The West Tisbury School on Martha’s Vineyard has a very special group of 1st and 2nd graders who are very interested in how they can help endangered animals. Click on the link to see their amazing pictures and hear their voices as they let us know exactly what’s happening to some of the earth’s most beautiful animals and what they and we can do to help save them.
http://voicethread.com/share/841011/

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Halloween is just a few days away and there’s a way to make this Halloween the best ever! What could be better than crazy costumes, tons of candy and trick-or-treating…? Doing all those things and staying safe! Halloween is the time of ghosts and monsters, not to mention walking around in the dark, so here are a few tips to stay safe and have fun!
1.    Stay with an adult! Even though you might think your parents are boring, you’ll be surprised how fun they get on Halloween. Ask them to dress up with you and tell you stories about Halloween when they were a kid.
2.    Carry a flashlight or a couple glow sticks. It’s dark and everyone is wearing strange costumes, make sure you have a flashlight in your candy bag.
3.    Make sure your costume fits! If its too big or your mask covers your eyes, ask for some help! When your costume doesn’t fit, its more likely you could trip and fall.
4.    Only knock on doors of houses that have all the lights on! If the house is dark it means they don’t have any candy and shouldn’t be bothered.
5.    Wear comfy shoes! You are most likely going to be walking a lot, so wear good walking shoes!

Keep these things in mind and have a great Halloween!

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Great Seneca Creek Elementary School is a lot like any other school, with one major difference: it was the first school in Maryland to be certified eco-friendly. Right now a lot of schools around the country are taking steps towards being eco-friendly schools.

It was said best by fifth grader Eddie Graves, “It doesn’t use as much water.” They have waterless urinals, motion activated faucets, cabinets made of wheat board and bathroom stalls made from recycled bottles.

The U.S. Green Building Council has certified or is considering certification for more than 1000 schools across the country.

So find out what you can do to get your school green! Visit the USGBC website today and tell your teachers and principals that you’re ready to help!

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Our favorite 11-year-old, James Brooks, in cooperation with the Canadian Ape Alliance, has started a project called 1000 Classrooms. James hopes to get 1000 western classrooms to donate $3 each to buy a dozen eggs from the widows of Park Rangers killed protecting the apes. The eggs will be given to the children at the Kahuzi-Biega Environmental School in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Because of this purchase, the widows earn an income, the children and teachers are given nutritious food and the apes are safer because there is less demand for food!

The Eggs for Kids Program makes sure every kid and every teacher gets an egg per day!
So how can you help? Any classroom can get involved from preschool to University. All you have to do is talk to your teachers and ask them to visit www.1000classrooms.org.
Each and every kid can make a big difference with only a small donation!

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The presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will answer kids’ questions as part of a television special called “Kids Pick the President” at 9 p.m. Sunday on Nickelodeon.

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NEW YORK, New York, September 25, 2008 (ENS) – The first Kids Gorilla Summit, which is happening on Friday in New York City will enlist young people to make a commitment to help endangered mountain gorillas and the people of Africa. The summit will explore the connection between the urgency of wildlife preservation and inter-related humanitarian issues.

This event and the gorilla conservation campaign it spearheads were born out of a commitment to action made at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative shortly after last summer’s massacre of 10 of the world’s remaining 720 mountain gorillas, of which, 380 live in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park.

A project of the William J. Clinton Foundation established by the former U.S. president, the Clinton Global Initiative convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as the planet’s dwindling biodiversity.

An endangered mountain gorilla in the DRC. (Photo by Paul Taggart courtesy Wildlife Direct)

The gorilla conservation campaign brings together some of the world’s most respected names such as Kenyan conservationist Dr. Richard Leakey, founder of Wildlife Direct, and South African Anglican Archbishop, activist and Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu.

Turtle Pond Publications and Scholastic, in association with Dr. Richard Leakey’s Wildlife Direct and the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation through the catalyst of the Clinton Global Initiative, are the partners in this effort to protect the mountain gorillas.

Dr. Leakey started Wildlife Direct in 2005 to raise awareness and funds for conservation in some of the worlds most endangered and dangerous places. Operating deep in the jungles of eastern Congo, blogs written by rangers last year alerted the world to the crisis facing mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Funds raised through the blogs have enabled the Congolese wildlife authority, the Congolese Nature Conservation Institute to continue wildlife conservation activities on the ground despite the ongoing crisis that pits rebels and government troops against each other for control of the area inhabited by the gorillas.

“Wildlife Direct was conceived as a way of facilitating exchanges between the front lines of conservation and the rest of the world, to create a community of people concerned about conservation and to allow for direct interaction with and support to the conservationists on the ground,” Dr. Leakey says on his blog.

