in the box. Stick the postcards onto some recycled cardboard to make it more sturdy.
Other ways you can help Orangutans
- Learn more about palm oil and what products contain it. This Facebook page is great for keeping you updated on who is still using this product despite it palm oil plantations causing habitat destruction.
- Donate to the Bloggers to Borneo Fundraising Drive. All money raised will directly help the endangered orangutan by providing support for a wide range of projects, including habitat protection; rehabilitation projects and orphan care centers.
- Adopt an Orangutan from The Orangutan Project. Just take a look at those cute little faces. You’ll be smitten!
What a wonderful post. There needs to be so much awareness about these adorable creatures. I love this idea and will be getting my niece and nephew to do the postcard. Thank you.
Those eyes are amazing
Thanks for sharing some great information here !
We’ve sent our postcard 🙂
Orangutans are my favourite animal and have been for some time. I have boycotted products (think easter!) in the past but this is the first I’ve heard of McD! Not impressed. Thanks for letting us know and for the gorgeous postcard. We’ll have to send one off!
This is a fantastic idea. I am going to put this in my file of things to do with my first graders this coming school year.
This is such a cool way for kids to take action and for a great cause too.
I love these, and I had no idea! We will boycott palm oil products!
What a truly wonderful idea and I love how you presented a very practical way in which to help. My kindy teacher daughter is now very motivated to include this and other environment/wildlife issues and ways to help into her curriculum on an ongoing basis. Thanks so much for the inspiration to do this.