Protecting the blue heart of the planet

I can still feel that leap of enthusiasm, and real joy, at the prospect of finally getting out to the beach, and running around. But probably the most important thing, to me, aside from just the freedom of it and the power of it, was the kind of creatures that you could see along the beach, that you can't find anywhere else

- Sylvia Earle

In early February, TED2009 took place in California. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. The annual conference brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. The talks and presentations are truly amazing.

This year, ocean researcher Sylvia Earle, one of the three 2009 TED prize winners gives an outstanding talk. The scientist takes us on an amazing journey of education and enlightenment with intelligence, humor and humility. She gives an informative, inspiring talk about the rapid decline of the ocean, the blue heart of our planet. Watch her talk below or go here for more download options.



Sylvia Earle is awarded the 2009 TED Prize for her dedication to the global ocean and its marine life. With more than 6,000 hours underwater and four decades of exploration in, research on, and advocacy for the ocean world, Dr. Earle’s work is dedicated to educating the public on the importance of the world ocean both in our daily lives and the health of the planet. She has marked the devastating effect of man-made pollutants on ocean life. She tells people about the life that exists in the ocean, hoping to make them understand how crucial it is, at this moment, for human beings to change the way they treat the seas. Ninety-seven percent of the earth's water is ocean, so it is absolutely crucial that, in order to keep the earth a habitable place for humans, the oceans must remain as they have slowly evolved over the millennia.

The TED Prize is awarded annually at the TED conference and, in addition to a monetary prize, grants the winner “One Wish to Change the World”. Dr. Earle believes there are still "Hope spots, large enough to save the ocean".

"I wish you would use all means at your disposal -- films! expeditions! the web! more! -- to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet."

"There are still places in the sea as pristine as I knew as a child. The next ten years may be the most important in the next ten thousand years. The best chance our species will have to protect what remains of the natural systems to give us life." says Dr. Earle. "My wish is a big wish, but if we can make it happen it can truly change the world and help ensure the survival of what actually is, as it turns out, my favourite species, that would be us."

Sylvia Earle's advocacy for the fate of the oceans makes her a true ambassador and champion of one of the world's most precious resource. You can help by at the very least passing on the link to this great TED presentation and sharing Sylvia Earle's wonderful story in hope of educating and inspiring others to take action. In Dr. Earle's words:

"For the children of today, for tomorrows child, as never again, NOW is the time"

Harvesting the fruits, watching nature do its work

With the fruits in our garden ripening, we are enjoying some special moments. Over the last few months we have watched those lovely white blossom flowers on our fruit trees turn into tiny green pills, and consequently see them growing into pears, apples and lemons. It has been interesting to watch nature doing its work. Now some of the fruits are ready to be picked and we have many volunteers for this, including our resident blackbirds!

“I cut some pears of the tree. I put them in the fruit bowl. I cut four. They tasted like fresh juicy ones. I only cut the red blushed ones. The one with the red blushes on them. They looked like ordinary pears. It didn’t have any colours, except for green and red, like the apples. The little ones don’t look ripe. I didn’t leave them on the tree because I thought the children may like to try them.” - by Gretchen (5 years)

Fruit picking is a great activity for children. First there is the practical reason for fruit picking: obtaining fresh fruit, straight from the tree. Then there is the fresh air, and sunshine to enjoy. And, naturally, fruit trees are a great source for nature study.

A fruit tree is a tree bearing fruit — the structures formed by the ripened ovary of a flower containing one or more seeds. Not all fruit trees produce fruit as human food. The scientific study and the cultivation of fruits is called pomology, which divides up fruits into groups based on plant morphology and anatomy. Some of those groups are: pome fruits, which include apples and pears. And stone fruits which include peaches, apricots, plums and cherries. Most fruit trees are deciduous trees and shed most of their leaves in autumn, providing the children with the fun of leaf raking (and jumping in a heap of leaves), as well as providing habitats for insects and other small creatures.

The fruit trees in our garden give us much joy. Not only do they provide some much needed shade on a hot sunny day, they also make a great place to visit for birds and insects. A fruit tree in full blossom is a beautiful sight. Although our fruit trees are still young and small, we are enjoying their presence as they provide a peaceful spot to sit under. Their emerging grandeur and majesty inspires us to take a moment of solitude when we can quietly observe the beautiful flowers around us or listen to the humming bees or rustling leaves in the wind. These observations often follow with a moment to ponder or dream, a moment many children today do not have in their busy scheduled lives.

