Budleigh Salterton Lions are promoting environmental awareness among local children by presenting schools with a set of highly popular books about threatened animals.

The Wild Tribe Heroes books by Ellie Jackson are a collection of stories about animals that find themselves in danger when their lives are affected by plastic in the oceans, palm oil deforestation or climate change. The characters include Duffy the Sea Turtle, Marli the Puffin, Nelson the Whale, Buddy the Orangutan, Hunter the Polar Bear, Sunny the Koala and Ziggy the Bee. The stories focus on how the animals are saved from harm, and illustrate what can be done to protect them.

The books are a proven successful resource for schools and are loved by children and teachers alike. Ellie Jackson has received personal letters of congratulations from Sir David Attenborough and King Charles, and the books have so far reached almost two million children around the UK. The author came to meet Lions at their annual convention in May.

Exmouth Journal: Author Ellie Jackson with Richard Allen at the Lions' annual conference

On Wednesday, June 21, Lions Richard Allen and Lorraine Ralph visited Mill Water School at Bicton to present the school with a set of Wild Tribe Heroes books.

Lion Richard Allen said "Budleigh Salterton Lions Club is very pleased to provide sets of the Wild Tribe Heroes books for all our local schools. The books are based on true stories and help to teach the children about environmental issues in a positive and inspiring way. 

“Lion Lorraine and I would like to thank the staff and children for taking the time to show us around the school. It was especially lovely to see two of the children in the library immediately enjoying Marli the Puffin and Nelson the Whale."

Georgia White, school fundraising and marketing lead, said: "Thank you to the Budleigh Lions for their continued support. These books are fantastic and fit perfectly with the learning that our pupils do about the environment."

Exmouth Journal: The latest Wild Tribes Heroes book

The day before, Richard had presented the latest book in the Wild Tribe Heroes series, Ziggy's Frightening Flight, to children at St Peter's School in Budleigh Salterton. The Lions have already donated sets of six books to St Peter's Otterton School and Drake's School, and are now adding the latest in the series.