EARTH KIDZ
I
Fight for forests
Raul sniffed the rich perfume of the Amazon flowers. He looked up at the tops of the tall trees. The patches of blue sky shining through the leafy canopy seemed so far away. Creepers twined around his ankles as he clambered through short bushes. Brilliant screeching birds flashed by.
Raul was home from his school at Brasilia. It was the first day of the holidays and home was a large village on the banks of the Amazon River. The rainforest grew close to his home. Raul picked up a fallen branch and smacked at the thick trunks. “I miss this jungle so much. When I grow up I will be a tour guide like Dad!”
“Only if any jungle is left for tours,” added a shrill voice. Billy looked up to see a red, yellow and blue macaw fluttering just above his head.
“Who are you?” Raul had never heard a bird speak.
“I am Mac and you are Raul. I have watched you grow up. I often enjoyed watching your games with friends in the village” Mac gracefully glided to a branch. Its bright beady eyes glinted at Raul.
“How can all this jungle just vanish?” Raul scoffed.
“Because of the greedy loggers who cut away huge numbers of mahogany, teak and the samauma trees to sell the wood. Even rosewood trees, which the law says cannot be cut, are taken away. To truck out the huge logs, they make roads. And more trees are cut down.”
“How do you know this?”
“Because we watch everyday our homes being destroyed,” Mac said sadly.”Not only are the birds but even the animals of this jungle worried.”
“Not just you, we humans should also worry. These forests bring rain, which helps us to grow food. If the jungle goes, the climate will also change. First here, along the Amazon River and then all over the world.” Raul’s voice trembled.
“If Man does not stop being greedy, all the world’s natural forests, birds, and animals will die.” Mac sounded angry.
“And us too! Why don’t the governments do something?” Raul simmered.
“They are trying but they need the support of the people.”
Raul thumped the tree trunk. “You know what! When I grow up, I will become a forest officer and police these jungles. But I will start my work now. I am going to call for a FIGHT FOR FORESTS club at school. We will write to the governments of all the South American countries to organize a multi-nation forest police force. They will fight, catch, and punish these jungle robbers.”
“Oh Raul! I knew you loved the forests as much as I do.”
“Mac, this is not only my love but also my fear. If the jungle dies, the humans also die! We have to stand against these greedy criminals. Only then can we live safely and in peace.”

II
Precious air
It was the usual chilly English winter afternoon. Robin ran outside. He had seen Mr Riley, the gardener sweeping the dried leaves fallen from the trees. He gathered them into a hole in the garden. Then using some newspaper twists and matches, he lit up the heap. Smoke rose: first in wisps, then in rolls, and finally in clouds from the bonfire. Mr Riley and Robin warmed their hands and laughed.
“Don’t get too close, Robin,” warned Mr Riley. “The sparks fly and if they land on your clothes, they will make tiny holes. Your mom will not like that.” Then he went away to hoe the beds.
“Hi!”
It came from above. Robin looked up. A dragonfly hovered near the top of his head. Its big round eyes mirrored tiny Robin faces.
“Hi! Who are you?”Robin had never heard a dragonfly speak.
“I am Oxy and you are Robin. I heard the gardener.”
“Yes,” said Robin, as he threw a twig into the merrily leaping flames.
“This smoke gets into my throat and nose. I can’t breathe. I hate these bonfires,” coughed Oxy.
“But bonfires are such fun. And anyway the smoke is rising up into the air. I am not breathing any smoke,” remarked Robin.
“That is what you think. But actually you are breathing in a lot of the smoke and the ash powder that this fire is spreading. Winter is a time when there are a lot of bonfires of leaves everywhere. They fill the air with smoke and tiny burnt flecks. We breathe it in and then cough so much all through winter.”
“Is that so? But without burning them how will Mr Riley get rid of the dry leaves that litter the garden?”
“All he has to do is to cover them up in this hole. After the winter months, if he digs here he will find the best leaf manure. It is called a compost pit. Besides it will not pollute the air,” replied Oxy.
“That is a good idea. I will tell Mr Riley about it.”
“Without clean air all living things---animals, insects, plants, human beings, and you and me will fall sick and even die. Yet factories all over are belching toxic fumes into the air. People spray perfumes and its chemicals spread in the air. Everyone burns rubbish such as plastic and polythene that sends up poisonous smoke.Though it is a matter of life and death, people seem to be competing on how fast they can pollute the precious air that Nature has gifted us.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Robin frowned. “We must do something about it.”
“I was waiting for you to say that. What do you think you should do?” Oxy buzzed excitedly.
“Well, first I will go around to my friends’ houses in the town and tell them not to burn leaves or rubbish. I will explain that a compost pit is much healthier, both for our plants and us. And tell them to tell their friends too. We have a group project to submit next month. I will suggest we develop a Clean Air project. We will go to the weather office and collect data on air pollution. My uncle is an environmentalist. We will ask him to give a talk in our school about how we can fight air pollution. That will make everyone aware how precious air is, won’t it , Oxy?
“Wow! When we have more children like you, it will surely stop air pollution and we will all take deep breaths of clean, fresh air very soon,” laughed Oxy, happily.