Trees create a feeling of mystique and a great place for story sharing. We especially enjoy the Maori stories of Papatūānuku (earth mother). In the Māori world view, land gives birth to all things, including humankind, and provides the physical and spiritual basis for life. Papatūānuku, the land, is a powerful mother earth figure who gives many blessings to her children (Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand). In Maori view, Summer and Winter are personified in two beings named Hine-raumati, the Summer Maid, and Hine-takurua, the Winter Maid, both of them were taken to wife by Te Ra, the Sun. The Winter Maid dwells out on the ocean and controls the food supplies. The summer Maid dwells on the land, her task being to foster the food products of the Earth. This brings us to the best part of having fruit trees in our garden, the provision of a crop to eat.

Ganjitsu ya taijyu no moto no hito gokoro
"The First Day of the Year;
Under the protection of a big tree,
People's hearts are at rest."

- Haiku by Shirao Kaya (1738-1791)

Gardening and nature study

The new school year is well on its way after our summer holiday break. The children have settled in to the classroom routine. While inside everything remains the same, outside the garden is forever changing. We are at the height of summer in New Zealand. The bees are buzzing around the clovers in the grass, the fruit is ripening on the trees, the flowers are in full bloom, and the vegetables are ready for harvest.

The cicadas are singing all day.

The garden is an integral part of our preschool. Sun, rain, wind, wet, dry, fine, no matter what the weather is, we are in our garden every day. The children are dressed with coats (if needed), (sun)hats, gumboots, and an essential layer of sunscreen. They have unlimited access to child sized, proper garden tools; a rake, a spade, gloves etc. They enjoy digging in our garden and watering the seedlings which they planted a couple of weeks ago. They are also fascinated by looking for worms and insects, and they always manage to find some creature of interest.

Making a scarecrow is heaps of fun!

A garden provides many opportunities to cultivate children's curiosity about nature and it helps them to develop a love of nature. Together with a teacher, they weed, they water, they dig, they pick, they plant, they rake, they choose, they select, and no matter what the activity is, being together in the garden, spending time with each other, teacher and child, is a special time our children love.

Children learn how to harvest,

and how to prepare the harvested vegetables for consumption.

Gardening can be a basis for nature-study and provide many teaching moments. We teach the children the names of the flowers or vegetables which they grow. They learn their uses and how to cultivate them. They are taught how to prepare the soil, and the reasons for this. Plants need to "eat and drink", they need water, soil and sunlight. The children learn about the roots, the stems, and the leaves, and what their uses to the plant are. Each plant has its own form of flower and its own way of reproduction. They learn about pollination and how different plants develop and scatter their seeds. They can study the weeds in the garden and learn about "survival of the fittest".

Arranging flowers, appreciating beauty.

Flowers add colour and interest to the garden. Certain flowers attract certain insects or other creatures. These creatures all play an important role in the garden, the earthworm who is working below the soil, the bee who is visiting the flowers, the bug who is feeding on the leaf or the root, the bird who is nesting nearby and visits.

There are many opportunities in the garden for the children to study individual life and to become intimate with the plants and animals, while at the same time developing an understanding of the interrelation of all life.

Teenagers who rock!

According to a recent Auckland University report on the health and emotional wellbeing of New Zealand's young people, the Youth07 study reports that today's teenagers are battling high rates of abuse and violence, bulging waistlines and bing-drinking habits, among other concerning habits.

Previously I wondered about teenagers and their connection with nature when I posed the question "Is my teenage daughter really out of touch with nature?". Last month, the Children and Nature Network website posted a similar question in an article about high school student's interactions with nature.

Reading the Youth07 report I look at the teenagers that have come into my life, as friends and accomplices of my teenage son and daughter, who are thirteen and sixteen years old. It is most likely you will know a teenager who sits in front of a screen for most of the day, is attached to a cell phone unconditionally and has plugs in their ears non-stop. And anybody who is parenting a teenager knows about the turbulence in emotions parenting a teenager may bring. New Zealand's parenting gurus Ian Grant and John Cowan wrote a brilliant book about parenting teenagers "The White Water Rafting Years". With two teenagers in our family, it does feel sometimes as if we are negotiating white-water rapids. However, if you have ever done white water rafting, or as in my case, white water kayaking (yes I kayaked the famous Petawawa River in Ontario), you will also know about the thrill you experience after you have safely negotiated the rapids. I'd like to share one of these thrills with you.

