This has got to be the most meaningful Zoo Run yet.

To run for wildlife conservation, and to be educated along the way (literally) – what a new twist this adds to participating in a run.

Last Saturday, the boys and I, together with their father, participated in the annual Safari Zoo Run 2017. We took part in the fun and non-competitive race – the 2.5km Family Dash – and rooted for Team Canola, with a beautiful manatee named Canola as our team leader. Hurhurhur.

But what was amazing was the fact that this year’s race took on a larger than life conservation effort that involved education about 4 endangered / threatened species.

Imagine being encouraged by cute animals – aka various “team leaders” – along your race route to stop for a photo and spread their message.

And because I had inquisitive kids, I had to educate them along the way. With help from Google of course. Explaining to them why manatees are a threatened species, why elephants are endangered, why orang utans are facing extinction, and why even the hornbills have now made it to the list.

Here were my shoutouts for Team Chawang, Team Ah Meng and Team Sunny:

#teamchawang deserves a mention: I’m afraid that my children’s generation may not get to see another Asian elephant because its kind is so fiercely hunted for their tusks; either that or often killed in a human-elephant conflict because elephants now have smaller living spaces and are rummaging for food and destroying crops in farms. There must be a way to solve this problem this generation. . #learningaboutconservation #wildlifereserve #safarizoorun #safarizoorun2017 #familyfun #kaoboys

A post shared by Elizabeth Wu (@motherkao) on Feb 18, 2017 at 1:04am PST

We may have ran for #teamcanola, but here’s a shoutout for #teamahmeng: the #orangutan species are on a sharp decline due to the rapidly disappearing forest habitats in Indonesia and Malaysia. Buy sustainably-sourced products and do your bit for #wildlifeconservation . #safarizoorun2017 #safarizoorun #wildlifereserve #kaoboys #familyfun #learningaboutconservation

A post shared by Elizabeth Wu (@motherkao) on Feb 18, 2017 at 12:58am PST

A post shared by Elizabeth Wu (@motherkao) on Feb 18, 2017 at 12:58am PST

#teamsunny shoutout: the helmeted hornbill is facing extinction because they are sought for their red ivory. Say no to illegal trade, say yes to #wildlife conservation . #wildlifereserve #safarizoorun #safarizoorun2017 #familyfun #kaoboys #learningaboutconservation

A post shared by Elizabeth Wu (@motherkao) on Feb 18, 2017 at 1:08am PST

And of course, for our team leader – yipeety, Ms Manatee!

We ran for #wildlife #conservation today for #teamcanola ! Manatees are threatened species: they are herbivorous and play an important role for maintaining a healthy aquatic ecosystem. . #safarizoorun2017 #safarizoorun #wildlifereserve #kaoboys #familyfun

A post shared by Elizabeth Wu (@motherkao) on Feb 18, 2017 at 12:51am PST

Now that is how we kill two birds with one stone – join a race and get that movement fix, and participate in conservation efforts while at that.

Thank you, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, and Safari Zoo Run 2017, for having us, and educating us. Looking forward to your continued conservation efforts in the next zoo run, for sure!