Green Lane Diary 2012 by Green Cross Australia

Green Lane Diary 2012

think + act + share = change www.greenlanediary.org

NEW FOR 2012! Get the NEW engaging interactive Green Lane Diary on your iPad! ✚ Watch exciting videos ✚ Email to share your ideas instantly with Green Cross Australia ✚ Be first to enter competitions

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CONTENTS INSIDE YOUR 2012 DIARY Our world today Getting started Week 1: What’s going on? Week 2: Power the planet Week 3: Our big backyard Week 4: Live green Week 5: Every drop counts Week 6: The 6Rs Week 7: Harden up Week 8: Cool citizens Week 9: Biodiversity Week 10: Destination clean and green Meet the characters

2 4 6 12 18 20 24 29 34 38 43 48 52

wORds

today Our world

wIsE it is that nobody How wonderful moment before need wait a single ve the world. starting to improFrank -Anne

E HOw dO tHEs Us? ct IssUEs affE

ts on our we live impac the right g now ted, so the way interconnec ms have resulted, makin It’s the planet is for everyone. Everything on the years, many problebuild a better future make a difference. and . Over step to environment take up the challenge only takes one our planet… to time for us e overwhelmed but it reallyissues that are affecting the becom igate to easy and invest Be a scientist

WEEK 1

EVERYTHING IS cONNEcTED

We have a wonde

rful planet.

ng on?

Let’s protect

it!

Planet Earth is an amazing place with the capa city to sustain the life of millions of species. Some of these species are still a mystery to us – they’re wai ting to be discover ed by keen scientists like y ourself! There is one thing that is definitely NOT a myste anymore – everyth ry to us is interconnecte ing on Earth d. It’s like we’r e all joined toget her by invisible threads, just taking responsi like a spider’s w bility and caring eb. all thing There is a spe for make a s. With more a cial Indigenous difference – s nd more of Australian wor tart asking us sharing this questions and d to describe t precious place inspire your fr his need to connection we and fam iends find ways of p Kanyini. It means ily to make sm reserving all steps in it. Don’t forget the right direct that YOU can ion. Simple ideas ar THERE’S a e often the be STINGRaY st! IN MY VEGE PaTcH! For people livin g in coastal areas risin sea levels can th reaten their fami g homes and crop lie s. As seawater s, makes its way over the beach and acr oss the land, the so il on the small Pa cific Islands of Cart eret, Tuvalu and Kiribati becomes more salty, making it harder to grow crops. One by one, the families of these tiny islands may need to move somewhere else . What do you think we can do to help?

Keywords to search: Kanyini

ONLY a FEW DEGREES… Data collected o WHaT ver the a gradual increase years has shown Did you NEXT? i know that the even though the n temperatures and Bureau of Meteor change is less than 1o Celsius since 1950 (BoM) has been ology , the impact on collecting planet’s ecosyst our data on the ch ems is far from anging tin temperatures and changing patte y. Rising patterns of our climate since rainfall will not onl rns of 1906? y impact on people, All that data also on plants a helps but to create daily nd animals. Som weather e habitats may be affecte forecasts and d, such as the can be used b icy homes of polar bears a y scientists to m nd penguins. ake projection s about our future POWER THE climate. WORLD

2012 has been de Year of Susta clared the inable Energy for All. It is a great start thinking abou time to t how we use energy. • Where does our e ACTI ON IDEA come from and ho nergy ! Start a blog w much and do we use? photos of your upload actions to save our • Are we usin planet. g sust Share your blog sources of energ ainable your class, your with y? school and the local • What are s newspaper! ome ways that we migh t be able to save energy?

Bureau of Meteor ology CSIRO Sea levels Habitat Tulele Peisa Ecology IUCN Red List of Threatened Sp ecies

WHaT caN WE

SURF THE NET

We live on an amazing planet. The Earth is our home and we share it with a rich variety of people, plants, animals and natural resources. You are our future leaders and with so many adventures and challenges ahead of you, it’s important to know that each one of us can make a difference. The diary links to the new National Curriculum. Turn your diary ideas into action and get involved at school, at home and in your community to change the way you live your life. All great things begin with small steps. I can’t wait to meet the 2012 Green Lane Heroes at the awards celebration later this year and to be inspired by all that you have learned and all that you are doing to protect our planet for the future. So let’s get started!! Mara Bún CEO, Green Cross Australia

What’s goi 2

IT’S DIARY TIME!

DO?