The Kids Gorilla Summit will now be part of that community. Participants will discuss the new children’s book, “Looking for Miza: The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family Who Rescued One of Their Own, published by Scholastic Press. It was written by the best-selling team of Craig, Isabella and Juliana Hatkoff, photographer Peter Greste, and ecologist Dr. Paula Kahumbu who is in charge of conservation, policy and partnerships at Wildlife Direct.

Some 180 students in grades five to seven will view short videos of the gorillas, as well as special animated “Gorillasodes” that were created by students from the United States and Rwanda to help spread the word about the gorillas’ plight.

The young people will discuss the issues with Leakey, Kahumbu and Hatkoff, and they will meet four reporters who are members of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps, reporting from Africa.

After learning about the gorillas and the region, the students will develop their own ideas for solutions with the help of educational, web-based technological tools.

At the end of the summit, participants will be asked to sign the Kids Global Act Pact, which will declare their commitment to taking action to make a difference.

Students nationwide can participate via a live national webcast at http://www.scholastic.com/miza and will be able to email questions to participants.

In addition, http://www.scholastic.com/miza and http://www.miza.com, created jointly by Turtle Pond and Scholastic, will offer students up-to-date information on the gorillas brought from Wildlife Direct’s field-based blogs written by the Mountain Rangers and other activities and resources.

The new curriculum and online portal will be distributed to a million students to teach them about the gorillas, their habitat and the Mountain Rangers, and is intended to empower them to become advocates for change.

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The I’m Lucy booksigning and beach clean-up event was a huge success! Here’s what we did: author, Mathea Levine, signed books and read the story several time and we gave 20% off of the book for all kids that brought in trash from our local beaches.

WHY? Because we didn’t want to just do a booksigning. We wanted kids to do something good for our environment. We want kids to understand that when we clean up our own backyards, the positive effects are felt across the planet – even all the way to the bonobos in Africa.

• There were wonderful articles published in both the Martha’s Vineyard Times and the Martha’s Vineyard Gazette.
• We had eye-catching ads and posters that featured our sponsors.
• Mathea and the event were featured on Plum TV.
• We had great food at the event.
• We sold many books.
• We cleaned up some major beach.
• One family brought enough trash from Philbin to fill the back of their SUBURBAN.
• This same family has decided to make beach clean-up be an annual tradition – a way to say thanks to the island at the end of each summer.
• We made a great video (now in production) of the event.
• The winning trash family was awarded a bonobo adoption in their names (proceeds supporting our frontline partner, Bonobo Conservation Initiative and their new adopt program – more details coming soon!)
• We generated enough island sponsors to donate I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo to every island library, school, daycare and kid-included social service agency on the island (totaling 26 donations!)

A HUGE thank you to all of our generous sponsors and community supporters who donated their time, services and/or money to our event last weekend:

South Mountain Company (a green building company)

MV Fiber Farm (the world’s first natural fiber (wool) CSA (community supported agriculture)

Suzanne Lanzone & Daughters (a realtor dedicated to conservation)

Writing Roads (a writing & marketing company specializing in blogging and Web 2.0)

Elizabeth Whelan (a most fantastic graphic designer and illustrator)

Table Talk Cookbook (the family cookbook with tons of heart and a focus on local)

Randi Baird Photography (photographer extraordinaire specializing in the documentation of environmental activism)

EcoMV (the store that is making a different with sustainable, eco-friendly products for life)

Allied Waste (our partners that hauled all of the trash away!)

DaRosa’s Printing

UPDATE: Here’s another great story about kids cleaning up in Georgia!

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Upon returning from his whirlwind tour of the bonobo hotspots around the States, James Brooks, the #1 Bonobo Fan, took time out from his incredible fundraising activities to talk to Bonobo Kids.

Bonobo Kids: Hi James! First things first, rumor has it that you raised $4,300 for the Great Ape Trust of Iowa’s Bowling for Apes fundraiser! Congratulations!!!
James: Thank you!

BK: You had over 280 sponsors for the event, who did you ask?
James: Well, lots of friends and family! Also my dad is a professor at a University and I went to work with him one day, talked to a lot of people and asked them to sponsor me. Then my mom took me to the hospital where she works and I gained some more sponsors. Also, my website got a lot of people interested, and I put a bunch of fliers in mailboxes in my neighborhood.

BK: Have you participated in Bowling for Apes before?
James: The first year, I didn’t. Last year, I raised $1,050, but couldn’t attend. So this was the first year that I raised money and got to go to the event.