III
Healthy Earth
Shauna swung her legs and bit into the spicy cheese burger. Her mother had told Shauna to wait for her at this park bench.
She munched away sometimes taking a swig from the plastic bottle of orange juice. When she was through with both, she tossed the bottle and the poly burger box over her shoulder and yawned.
“Hey! Why did you do that?” came a shrill voice.
Shauna turned around but she could not see anyone. Behind her was an empty pasture.
“Down here,” came the voice again.
Shauna glanced at the grass behind the bench. Guess what? There was a brown earthworm standing on its tail. It wore a funny red cap at a jaunty angle.
“Did you speak?”
“Right-o!” came the reply. “I am Terra. What is your name?”
“Shauna. But you are a….” She was not sure.
“…an earthworm.” The creature finished.
“But earthworms can’t talk.” Shauna was sure.
“We have no choice since humans cannot see the damage they are wrecking on the Earth. So earthworms, who are dedicated to keeping the Earth healthy, have decided to start speaking. Maybe humans will listen.”
“What do you mean by ‘damage’?” Shauna was confused.
“Just take a look at the plastic bottle and poly box you threw so carelessly into the pasture.” It suggested.
Shauna looked up to see a cow nuzzling them. Then to her horror, it started chewing the box. “But that is not food,” Shauna protested.
“That hungry cow doesn’t know. The cheesy smell in your burger box makes him think it is food. And what do you think will happen to her?” Terra cocked his head at her.
“She will be sick. Her tummy will ache.” Shauna was feeling guilty.
“ Exactly. Do you know there are garbage dumps and landfills across the cities on Earth which have mixed rubbish. Rotting food, tins, poly bags, plastic containers, metal bottle tops all in one place. Animals like cows and goats look for food in these heaps and unknowingly swallow chemical waste. The waste blocks their stomach and many even die.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know. At home we always separate the garbage, ” exclaimed Shauna.
“But everyone doesn’t.Also all this artificial waste sinks into the soil. As it goes deep into the Earth, it blocks the air pores and does not allow the free flow of water. So roots of trees and plants cannot find the nutrition and water they need. Even if we, the earthworms work overtime to keep the soil fertile, all this rubbish kills the soil. And that makes plant life sick. This is the reason that vegetation on the Earth is dying. Without forests there is no rain. Climate has become hot and dry as trees become less and less.” Terra paused to catch his breath.
“Can’t something be done to stop this terrible threat to plant and animal life?” Shauna knit her brows.
“Of course. All humans have to do is use less poly and plastic. They must not toss rubbish just anywhere. All the garbage must be separated into what can be recycled, what can be reused, and what should be disposed safely. Then, we can keep the environment safe and also use waste by recycling it for use again.”Terra explained.
“That is a wonderful idea! I am going to talk to my friends. We will have a Right Garbage Drive. Not just here, but on Facebook too. We will put up snaps of how mixed rubbish hits plants and animals. We will make posters about reducing the use of poly products. We will hold marches to tell everyone to separate their waste for each bin.” Shauna was excited.
“If you make a Right Garbage Army, then you will help earthworms to keep the Earth healthy and safe for all living creatures.” Terra saluted Shauna.

IV
Save our seas
Shibu dived into the cool waters of the Gangasagar where the mighty Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal. He was treading water when he was suddenly yanked down. Something was looped around his ankles. It was pulling him down. He tried kicking it off but it held on tightly. Shibu reached down and worked the winding thing off his legs. It felt familiar to touch. When his head cleared the water, Shibu looked at his hands. He had guessed right! He was holding a long, trailing roll of bubble wrap sheet.
“How did this get into the water?” he spoke loudly.
“Exactly what I want to know, too!”Shibu looked around. Bobbing on the water, was the strangest creature he had ever seen. It had the head of a small horse but the rest of its knobbly body ended up in a curly tail. It had no legs.
“I am Aqua, a seahorse. Who are you?”
“I am Shibu. But sea horses live deep in the ocean. What are you doing near the shore?” Shibu was amazed. He had seen only pictures of sea horses in books.
“Yes, I am far from home. You see, our ocean is getting jam-packed with strange things from the shores. There is no space to live on the ocean floor and hardly anything to eat. So I decide to swim to the shore to see if I could solve this problem.”
“What kind of strange things are clogging the ocean?” Shibu wondered.
Aqua replied with a shrill neigh, “The list is very long. Plastic and polythene things are dumped by people sailing on boats and liners.
Bubble wrapping, glass bottles, and poly lined packets, even folding chairs are carelessly left on the beaches that tides wash into the ocean.
Huge ships exhaust their waste into the water. It floats down to the ocean floor.
Factories dump chemical wastes by tons into rivers. The fishes in the rivers die and the poisonous river water is carried to the seas. Fish and sea animals like octopuses, crabs, stingrays, sea horses and so many others fall sick and even die. Plants on the ocean floor also die, so there is no food for us to eat.
Oil tanker ships spill thick oil on the ocean surface. Sea birds are trapped by this floating oil. It sticks their feathers together. They cannot fly and the poor birds drown. This oil even washes up on your beaches, making them dirty and black.”
Aqua paused to catch his breath after such a long speech.
“But that is terrible. Fish, sea animals and birds will be lost if we keep on polluting our oceans .Our seas will become too dangerous even to swim. ” Shibu was aghast.
“Even humans will fall sick when people eat the poisoned fishes. But who can stop them?” Aqua shook his head sadly.
“We will!”
“Who is ‘we’?” asked Aqua.
“We--the children of the world.” Shibu announced. “When I go home, I will get on the Internet and mail your story to all my friends across the world. I will appeal to them to plan projects to save the oceans, the rivers and all those who live in them.”
“That is a wonderful idea!” Aqua neighed excitedly.
“My blog called, Save our Seas, is where my friends will put up posters and photos of dead water plants and sea creatures in trouble because of water pollution. And we will write to newspapers and governments to request for laws to punish the wrong doers.”
Aqua gave a deep sigh. It sounded more like a horse snorting. “Now I am relieved. I can go back home and tell everyone that my trip to the shores of the ocean was a success. Our problem will end soon. Our homes will no longer be polluted and we will not be hungry, thanks to the brave children of the world!”