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‘I love getting my hands dirty’: confessions of happy green fingers
St Mary’s Primary School, North Sydney
New South Wales, Australia
Q. Do you know what getting your hands dirty means?
Q. Do you know what motivates youngsters to think about climate change?
Q. Do you know what planting a tree can do for our environment?
Well, I know that getting your hands dirty doesn’t just mean having to wash them. It means that you are planting life. My sister once said that planting a tree is planting hope. I think that this is an excellent description of what planting is all about. Getting your hands dirty to clean up this polluted world. This would help the pollution, diseases and failing crops in many third world counties.
Motivating young children could mean the world to them, even just having one conversation can make a big difference, just like Thomas Edison’s teacher, who told him that he wasn’t very good at anything. This comment made Thomas try harder.
By motivating someone younger than yourself to do something about climate change, who knows what they could do?
Planting just one little tree seedling could mean fun, beauty and important oxygen. Planting a tree means planting a new life, a new dream and a new story. Just think, your daughter could be reading under that tree in 20 years time! When you plant a tree, people could dedicate the tree to someone special to them, maybe someone who has passed away.
At our school we have an environment club. It motivates kids to be more environmentally friendly in all ways; from reducing plastic, composting food scraps, growing veggies, recycling materials, and so on. In our school we try our best to be green fingers. I don’t think that there is anything more important than addressing climate change.
If you don’t believe that climate change is really real then listen to this; The recent series of ‘natural disasters’ (most of which are ‘climate-related’),has caused scientists to see if they are truly related, the recent studies have shown that yes, they are.
I agree that climate change is real, and it’s happening now, we have to make a change, we have to make a difference.
Perspectives
‛We must change our behavior and learn to use less energy and produce less pollution. If
each and every one of us acts upon this now, huge improvements could be made.’
Emma Thompson, actress, April 2006
‘Whether it’s recycling, walking your children to school instead of driving or fully insulating your home to reduce the energy required to heat it, it all helps.’
Michael Fish, May 2006
The 1990s was the warmest decade in the past 1,000 years.
Students' perspectives
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