Our Mission & Vision
We connect kids to wildlife through art.
Champions for Wildlife helps children form some of their first meaningful connections with native wildlife. Through hands-on art and education, kids explore, create, and begin to care. Because kids who care about wildlife will protect it.
We pair wildlife education with hands-on art to make learning personal and memorable. Art helps children slow down, observe closely, and process what they are discovering. It supports different learning styles, language abilities, and developmental needs, ensuring every child can participate and connect.
Our big dream is simple. To spark curiosity early so care can grow over time. We are not asking children to protect wildlife today. We are helping them build the kind of connection that leads to lifelong respect for wildlife and the habitats animals depend on.
Three wild Red Wolf pups at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: Nancy Arehart
A Little History...
It all began with Red Wolves, one of the most endangered animals in the U.S. Our founders, Loti Woods and Dale Weiler, wanted to help protect them. Dale, a wildlife sculptor, created a stone sculpture of an American Red Wolf mother and pup. Together, they donated more than 40 castings to zoos and wildlife centers working to save Red Wolves.
Red Wolf Mom and Pup - Stone Sculpture - Dale Weiler
In 2022, Loti and Dale were invited into a classroom to teach kids about Red Wolves and guide them in sculpting Red Wolf heads from clay. As the kids worked, a teacher approached Loti in tears. Dale was helping a nonverbal child with autism who had never participated in an activity before. That day, the child was engaged, focused, and creating alongside the other kids.
Loti and Dale saw how art could open a door for every child to connect with wildlife. Champions for Wildlife was born from that moment.
Today, we connect kids to many kinds of wildlife through hands-on art and outdoor exploration. From Red Wolves and hellbenders to bats, birds, turtles, and pollinators, each experience helps kids explore, create, and care.
Meet Our Founders
And check out the video produced by First Horizon which inspired the founders to start the nonprofit.
