Our environment is under stress from so many sides it can be discouraging for students to think about. What can individuals do about global warming? Endangered species? Water shortages? Oil spills? Some may say just give up and go to the mall. Yet, we all need to think about these environmental problems and what hard decisions we will need to make.
Sometimes it helps to read a story about something going right. In THE CHIRU OF HIGH TIBET we get the story of one species. Because Rick Ridgeway and the other trekkers identified the chiru birthing ground, and the Chinese government designated this space as a preserve, because Patagonia Clothing company helped with funding for guards for this area, chiru numbers are growing. Human action does make a difference.
And now humans are acting to help save turtles in the Gulf Coast. These turtles are wrapped in towels, transported in Tupperware (!) to the Florida Aquarium where they can eat zucchini, broccoli, frozen fish, and grow strong.
Read the next chapter of the turtle story here:
The Florida Aquarium got a special delivery from the Gulf Coast
I like to think of a discussion that students might have after reading THE CHIRU OF HIGH TIBET, Kathryn Lasky's INTERRUPTED JOURNEY: SAVING ENDANGERED SEA TURTLES (Candlewick, 2006) and some news articles about these current efforts to save sea turtles. These stories of hope may make us all more inclined to look around our own lives, our own places, and think what can we do.
While we have to be aware of environmental threats, we can also share stories of hope. Let's.
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