Today is International Orangutan Day, a yearly event dedicated to raising awareness and support for critically endangered orangutans. And this year, orangutans need our help more than ever as the palm oil industry continues to relentlessly destroy their rainforest home.

Today is a day to take action. You can help save orangutans using any of the methods below.

• Contact companies. You can pressure companies to improve their palm oil policies by contacting them with a form letter or signing a petition.
• Raise awareness. This can range from large commitments like info booths and webinars to small, everyday actions like sharing information with your friends or on social media.
• Educate yourself. Learn more about orangutans in the video linked below.
• Educate others. You can use resources like our new online lesson plan to educate students in your community about palm oil, orangutans, and conservation.

Thank you for saving the rainforest today!

~Pangaea Finn, Founder and Director

We at the Orangutan Gang are proud to release a new, fully online lesson plan! This lesson plan allows teachers and students of all educational levels to learn safely and remotely in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers can mix and match from four activities which include fillable online worksheets, video-based forums, and an educational video about the palm oil issue. Students not only learn about orangutans and palm oil, but also find palm oil containing products around their home, participate in thoughtful online discussions, and plan their own conservation projects. The Teachers Guide for this new lesson plan can be found here.

Please spread the word around your community about our new lesson plan so students have the chance to learn about the palm oil issue. Thank you for saving the rainforest today!

~The Orangutan Gang

We are proud to announce the release of our fifth newsletter, Issue 2020.2! This issue’s theme is couch conservation, and includes information about making a difference without needing to sit up. You can also take on a rainforest challenge, meet Orangutan Supporter Kai, learn more about a featured product, catch up on the latest conservation news, and check out an interview with Madi Vorva, the co-leader of a successful eight-year campaign to remove palm oil from Girl Scout cookies. Sign up today to receive our newsletter via email.

Thank you for saving the rainforest today!

~Pangaea Finn, Founder and Director

Today is Endangered Species Day- a day to honor the many animals and plants losing their homes and lives to human development.

And this global pandemic has given us more of an idea of what it’s like to be an endangered species- to have to fight for our health and our homes while under attack. Like many endangered species, we don’t know when this force will strike our particular communities and make it difficult or impossible to live there.

So maybe this year we have more empathy for endangered species, now that we understand what kind of an impact such a crisis has on our society. And maybe we can apply that empathy to help endangered species.

Today, try to make a little step. Start thinking about an endangered animal that matters to you- maybe an animal that you’ve done something for in the past, maybe an animal that you just feel like you should help. Figure out something that you can do to help these animals- a social media post, a decision on your shopping list, or some small change to your lifestyle that makes an impact on the species you’re trying to help out.

Thank you for saving the planet today.

~Pangaea Finn, Founder and Director