Just like many New Zealand teenagers, Femke and Brittanny, sixteen and seventeen years old, own a cellphone, an Ipod and other gadgets. They have readily access to computers and televisions. Throughout the year, the girls are bogged down with homework, internal testing and NCEA exams. Femke and Brittanny attend one of New Zealand's top private girl schools. A school with strong traditions, values, principles and high expectations. A school also where strong leadership is modeled and encouraged. However, the girls feel there is one crucial thing at the school missing. The school does not have an environmental group. So these summer holidays the girls took it upon themselves to examine the feasibility of an enviro club at their school.

While their friends went camping, or hung out at the beach or were watching movies, Brittanny and Femke retreated in their bedrooms and researched global warming, sustainable practices, Enviroschools membership and environmental education. They collated plenty of material and wrote a plan, created a slideshow and prepared a presentation speech for the principal. Back at school they went to see the principal, after having made an official appointment through her p.a.. There they presented their proposal to create an enviro club, and for their school to become an Enviroschool. Their report identifies and describes the "what, why, when and where " of an enviro club at their school.

The Youth07 report doesn't portray a very positive picture of our youth today. About a third of the teenagers admit to watching more than three hours television or spending at least three hours sending text messages each day. And only 4% are involved in volunteer communities like Greenpeace. Grant and Cowan write in "The White Water Rafting Years", "Today's teenagers have bought into shallow materialism to a far greater extent than earlier generations. Most of them define their future goals (if they have any) purely in material terms. They may not see the spiritual and emotional shallowness of this, but they do experience the "soul-rot" of it."

In our modern world, there seems to be a lack of connection between our teenagers fast living patterns and natures slow moving rhythms. Teens have much fewer opportunities nowadays to turn their attention to nature.
Having said that, environmental issues like global warming, poverty and over exploitation are issues teenagers are more aware and knowledgeable of today then we ever were. And not all teenagers turn to tv and videogames when faced with boredom.

Femke and Brittanny found a passion, caring for the environment and the future of the planet. They initiated their own actions and presented their ideas to the appropriate authority. Encouraging teenagers to identify and pursue their individual passions allows them to take charge of their own lives and hence emerge as natural leaders. The girls proposal for the school to become an Enviroschool, and to educate their fellow students about the effects of global warming, and what they can do to make a difference, has been positively received by the principal. Their proposal now awaits approval from the school council. Regardless of the outcome, approval or disapproval, to see young teenagers take initiative and leadership with passion, innovation, creativity and curiosity (the PICC attributes), brings hope to our future and a real thrill. You girls rock!

The best day in the year

"In the beginning lies the essence of all that is to follow" -- unknown

As I walk through our garden, the first morning back after a six week holiday break, I think about the new beginnings the school year will bring. I see little oak trees growing out of the acorns that were scattered around our garden. I see pears in our pear tree, growing from the blossoms that were flowering in spring. And I see monarch butterflies emerged from the chrysalises, flittering around our garden, looking for food and a mate. I see many beautiful new things in our garden that have emerged from humble beginnings.

The monarch butterfly begins life as an egg, emerges as a caterpillar, and then undergoes a complete change in body form during development, a dramatic metamorphosis. This all happens in the timeframe of weeks, rather then years. The caterpillar looks nothing like the adult. After hatching from the egg, the young caterpillar undergoes several growths until it enters the pupal stage. From the outside it appears as though the pupa, or chrysalis is resting. In reality, it is undergoing a huge change until it emerges a fully formed adult, a butterfly. The egg is the beginning of the beautiful adult.

The new school year will bring us many new beginnings and just like the eggs of the butterfly, if they are heeded well, they will emerge into beautiful life experiences. It will bring us new skills to learn and new responsibilities to undertake. It will bring us new interests to explore and new relationships to develop. And like the chrysalis undergoing its metamorphosis, it will bring us new challenges and changes to face. New opportunities will emerge to make new choices, to move forward, to grow.

As the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis, it takes flight to pursue its main activities, mating and reproduction. It has no time to waste- butterfly adults live for only a few weeks. For the butterfly, each day is a new beginning, another opportunity to mate and reproduce. For us too, here at preschool, each day in the new year will bring new beginnings, new experiences. The experiences of today will influence our actions of tomorrow. Each day will give us new steps to realise our dreams and beckon us to new heights.

There will be new opportunities to share with each other the enjoyment of learning about our beautiful natural world, and new opportunities to share the awe and wonders of nature with our children.

And as I walk back into our classroom, I think of all the opportunities that will come today, and of the butterfly who counts not months or years, but moments, who has time enough and who seizes each day as the best day. Not the new year, but the new day brings us a new beginning and must be heeded well.

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." – Ralph Waldo Emerson