Join an Environmental Group and Go Green!
There are many great environmental groups that you and your family can join. Ask for a membership for your birthday and give them to others as gifts. You can start by looking at their Web sites to see if what they do is something you want to help with. Some groups work to save all wildlife, while others focus on birds or a certain kind of animal. Some groups save all habitats, while others pay attention to just rainforests or deserts or grasslands or the ocean. Some groups work in Washington, D.C., on environmental laws. Here are a few of the most common environmental groups and their Web sites.
The Sierra Club works to save our national parks and wilderness areas.
The World Wildlife Fund works to protect the world's wildlife and wildlands.
The Rainforest Alliance works to save tropical rainforests all over the world.
The Nature Conservancy works to save plants and animals by protecting their habitats.
The National Wildlife Federation works to protect nature and wildlife.
Greenpeace, USA works to preserve the earth and the life it supports.
Design Your Ideal Green House
Just for fun design the perfect green house. Take a big sheet of paper and draw your ideal house. Add a windmill in the yard and solar panels on the roof. Make a garden with vegetables and plants that would live in your climate. You can make it really fun and have it be in a tree or built into the side of a hill. Show the inside rooms with big solar windows, plants, and a recycling pantry. Make your room really cool, too!
How Does Your Lawn Pollute the Air?
Even small lawns use a lot of energy. Mowing a lawn that is only a ¼ acre makes more air pollution than driving a car from New York to Washington, D.C., and back.
When you and your friends first meet to start your own “green group” you have some decisions to make. What kinds of things do you want to do? Do you want to help save the environment or just teach other people how to think green? Do you want to focus on saving all wildlife or one kind of animal, like tigers, that you love? Once you decide on your mission you can come up with a group name and a mission statement. The mission statement tells what you hope to do in your green group.
You also have to decide how much time you and your group can commit to your goals. One hour a week? Two? Make it a reasonable amount of time so everyone can make it.
Everyone in the group should have something to do to help out. Think about what skills each of the members of your group have. Is there an artist who can make posters? Is there a computer expert who can make you a Web site? Who wants to take notes, make phone calls, and do research online? At whose house will you meet, or will you ask to use a room in school after hours? Maybe a meeting during lunch would be fun, too. You should consider having a grownup advisor to help out, too.
At the end of each meeting, plan what you will do at your next meeting so everyone has something to look forward to. Make sure everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard. That is what makes a group work well. Don't worry if someone misses a meeting, but maybe call her up later and tell her what she missed.
Decide if you want to invite anyone else to join the group or keep it just a friends group. If you decide that you want more members, you will have to advertise with posters or announcements at school. It's a great way to make new friends.
Some materials can be recycled without ever leaving the house! What could you do with these empty jars? Break the Vowel-Switch code to find out. Then use your markers or crayons to complete the transformation!
Do you need to raise money to make fliers or give money to a cause that your group wants to help? Here are some ideas about how to raise money for your group.
Return cans and bottles for the deposit.
Organize a car wash in front of your school. Charge $5 per car and put all the money in your collection. Be sure and get permission from your principal first.
Ask your parents to help you apply for grants from local organizations.
Have a bake sale. Make it fun by making cookies shaped like animals, mountains, and trees!
Check out all the environmental groups at the end of this book and see what they each do. Maybe you can model your goals after one of them. Have fun!
