Saving Sun Bears with sustainability

In its fourth year, the Sun Bear Children’s Festival will continue to celebrate children’s love for animals and their passion to protect wildlife and their habitats.

The festival is a fun, family-friendly and educational day featuring animal games, activities, inspirational talks, stalls, young musicians, food and an endangered wildlife parade on November 12. It’s the same day as the Torquay Festival (see other story this page), so people with an interest in conservation can attend both events to do their bit for the planet this weekend.

Noah Dingle, 9, founder of the Sun Bear Children’s Festival, has been urging people to stop eating products that contain palm oil to help save sun bears, pygmy elephants, orangutans and other wildlife.

Before the festival has taken place this year, there have been some great successes with local businesses.

BuzzTech Torquay had been unaware of the devastating effects of coltan mining until told the by the Sun Bear team.

Coltan is a mineral found in mobile phones, threatening the lives of African Gorillas and Chimpanzees.

BuzzTech are will now help educate the community about the urgent need to recycle mobile phones, putting a container with this message out at the Sun Bear Children’s Festival to collect old phones on the day, as well as in the shop all year round.

Festival director and Noah’s mum Katja Nedoluha said: “It’s great when businesses want to do the right thing and often it’s all about education”.

A big feature of this year’s festival is “The Tunnel”, created by the Sun Bear team.

The tunnel marks the start of an exciting journey of empower people to do the right thing by the environment and all living creatures.

The tunnel has been made with recycled materials, generously donated by the Anglesea Op Shop.

The festival will be held at Spring Creek Reserve, Torquay from 11am-3pm on November 12.

For more information and tickets, head to sunbearfestival.com.

All festival proceeds are donated to wildlife organisations in Australia and overseas.