With the massive uptake of our education module and the impact of the Corona Virus we realised the importance for students to have their own copy of our books to compliment their learning from home. To ensure our books are available to everyone we have drastically reduced the prices (up to 60% off and only while stocks last – we don’t have many left so if you want one you will need to get in quick)
So many schools and teachers around Australia have let us know how amazing the education module has been for the development of students understanding of their world and the environment. The module was developed by the NSW Department of Education and is based on our books and adventures and covers a full term of work ready for access by teachers.
Congratulations to Daniel and William who have been chosen as one of the four finalists for the First National Real Estate Leadership Award. This award acknowledges young people who set an example through their leadership and drive, paving the way for others to follow.
The winner will be announced at the awards presentation dinner on the 20th March, 2020 in a gala event held at Doltone House in Sydney.
“We are honoured to have been chosen as finalists in this award. We hope our story can continue to inspire the next generation to look after our environment and keep many animals from becoming extinct”, William said.
What started as a quest and passion to save the orangutans at just 8 and 10 years old in 2008 has led the boys on an amazing journey. Over the past 11 years they have raised $875,000 to save the orangutan, written 2 best selling Australian Books and have met and been recognised by Prime Ministers, Royalty and US Presidents.
“We are incredibly proud of our two books being accepted into the NSW Education Curriculum as a terms work for Primary School students. We hope that teachers around Australia will utilise this piece of work and align the educational outcomes into their existing curriculums. We have met so many wonderful people along our journey who have been incredibly supportive of us and our quest. Thank you for sharing our passion and caring for our environment. We are all making a difference”, Daniel Clarke.
Daniel and William are thrilled to have been recognised internationally for their second book, Fight for Survival, at the IPPY Awards.
After receiving an email 4 weeks ago advising they had won the gold medal, last week Daniel and William travelled to New York, USA to receive their gold medal for their latest book, Fight for Survival.
IPPY Awards
The International IPPY Awards in New York is in its 23rd year and considered as the Oscars of the Independent Book Publishing world attracting entrants from across the globe.
This year there was over 4,000 entrants across 85 categories from places such as Australia, Canada, USA, UK, France, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland as well as many more.
The boys won the Gold Medal in the Animals and Pets section and were thrilled when their names were called out to be presented with their medal. Beaming from ear to ear the boys said it was a thrill to be recognised at such a prestigious event for the work they have been doing to save the critically endangered orangutans.
We met with so many wonderful authors on the night who shared their books with us, as well as their own stories in getting their books published as independent authors.
William and Daniel Clarke, winners of the Pets and Animals Section, with the Silver and Bronze medallists
Book Expo
Over the following three days the boys attended the “Book Expo” held at the Javits International Convention Centre, in New York, where they met with authors, publishers and promotional organisations based in America.
“We met with several people who were interested to help our quest and spread the message about the orangutans into the north American market. We will have to see where that may lead”, Daniel said.
The boys are excited to be able to spread the message about the plight of the orangutans to a greater audience across the other side of the world and to start conversations about how we can all help save our environments for the future.
“The more people we can talk with, the greater chance we have to save the orangutans from extinction. Our message is of Hope, that we can work together, within our environment, for our future generations to enjoy, explore and continue to preserve.“,
Daniel and William were invited to attend Taronga Zoo’s new institute of Science and Learning centre in an afternoon with Dr Jane Goodall.
The event was a gathering of dedicated conservationists and YATZ who had the chance to listen to Dr Goodall on her “Rewind The Future” Tour around Australia. This wonderful speaking engagement allowed her followers to ask many questions on her life’s work and how we can work together to save our environment for the future.
Dr Jane Goodall, William Clarke, Daniel Clarke and Macquarie University’s Zara Bending.
The boys spoke passionately to the teacher delegates from schools from around Sydney, sharing their journey and quest to save the critically endangered orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra and offering inspiration and support to our next generation to be empowered to make change for the protection of our environment.
The day was a great success culminating at the end with the boys meeting up again with Jane who expressed her gratitude in the work that the boys are achieving in their quest to save the orangutan.
Jane Goodall is passionate about empowering future leaders with her call to action…
“Yes we can! Yes we will!”
Jane’s message is one of hope, unity and inspiration, that together we will secure a shared future for wildlife and people.
The students had some amazing questions for the boys (and we have included some answers here);
Why are orangutans orange?
Why are orangutans endangered more than other apes?
Daniel advised that all of the great apes are endangered and in fact the chimpanzees and gorillas are in a worse situation than the orangutan.
Why do Sumatran Orangutans have longer hair than the Bornean Orangutans?
How much food do orangutans eat per day?
Orangutans eat up to 25 different types of food each day with males eating around 7 items daily and females consuming 9 items ranging from durian fruit to tiny figs.
How can you adopt an orangutan?
The boys spoke to the students about the The Orangutan Project’s website where they can adopt an orangutan for their class or even their own family.
Thank you Guildford Public School for having us today – Good luck in your projects.
The 2019 Independent Book Publishers Awards, held in New York, USA, has awarded a Gold Medal to Daniel and William’s second book, Fight for Survival. The Independent Book Publishers Awards, known as the IPPY Awards, is the worlds largest independently published book awards.