Organisation s like Peisa are workin Tulele relocate familie g hard to s and their homes under threat from rising sea levels. • Find out whic h countries are affected b y sea level rise • Write a lette r to your local newspaper ask ing them to publish an artic le about how sea level rise can affect families and th eir homes

FaST FacT

The Intergovernme ntal on Climate Change Panel (IPCC) projects global sea level to rise by up to 80cm by 2100

Thank you... Supporters: Green Cross Japan, Australian Diary Advisory panel, Travel Smart Queensland, Energex, Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE), CSIRO, UNESCO. Green Cross Australia: Miranda, Louise, Ahri, Mara, Cassie, Caitlin, Lisa, Matt, Megan. Illustrator: Michelle Draycott/The Illustrators Agency.com Design: Michelle D’Souza,www.michelledsouza.org Printer: Webstar

Green Lane Diary 2012 Paper: Cover - PEFC certified 104gsm matt; Inside pages & Scrapbook - 100% recycled Charisma Silk.

Copyright© Green Cross Australia 2012 DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to acknowledge the source of all contributions to this diary and Green Cross Australia apologises for any inadvertent omissions. Green Cross Australia does not accept any liability for any loss or damage arising from any errors omissions or inaccuracies in the information in this Diary or the associated website www.greenlanediary.org

Y a GLOBALL or f ledge My P uture greener f the you live and

out the way e more sustainably. THINK - ab liv an make to c u o y s e ic in o ch get involved d n a s p te s ll d, sma eighbourhoo n r ACT - take u o y l, o o your sch projects in nity. your commu rs. as with othe e id r u o y y SHARE the better b r o f t n e m n ur enviro CHANGE - o roblems and solutions. ut p learning abo ______

________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Name: _ _________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Signature: _ _______ Date: ____ AL STATS IT V ’S IA L A AUSTR : 22 million and growing Population world’s largest island, Size: As the tches for 7,617,93 Australia stretres uare square kilome ensity: 2.8 people per sq erson! p d e n n o o Populati at’s a lot of space for kilometre – th

Our world today Everything on the planet is interconnected, so the way we live impacts on our environment. Over the years, many problems have resulted, making now the right time for us to take up the challenge and build a better future for everyone. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to become overwhelmed but it really only takes one step to make a difference. Be a scientist and investigate the issues that are affecting our planetâ&#x20AC;Ś

How do these ISSUES affect us?

WISE WORDS

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.Â -Anne Frank

Green Lane hero

WISE WORDS

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” - George Bernard Shaw

Getting started Keeping a diary is a terrific way to keep track of your achievements and express your feelings and ideas. Use the Green Lane Diary to talk about how you are living a greener life, to track your own research project or to keep your class project going. It’s easy!

WHAT TO DO 1. LEARN what’s going on – read each page of your Green Lane Diary 2 WRITE in your diary each day of term 3. START a project yourself, with friends or your class 4. SHARE what you are doing on the Green Lane Diary website 5. ENTER the competition and WIN to be a 2012 Green Lane Hero. TIPS TO help YOU! • Make time to write in your diary every day • Make your diary colourful, add stickers and drawings • Share what you are doing with your friends and family • Look for the weekly challenge questions

Hands ON! Try things out

for yourself. When you see this icon, visit our website for instructions and experiments.

ELLA, Queensland Ella gives 100% and has led the way to help others learn how to recycle, spoken at school assemblies and created an art installation to raise awareness about deforestation. Ella is part of a ‘lost property’ group that connects kids to their belongings to prevent them going into landfill. She’s passionate about orangutans and is dreaming up her next project idea! Why not follow her lead?

BE A GREEN HERO

Look out for Wazza and his endangered friends, they have tips to help you. GO online to Read their stories.

Enter the competition and be a Green Lane Hero. • Organise a fun project with your friends. • Share your projects with other kids – online, in print and in video! • Check with your parents or teachers before sending your diary to Green Cross Australia • Share your crazy and creative ideas with us • Have fun saving the planet!

WEEK 1

What’s going on? We have a wonderful planet. Let’s protect it!

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED

taking responsibility and caring for all things. With more and more of us sharing this precious place we need to find ways of preserving it. Don’t forget that YOU can

THERE’S A STINGRAY IN MY VEGE PATCH! For people living in coastal areas rising sea levels can threaten their families, homes and crops. As seawater makes its way over the beach and across the land, the soil on the small Pacific Islands of Carteret, Tuvalu and Kiribati becomes more salty, making it harder to grow crops. One by one, the families of these tiny islands may need to move somewhere else. What do you think we can do to help?

make a difference – start asking questions and inspire your friends and family to make small steps in the right direction. Simple ideas are often the best!