BK: Tell us about the event!
James: A bunch of people fundraised like I did, but most of them live in Iowa and it was easier for them to get to the event than it was for me. I had to drive from Canada! At the event, there is a bowling area where you sign in so that the people at the Great Ape Trust can contact you and let you know how they will use the money. Then we bowled and got to meet a lot of other people who are into apes. And we got to see a lot of scientists and people involved in the Great Ape Trust. Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh bowled in our lane with us!

BK: How did you first hear about bonobos?
James: I’ve always been interested in primates, but I didn’t like how violent they could be. Then I found out about bonobos in a great ape documentary, and how they were more peaceful. I really liked that so I just kept learning more.

BK: Have you ever met a bonobo?
James: I’ve been to many zoos to see them San Diego, Columbus, Cincinnatti and Twycross, and of course, the Great Ape Trust of Iowa. On a previous visit to the Great Ape Trust, I got to go behind the scenes because of my donations and the work that I’ve done. I fed Kanzi, and Panbanisha and Kanzi’s nephew, Nyota.

BK: What was that like! That is amazing!
James: I put the salad in a box that moved from the room I was in to Kanzi’s room. I gave him a lot of carrots in his salad one time, and he said that he liked having a lot of carrots in his salad. He used his lexigram to talk to me, but he could understand me when I spoke to him.

BK: Was there anything that surprised you about the bonobos when you saw them up close?
James: I couldn’t believe how much they are like humans – that they do the same things that kids do…I didn’t expect that! They even played chase with me. Kanzi asked me to play with them using the lexigram – I understood him because I had learned what many of the symbols meant. And from opposite sides of the glass, we chased each other all over.

BK: What are your plans for the future?
James: Now that this event is done, I will be doing a few more things to try to help apes:

• I am writing a letter to kids in Africa for the Bonobo Conservation Initiative
• I am going to update my website and my blog
• I am going to raise money for KidsSaveApes to donate to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
• I am going to stay involved with all the apes groups I belong to and work for them
• I am going to write to politicians and others who can help ensure that apes are protected and that the people of Africa and Borneo and Sumatra who live near them are looked after.
• I am going to get a Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots group active in my community.

BK: James, we can not thank you enough for all of your efforts…and for telling so many people about I’m Lucy. You are an inspiration and the great apes and this world are lucky to have you!

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Barack Obama has an entire portion of his site dedicated to kids – it’s called Kids for Obama. Even though you aren’t allowed to vote just yet, there are many things that you can still do. Of course, because these ideas came from Obama’s campaign, they focus on spreading the word about Obama. If you feel that McCain is the better candidate, you can substitute his name.

10 Ways Kids for Obama can get involved:

• Create a Kids for Obama Group on My.Barackobama.com. For example, Chicago Kids for Obama or DC Kids for Obama and throw a party!
• Write a letter or editorial to your local news paper, expressing “Why Barack Obama should become the next US President”.
• Find a Pen Pal – it could be in your school, city, state, or another state. Write and discuss different ways you can get involved.
• Draw a picture of Senator Barack Obama or “an expression of Democracy”. For example, the Senator sitting in the White House or working on Capitol. Hill. You can send your drawing to the Obama for America Campaign Headquarters in Chicago and it will be posted for the Senator to see.
• Implement T-Shirt Thursday. Get friends to wear an official Obama for America T-Shirt to school.
• Take an adult (voting age) to the polls on Election Day and encourage them to vote for you, by voting for Senator Obama.
• Post an official Obama for America Campaign sticker/logo on your school bag.
• Wear an Obama for America Campaign button and/or clothing.
• Host a Senator Barack Obama House Party or sleep-over.
• Contribute to the Kids for Obama Blog.

What do you think of this list? Do you have any of your own ideas to add and share? We’d love to hear them!

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We all know that plastic bags are a serious problem for our environment. We just heard about some awesome kids on Westchester County, New York who have done quite a clean up where plastic bags are concerned.

On June 28th, 2008, they created ‘Plastic Bag Day’ and collected 39,995 plastic bags! That’s 421 pounds of plastic bags!!! Totally amazing. The county reports that since they’ve announced the inclusion of plastic bags in their recycling program, they’ve collected over 7,000 pounds of plastic bags and that 20% comes from local school kids’ efforts.

In addition, the county has passed a law that will become effective this fall, 2008 that requires large retail stores (over 10,000 square feet) to display receptacles to collect, transport and recycle plastic bags.

If you are looking to take environmental and/or bonobo-inspiried action in your community, Westchester County has offered a super model. Contact Andy Spano, Westchester’s County Executive for more information and to tell him that he and his county have done a great, great thing.

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