I have always loved Earth Day, because I have always loved to be outside. Whether it be helping my grandparents in the garden when I was little, or riding my bike, or sitting my French Creek writing stories while listening to the running water, or walking along Woodcock dam listening to the water and the birds and watching the other animals that live along the nature path.
But we need to be honest, as stewards of this Earth, we suck as caretakers. Even with all the programs in place there are still 20,118 species (animals and plants) on the Endangered Species list. We are still depleting the natural resources our world provides. The Rainforest which once covered 14% of the Earth's surface now covers just 6% and we lose 1&1/2 acres of rainforest every second.
A skit by comedian Brad Stine, takes a funny look at Adam (the first man as per the Bible) who was given the task of naming all the animals..."The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and take care of it"
But their responsibilities went beyond that, they were expected to take care of what God had made. Though their disobedience caused all of mankind to fall into a sinful state and to be excluded from the Garden of Eden, it is still on us to care for the world God created.
As I teach my daughter (and children to come) to follow and obey God, i feel it is just as important to teach them to be kind to the Earth as it is to teach them to be kind to other people.
There are many ways to do this. My personal favorites are through books and example (by how i live and treat the Earth).
Books are an amazing tool. Two of my favorites (and my daughter's) are "The Lorax" and "The Great Kapok Tree".
The Lorax
In the Lorax, the Onceler is so consumed with greed that he doesn't realize that the trees he uses to make his money are disappearing at an alarming rate. Despite the best efforts of the Lorax, a magical creature who "speaks for the trees", to make the Onceler change his ways, soon the trees are gone, the onceler is out of business, and the land is barren of trees and creatures, and full of pollution.
Then a young man comes to hear the story of the Lorax, and the onceler has an epiphany about the last thing the Lorax said to him.
The Great Kapok Tree
In the Great Kapok Tree a man goes into the rainforest to cut down an old Kapok Tree. The heat of the jungle gets to him and he falls asleep in the shade of the tree. While he is asleep the animals come and tell him why the tree is needed. What it has for them, and what it has for him and other humans. In the end the man can not cut down the great tree. He leaves his ax behind and walks out of the rainforest.
Four tree porcupines wung down from branch to branch and whispered to the man: "Senhor, do you know what we animals and humans need in order to live? Oxygen. And,Senhor, do you know whatres produce? Oxygen! If you cut down the forests you will destroy that which gives us all life"
~The Great Kapok Tree~
But then how do I as a parent pull these essential truths out of the books and make it something that my children can live.
First of all, I can teach them about nature. Teach them to work the soil to produce our own food. Teach them to apprciate nature, through nature walks and trips to the zoo.
Second, Teach them the three R's of conservation; Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Teach them that the little things we can do is a start. We can't save the world ourselves, but we can do our part to help out.
This month i'm going to be looking for activies to help teach my children about nature, and conservation. I'm going to be looking for ways for our family to "go green" and use natural, non-nature harming chemicals to clean our home and other ways to reduce our families carbon footprint.
For some it seems extreme. To others it seems pointless, but I feel it is important not just for my generation, or my children's generation, but for generations to come.
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