SURF THE NET

Keywords to search: Kanyini Bureau of Meteorology CSIRO Sea levels Habitat Tulele Peisa Ecology IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

ONLY A FEW DEGREES…

WHAT NEXT?

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Data collected over the years has shown a gradual increase in temperatures and even though the change is less than 1o Celsius since 1950, the impact on our planet’s ecosystems is far from tiny. Rising temperatures and changing patterns of rainfall will not only impact on people, but also on plants and animals. Some habitats may be affected, such as the icy homes of polar bears and penguins.

Did you know that the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has been collecting data on the changing patterns of our climate since 1906? All that data helps to create daily weather forecasts and can be used by scientists to make projections about our future climate.

Organisations like Tulele Peisa are working hard to relocate families and their homes under threat from rising sea levels. • Find out which countries are affected by sea level rise • Write a letter to your local newspaper asking them to publish an article about how sea level rise can affect families and their homes

POWER THE WORLD 2012 has been declared the Year of Sustainable Energy for All. It is a great time to start thinking about how we use energy. • Where does our energy come from and how much do we use? • Are we using sustainable sources of energy? • What are some ways that we might be able to save energy?

ACTION IDEA ! Start a blog and upload photos of your actions to save our planet. Share your blog with your class, your school and the local newspaper!

FaST Fact The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects global sea level to rise by up to 80cm by 2100

Green LANENGE CHALLE

Green Lane hero

Why are we faced with so many environmental issues? What can we do about these problems? Visit the Green Lane Diary website and share what you’re doing for our planet

ST MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, IPSWICH PEOPLE POWER Supported by their teacher Mr Minz, the Year 7 students worked throughout 2011 to reduce the size of their Ecological Footprints. To reducetheir energy consumption within their school and at home, the students chose to open windows instead of turning on the air conditioning. They established a compost heap and produced an instructional DVD to teach others. They also created environmental flash cards for use by students in class and at home. What great change makers!

7 BILLION AND COUNTING... Have you ever calculated your ‘Ecological Footprint’? In simple terms, it’s a way to calculate how many resources you need to live your current lifestyle. After adding up things you use such as the food you eat, fuel to get to school, energy to power your home, the end result could be anything from 2 to 7 planets worth of resources! The problem is WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET and we need to make sure to use its resources in a sustainable way. There are already more than 7 billion people (that’s 7,000,000,000!!!) living on our planet, and scientists project this number to grow to 9 billion by 2050! Planet Earth is truly amazing, but its resources can only be stretched so far. Some people in the world live really well – and their Ecological Footprint is very small. Think about the changes you could make to help ‘even out’ the balance of resources used across the planet.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING! 2012 is a HUGE year for the United Nations. In June 2012, leaders from all over the world travelled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to attend the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also called the ‘Earth Summit’. They

discussed how to protect our society, our environment and our economy so that present and future generations can thrive. Conversations covered lots of different topics including food and water shortages, energy, oceans, jobs, natural disasters and sustainable cities.

DISASTER ZONE! 2011 was a year that many of us would rather forget. Many parts of the world were hit by floods, earthquakes, cyclones, bushfires, tsunamis and volcanoes and even a year after the disasters, many people are still unable to return to their homes. The good news is that there are many people working together to rebuild communities and make them stronger for the future.

SURF THE NET

What would you say if you were speaking to all the leaders of the world?

Keywords to search: Ecological Footprint Population density NGO Earth Summit 2012 Year of Sustainable Energy

ACTION IDEA ! With your parents help, calculate the Ecological Footprint for your home using the WWF Ecological Footprint Calculator www.wwf. org.au/footprint/calculator

We can live well and green by being smart when it comes to waste, water and energy!

Green Lane hero

Start your project

start work and try to get more ❑ Brainstorm project ideas with people involved your friends ❑ Record what you do – take ❑ Decide on a project photos and videos and write ❑ Make a project plan – list what about your project in your you need to do Green Lane Diary ❑ Book a meeting with your principal to share your ideas and ❑ Share your success stories with your friends, teachers ask how he or she can help and family ❑ Turn your plan into actions – We look forward to hearing about your projects!

CONNECT WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS! You will be amazed how many people are working behind the scenes in your local community. Catchment groups, Lions Clubs, Apex, Landcare, Zonta, St Vincent de Paul, Police Youth Citizens Clubs, Rotary, Scouts and Girl Guides are jam-packed with enthusiastic and skilful people. They may have great advice to help get your project started! Ask your teacher to help you get in contact with these people. Green Cross Australia can help you too!

