Green Options

Have you ever considered doing “summer camp” in your own backyard? I used to be the Nature Director at a summer camp and can promise you, the magic that can be discovered on a summer afternoon can last a lifetime!

Not only do I write for Eco Child’s Play, I write a series of novels called Gaia Girls Book Sereis. In Gaia Girls, the heroines are granted cool powers and sent on “Gaia Missions” to help the earth. They are able to do this because they are so connected and aware of the Earth (Gaia). I suspect that the majority of us reading and writing here at Green Options spent a portion of our childhood outside getting connected and I want to do my part to make sure the next generation loves Earth enough to care for it. So this summer, I’m combining my nature director experience, with the fantastical fiction. I’m inviting one and all to participate in “The Summer of Gaia!”

Each week, I set you on a Mission that will open up all the magic Gaia has to offer.

Celebrating the Winter Solstice was one of my first posts here at Eco Child’s Play!  I’m a summer lover and today I’m practically giddy that there will 15 HOURS of daylight! What a wonderful day to remind our kids that the sun is, ultimately, the energetic source of all we have.

Making small (or large, if that’s your cup ‘o herbal tea!) celebrations out of the Solstices and Equinoxes is one more way to teach your children that there is a rhythm to nature and a rhythm to life. If Winter Solstice is comparable to a “time to weep,” Summer Solstice is the “time to laugh!” (Thank you, Ecclesiastes for the most beautiful words on the seasonality of life…and thank you to the Byrds for putting it to music!)

Celebrate the longest day of the year with seasonal food and fun.

Can a summer vacation help create a sutainable future? YES! Sustainability begins with a concern for the wild places in the world and summer vacation is an excellent place to instill love of the outdoors.  A few months ago, I was privledge to attend the Student Conservation Association’s Earth Vision Summit.  I know the young folks walked away inspried and ready for action; but I learned a few things too.

There are 391 National Park areas  comprising over 84 MILLION acres in the U.S.   A meaningful summer vacation is closer than you think!  Our National Parks are your tax dollars at work.  If you want your kids to experience the wilderness, explore it, be amazed by it, develop a sense of stewardship and a passion to protect it, you might be surprised by all the ways our National Parks can help make that happen!

For example, do you know about the Passport? 

My mother just turned 65 and, wise woman that she is, requested no presents. She did however, request that we all go down to the Starlight Lounge and dance our fool butts off! She is a woman who has her priorities straight: people are fun, stuff is…well, it’s just stuff.

This past week, I went into a Wal-Mart for the first time in about two years and I thought my head was going to explode just from the sheer volume of stuff and the incessant beeping of the registers! As I looked around all I could see was next year’s landfill! I was pretty close; in The Story of Stuff you will find the shocking statistic that 99% of the stuff we buy, we toss out.

Like any other bad behavior that is perpetuated generationally, we adults not only have to be come aware of, and change, our own habits, but find effective means to help our children not repeat our mistakes.

Older kids, 12 and up, may enjoy the Story of Stuff and be thoughtful about the implications. Younger children may just end up feeling helpless. I’ve mentioned Eco-phobia before and feel it necessary to reiterate that we risk making children numb to issues if they get too much bad news too soon. I thought it was great the the Story of Stuff blog links to kid-produced You Tube responses!

The reality is, $15 BILLION dollars is spent by marketers to turn your child into a good consumer.

Do you take your kids to the park? Sign them up for soccer or softball? Parents who care about their children’s health likely encourage outdoor play and participation in organized sports. In the spring, as we begin to shop for soccer cleats and baseball mitts; it is wise to investigate how your schools and municipalities manage their green spaces.

Pesticide exposure is a serious health risk to children. And while limiting, or better yet, eliminating ingested pesticides is important, consider the direct exposure your children may get while they play upon that green, green grass.

About two weeks ago, I noticed that the soundscape here in the Northeast is changing. My ears seemed to be calling my eyes liars.

The crocus and hyacinth have not pushed through the still frozen ground. No migratory birds were bouncing around my still-brown lawn. Spring has not shown her face. So I asked Greg Budney, curator of the Macaulay Library at Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology, if I was crazy. Was something really different?

He alerted me to the fact that many year-round residential birds were now going into a song-mode of reclaiming territory. For example, the female cardinals will now be doing their version of the male’s song. (To hear this, click here and type 49063 into the “advanced search” box) He also pointed out that this is exactly why so many birds sing…you don’t have to see ‘em to know they’re there!

A month ago I wrote about a great organization, Roots & Shoots, started by the eminent Jane Goodall. Dr. Goodall understands the need to give children an outlet - to turn their concerns for animals, the environment and other people (social issues) into action that can positively affect our world. So where can our ‘older-youngsters’ turn their inspiration into action?

For 50 years, the Student Conservation Association has given high school and college students the opportunity to participate in conservation efforts from A-Z, “archeology to zoology!” Through 3-12 month Internships and Community Programs surrounding major metropolitan areas, SCA gives individuals 18-years of age and older the opportunity to help preserve America’s natural and cultural heritage.

When I was in high school, my guidance counselor (and I use that term loosely) suggested that I move to Sarasota, FL and join the circus. He couldn’t fathom that a gal might be interested in animals, but not want to be a Veterinarian! 

My mother taught me not to do spring planting until the oak leaves were as big as a squirrel’s ear. (Unless you want to tempt the fates of frost, that is!) I was blessed to grow up on a farm and be taught the signals of seasonal change. Early immersion in the cycles of nature underpins the values held by many of us “greenies.”

Today, many children know that the rainforest is being destroyed. They can tell you that polar bears are being threatened by climate change. They may even be able to talk about their own carbon footprint. However, sadly, many may find it difficult to name five trees in their own neighborhood or point to definitive signs of spring in their own backyard.

Richard Louv and David Sobel use to the terms “Nature Deficit Disorder” and “Ecophobia,” to describe this growing disassociation with the living world. If you haven’t yet checked out their work…do so!

As a writer of fiction, I constantly get the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” The answer is, two places: I get out and play in the world a lot and I read a LOT! I wanted to share some of the books on my shelf, so that you too…can get inspired.

Food and food production was the first topic I tackled. I haven’t read it yet, but Michael Pollan’s new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, sounds excellent. I enjoyed listening to a recent interview with him on Talk of the Nation and have it on hold at my local library. Michael Pollan also did a fantastic job with An Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Many people are familiar with Pollan’s writing, but I wanted to make you aware of some titles you may have missed.

I believe I stumbled up Fat Land by Greg Critser first. Being a health and wellness consultant, the subtitle, “How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World,” is what caught my eye.

 Let’s face it, dealing with heavy issues like global warming can get depressing.  It takes a cartoonist like Denis Thomopoulos to help us find our funny bones again! Bookmark Hippoworks and visit it often!  You and your kids will come to love the characters and appreciate the way Thomopoulos slips in a bit of adult, snarky humor as he brings big issues down to kid level. 

There are games and puzzles, coloring pages and support material for educators.  [...]