Plucky schoolgirl to walk 100 miles in aid of endangered animals

Daisy Austin-Walker (8), a pupil at Rothbury First School, is embarking on the 100-mile challenge after her class learnt about at-risk species.

The plucky youngster was so moved by their plight, she decided to set herself a fund-raising target of £300, which she plans to hand over to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

She said: “I was learning about endangered animals at school, so I decided I want to raise £300 to help them.

“I am going to walk the whole of the Northumberland coast. I think the walk is about 100 miles long and me and my mum are going to attempt to walk it in one week. I want to help endangered animals because I heard poachers kill them and their natural habitats are getting cut down, so the land can be used to grow palm oil."

The intrepid duo will set off from Seaton Sluice on July 24, and will head north until they reach the Scottish border.

Proud mum Jane said “I am so delighted that Daisy it taking action to help endangered animals. When she told me about tigers being poached, she had tears in her eyes. I am so proud she is doing this long walk to promote and help them.”

The family have set up a Just Giving page – https://bit.ly/3xhE7k0

On it, Jane writes: “WWF is at the heart of global efforts to address the world’s most important environmental challenges: safeguarding the natural world, tackling climate change and enabling people to use only their fair share of natural resources.”