I have always been in awe of people with creatively carved Halloween pumpkins. At our house, we are lucky to get two eye triangles of approximately the same size. But this is my year! World Wildlife Fund has posted cute, simple wildlife pumpkin stencils on the web. There are several designs: a monarch butterfly, dolphins, gorillas, coral, polar bears, rhinos, tigers, turtles, the African plain, and of course the WWF panda. For all stencils, the pattern must be printed, taped to the pumpkin, then holes are poked around the pattern. The pumpkin is cut using the pattern, leaving you with a beautiful, creative pumpkin! Easy, impressive, and FREE. And what kid doesn’t love animals?

Since 1961, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been working to conserve nature. With almost 5 million global members, they work at every level from grassroots to government to protect natural areas and wildlife with a special focus on endangered species. WWF works to advance science to create a world where human needs are met in harmony with nature. According to Charity Navigator, WWF is a four star (top rated) charity meaning they use donations the way they say they will.

A lot of us carve pumpkins for Halloween, so why not do something other than traditional jack-o-lanterns this year? When you get compliments from your neighbors (and you WILL get compliments), steer them to World Wildlife Fund. The more people know about this first class organization, the closer WWF will get to accomplishing it’s worthwhile goals.

Here’s a slideshow of all the available stencils, plus information on each endangered animal or ecosystem.  Just click a thumbnail to see a larger image and start the slideshow.