Out of the 4,000 entries received from around the world their book, Fight for Survival was awarded the Gold Medal in the Animals and Pets section.
Notification of the Gold Medal win came via email and was initially received by their mother Penny Clarke. “I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock.“, she said. “My husband kept saying to me, ‘What happened? you OK?’, and I just said, ‘They won, they won!’.”
“It was fair to say we were all in shock with the exciting news“, Rodney Clarke said. “The IPPY Awards are like the Oscars of the self-publishing book world and to have this level of recognition for two young Australian authors is incredible“.
From the awards website, “The Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s best independently published titles from around the world. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published books released each year“.
On the 28th May, 2019 there will be an award ceremony held in New York city for the IPPY Awards where the winners will be presented with medals and treated to a gala evening at the famous Copacabana Club near Times Square.
As Gold Medal winners, Daniel and William are eligible to be part of the New Title Showcase at the New York City Book Expo from 29th – 31st May, 2019. This international book expo is the largest annual book show in the United States.
On Monday 4th March, Jayden O’Brien, Teacher at Hoxton Park Public School, invited Daniel and William to come and speak with the students about their quest to save the orangutan. The school also took the opportunity to show the boys what they are doing to help get the message out.
The students have created podcasts to raise awareness of the plight of the orangutan as well as for all endangered species. The students were filled with questions about how Daniel and William got started to save the orangutans? what motivated them to do this? and choose the orangutans over other species?
The students were inspired by the boys visit with many of them staying back to talk with the boys after they had completed their presentation.
After the success of having educational modules developed using our books, we were invited to speak at the 2019 Environmental and Zoo Education Centres (EZEC) Conference this week at Miramare Gardens at Terrey Hills, NSW.
It was brilliant to meet so many like minded people who take animals and the overall environment so seriously and understand the bigger picture. We were asked to present to all of the principals and teachers that were present about our quest and then were invited to attend a more intense workshop where the educational modules were discussed in more detail.
William, Daniel and Branimir Lazendic, Principal Penrith Lakes Environment Education Centre
It was inspiring to listen to Gaye Braiding, a well respected curriculum writer for the NSW Department of Education and author of these education modules, talk about the books and the modules and how they relate to each of the Key Learning Areas (KLA’s).
Thank you to Branimir Lazendic for inviting us along as it was a great opportunity to address the EZEC community and it was an amazing experience for us as well.
This short story is simply brilliant… bringing awareness of orangutan habitat loss through illegal logging for palm oil plantations.
Through Orangutan Eyes
This video was put together by Iceland Foods, a UK based organisation who have removed palm oil from all of their own labelled products. As consumers our choice of which product we choose matters – choose wisely.
Funds raised through our online store goes towards orangutan rescue, rehabilitation and conservation initiatives. This Christmas choose wisely when giving a loved one a gift… our store.
The students at Singleton Heights Public School (Hunter Valley, NSW) in years 2 to 4 had just completed a geography/science unit called, ‘It’s In Our Hands’. This Project Based Learning (PBL) unit of work allows students to discover how our actions and decisions affect wildlife around the world.
During their research on the topic they discovered Daniel and William’s quest to save the orangutans from extinction and, so inspired, they sought permission from their Principal to write their own email and organise for Daniel and William to come and present to their school.
On the day…
On the day of Daniel and Williams visit, and as soon as they arrived, the boys made a surprise visit to Mrs Janelle Cox’s class who had written the email. The class were all extremely excited and thrilled to meet the boys before the whole school presentation.
Around 500 students packed the hall from years 1 through to year 6. Everyone even joined in together singing the song, ‘Try Everything‘ which features in Daniel and William’s video. The hall was a buzz with excitement, enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge.
The questions after the presentation came thick and fast. As soon as one question had been answered there were 50 hands held straight up in the air to ask more questions.
Questions ranged from, “What was your most memorable moment on your trip?“, “What was your funniest moment?“, to technical questions around how they put the video together.
The students were so engaged with the post presentation discussion the teachers had to step in to end question time so the students wouldn’t miss out on their lunch. During the lunch break, and while William signed the students books, more and more students came back into the hall to ask even more questions from the boys.
During the lunch time break one student remarked that he had so much joy today meeting Dan and Will and that he wanted to tell all his family about the orangutans. He said, “I learnt so much more from their presentation that I am going home to tell everybody!”.
Conservation Art
Also on the day, Years 3 and 4 held an Art Show in the school hall displaying their art work depicting how wildlife around the world still needs our help to survive. The students took great pride in showing their work to Daniel and William after their presentation.
It was a privilege to meet everyone at Singleton Heights Public School today. Their enthusiasm and passion to want to know more about orangutans, their habitat and to help save them inspires us to keep going and strive even further to make a difference. William Clarke
When leaving at the end of the day, Daniel was approached by one young student who was so moved by the boys plight that she said, “I wish I could be your sister“.
Thanks Singleton Heights for an incredible day. Your whole school community has touched our hearts. Daniel Clarke
We would love to come back again and visit your amazing school in the near future.
Congratulations to Daniel and William who have been chosen as one of the four finalists for the 
Daniel and William are thrilled to have been recognised internationally for their second book, Fight for Survival, at the IPPY Awards.
Over the following three days the boys attended the “
