Living Planet profile: Wanda Hall, aka The Panda

 
By Errol Nazareth
Wait a minute. What’s The Panda, you ask?
The Panda is a mascot you may have seen at WWF events like the annual CN Tower climbs, Earth Hour or at the Green Living Show. It is, in fact, Hall.
The former geography and special education teacher from Mississauga, Ontario, says the idea to don the black and white costume, and spend her newfound free time visiting seniors and sick children, came to her after she retired. “I sensed this might have been rather over-the-edge as I’d never even tried a mascot head on,” Hall says. “My outfit was my retirement gift to myself, to follow this crazy dream.”
Hall jokes that she was a little “chicken about the new passage in my life called retirement,” adding that her love of pandas and seeing them frolic during a visit to the San Diego Zoo helped her make her decision.
Like most supporters of WWF, Hall says she admires the organization for giving voice to those that don’t have one. “Its role in preserving habitats, critical wilderness and marine areas connected well with my background as a geographer,” she says. “I believe we must work towards climate change solutions nationally and internationally. Sustainability and seeing ourselves as guardians of nature are issues that I taught and feel strongly about.”
One of the organization’s most recognizable volunteers, Hall says volunteering is “an exchange of smiles of the heart. “For every moment that you volunteer, you’ll make many memories and lifelong friendships.”

The Panda’s celeb encounter with the cast of Flashpoint (c) WWF-Canada