Earth Day 2012: Kids Making the Change
Roots & Shoots is a branch of the Jane Goodall Institute that encourages kids and teens around the world to take action and make the world a better place to live. At the Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair in March, representatives from Roots & Shoots demonstrated just how easy it is for kids to come up with solutions to important environmental issues.
Kids and teens grouped into teams to work on a model invention that would be judged by a pretend investor. The assignment was to take the materials provided for us and create a model of an invention that would help stop invasive species in the Los Angeles River. The materials ranged from tape and markers to boxes and plastic lids.
The first step was to understand the problem. We found information about invasive species and used our knowledge of biology to come up with ideas on how to stop them. Once we had our ideas, the groups worked together to build models of them.
My group was very creative, and I believe our project was awesome. We decided to tackle invasive species that are plants, and our idea was to use special chemicals and machinery to stop them and help the indigenous species grow. It was a fun experience getting to know the people I was working with. Our project didn’t win, but the cool projects that did went on to be recorded on video and shown in schools across the country.
Working on the projects taught us all that solving environmental problems isn’t as hard as it seems. We’re going to be the next generation responsible for the environment, and it's time to step up and become problem solvers.
If you want to get involved it is as easy as going to the Roots & Shoots website!
Watch the interview Damien and I did with Adrienne on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!
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