It’s cool to be green and to help save the planet.
We—all of us—can embrace ingenious ideas to save the planet. Planet Ark, the Australian environmental powerhouse behind National Tree Day, who work towards a greener world present many positive initiatives in this excellent book .
Five chapters offer clear accessible information. The chapter titled Blue Planet details how we ‘muck up our oceans’ with plastic and pollution but shows some attempted solutions, e.g. Ned, an eleven-year-old Queenslander started his business The Turtle Tribe to replace plastic toothbrush waste with bamboo.
There is further Good News from Queensland’s Hillbrook Anglican School which aims for a 90% circular economy by 2030. Year 10 students process food scraps from the tuckshop with an anaerobic digester, transforming waste into usable biogas and soil fertiliser. Elsewhere, school uniforms are recycled into desktops; plastic bottles are repurposed into T-shirts, sneakers, carpets, cups and uniforms.
Another example is from a small school in Manyalluk, Northern Territory which keeps its community clean—and makes money—with a Cash for Containers scheme. It won a trophy with presenters as young as five informing scientists and environmental groups about projects to monitor wildlife including Gouldian finches and buffalo.
Planet Ark estimates that on average every Australian throws away 2.7 tonnes of materials per year. They make the point that whether it be poo power, ‘Lousy Ink’ or salon foil and hair, recycling is potential money.
Illustrated with photographs, drawings and graphics, this book is easy on the eye and gives hope for the future with young people leading the charge. It is a useful resource for any school library and an inspiration for any young person interested in looking after their planet.
It’s cool to be green and to help save the planet.
