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Leo’s Animal Planet

1808. Leo Sordello-Savale

Leo Sordello-Savale, aged 7, from London, is a young wildlife conservation campaigner who has been producing awareness-raising videos from his bedroom which have gained the support of Sir David Attenborough.

Leo Sordello-Savale

Leo started his own YouTube channel during lockdown, ‘Leo’s Animal Planet’, to share with other young people the need to protect endangered species, such as rhinos, whales and cheetahs, and to ensure that animal rights remains central to climate action. Leo’s videos have since gained a worldwide audience from thousands of viewers, including in India, Japan and Vietnam, and he has become a Young Ambassador for ‘Cheetah Conservation Fund’.

In a personal letter to Leo, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“I was inspired to learn about your wildlife documentaries, bringing your passion for conservation to thousands of viewers around the world. I was also pleased to see that one of your many supporters is Sir David Attenborough! 

“We all have a responsibility to look after our beautiful planet and I am delighted that you are doing your bit to help your classmates become greener and cleaner too.”

Leo said:

“Thank you very much for nominating me for the Points of Light Award and thank you for supporting my YouTube channel. I hope it will encourage more people to join me in saving endangered animals.”

Cassie Buchanan OBE, CEO of The Charter Schools Educational Trust said: 

“Here at The Charter Schools Educational Trust, we are so proud of Leo for receiving this very special award. The last 18 months have been incredibly tough for children as they all had to adapt to online learning and missed out on many of the usual opportunities to learn about the world around them through playing and exploring with their friends. Leo responded to this with imagination, passion and creativity, creating wonderful online videos to educate others from across the world about endangered animals and conservation. He also managed to raise an impressive amount of money for a cheetah conservation charity with his friends during lockdown.

“We want to thank his amazing teacher, Mr Peddle, and the staff at Lyndhurst Primary School in Camberwell, London, for inspiring and supporting Leo to these incredible achievements. A brilliant example of pupils and schools thriving together in difficult circumstances to make a real difference to the world. Most of all we want to say a massive well done to Leo. We hope that he continues to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for conservation so that we can all learn more about what we need to do to preserve our natural world.”

Nick Hammill, Co-Headteacher at Lyndhurst Primary School, said: 

“The whole school is delighted with Leo’s award! We’re going to give him a slot on our school radio station Grove FM. He can help educate our pupils on such an important issue!”

See more about ‘Leo’s Animal Planet’

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