Primary pupils chip in for Serendip campaign

LARA pupils have joined in a campaign to retain native wildlife exhibits at Serendip Sanctuary by selling hand-painted rock art to their school friends.

Lara Primary School pupil India, 12, spent a school term selling rock monsters – small, colourful rocks with painted faces – to students for $2 each.

Then fundraising initiative eventually raised $227 for Lara Care Group’s (LCG) Save Serendip campaign.

India’s mum Sonia Trainor said the donation idea had come after her daughter heard about the plan to remove captive animals from Serendip Sanctuary.

“She’s always been very interested in animals. She’s no doubt going to be a vet or involved in some sort of animal rescuing, she loves to learn about them.

“Her friend was already painting these rocks, which was something that she liked to do too.

“They decided ‘Why don’t they sell them?’ Indi was really interested in donating the money to somewhere like a local vet somewhere like that.

“Then we found out that some of the animals are being taken away and Indi was pretty upset, so that’s when she chose Serendip.

“She just wants to do everything she can to try and get the animals back.”

LCG been raising awareness in the community about their campaign in recent weeks.

It has set up signs near busy roads and set up information desks at local supermarkets on weekends to invite more discussion about the issue.

The You Yangs Precinct Master Plan, which covers Serendip Sanctuary, has proposed ending captive breeding programs that have been a fixture of the attraction for decades.

Exhibits were quietly removed from Serendip last year, leading to local residents and the City of Greater Geelong to ask questions of state government management authorities.

Locals have pushed back against this plan, as they believe captive exhibits have underpinned the long-term educational and tourism value of the sanctuary.

LCG is one of several local organisations sitting on a community reference group guiding implementation of the masterplan, which has $11 million of backing from the state government.