PROJECT IDEAS Here are some project ideas to get you thinking: • Be a detective and take photos of plants and animals living around you. Make a brochure informing your community about them and how they can take care of them • Start up a Worm Café and collect compost and food scraps from the school canteen and children’s lunches • Create a rap or song teaching kids how to say ‘No’ to plastic

OUTSTANDING CLASS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: EARTH HOUR The students of Year 2B from St Joseph’s The Worker School in North Reservoir planned an Earth Hour event, with support from their teacher Mrs DeLeo. As a class they set a day and time and went about advertising the event. They made posters to put up in the local community, advertised in the local newspaper and informed other students during the whole school assembly. The response was amazing! On Wednesday 21st of September 2011 at 2:15pm, all the lights in their school were turned off for an entire hour! Through this project the class learnt a lot about energy and the need to use it wisely for a sustainable future. MY PROJECT PLAN FOR 2012

WEEK 1 Week ending: __/__ __/__/2012

WHAT’S THE PROBLE ✷ ✷ ✷

IDEAS TO FIX IT? ✷ ✷ ✷

THE SOLUTION ✷

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

✷ ✷ ✷ ✷ ✷

STEPS TO GET IT

DONE

✷ ✷ ✷ ✷ ✷ YOUR ECO MONITOR

RESULTS

Tally up the Water activities you do to help. Food

✷ ✷ ✷ ✷ ✷

TOTAL

alia.org) (info@greencrossaustr will share them and : Email Green Cross INSPIRE OTHERS We love pictures and videos. We about your project. make you a star.

Waste

Energy Nature Action

Write Your project plan in your scrapbook

Be a

n E n e r g y S m a r t k id

We all know how important electricity is - without it we wouldn’t be able to do lots of simple things like turn the lights on, bake a cake or watch the TV. Energy smart kids also know how important it is to SAVE electricity, which is good for the environment and helps save money too. But what you might not know is that it’s especially important to save electricity between 4-8pm, particularly on hot summer days, when everyone gets home from school and work and turns on appliances like the TV, air conditioner, washing machine and computer at the same time.

Daily Energy Demand

Can you cut it from 4-8pm?

11 school time

sleep time 4pm

8pm

Daily Energy Demand

Energy saving tips... #1 Ask your parents if you can have a BBQ for dinner rather than using an electric stove or oven to cook

#2 Switch appliances including the TV, computer and gaming consoles off at the wall when you’re not using them

#3 If it’s cold try putting on jumpers and thick socks rather than using a heater #4 Open curtains or blinds to let sun-light in rather than using lights #5 If it’s hot think of other ways to stay cool rather than switching the air conditioner on - maybe you could go for a swim instead!

#6 If you need to use the air-con make sure it’s set to 24 degrees

WEEK 2

Power the planet! Time to think about future energy. FEELING ENERGETIC?

Imagine how different our lives would be without energy. Did you know that the energy from your power point comes from different sources? Energy can be ‘renewable’ or ‘non-renewable’. Non-renewable sources are materials buried in the ground such as coal, gas and oil (also called ‘fossil fuels’). Fossil fuels are formed from plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. Most of the energy we use today is generated through the burning of fossil fuels. It’s pretty

reliable and cheap, but releases greenhouse gases and pollution into our air. Another downside is that once all fossil fuels from the ground are used up, they are gone. It takes millions of years for the fuel to form. Renewable energy can be made from the sun (solar), rivers and oceans (hydro), wind, plants (biomass) and our planet’s hot centre (geothermal) sources – which will never run out. This renewable, green energy releases fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It already

provides around 16% of global energy supply. Exploring more renewable energy ideas will help move to a cleaner energy future.

of natural causes like volcano eruptions, changing ocean currents and variations in Earth’s orbit around the sun. But over the last century temperatures have increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius – this is really fast compared to historical changes. Scientists who study this around the world have found that this

can only be explained by extra greenhouse gases produced by humans. As population grows and people consume more, we need more energy, so we burn more fossil fuels and release more greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gas blanket is getting thicker and just like a great big doona is trapping too much heat.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT There are some gases in our atmosphere that capture heat from the sun, we call them ‘greenhouse gases’. The five main greenhouse gases are steam, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. They act like a blanket around the planet and keep the world at comfy temperatures. Throughout history, temperatures on Earth have always changed. They have risen and fallen because

CHALLE

There is a lot of discussion out there about whether climate change is caused by people or not. Don’t take everyone else’s word for it – find out more about it and make up your own mind. Visit the Green Lane Diary website for more information. www.greenlanediary.org

FAST Fact CSIRO projects that by 2050 around 30 per cent of Australia’s energy supply will come from solar power.

KEYWORD SEARCH Sources of energy Coal Seam Gas Precautionary Principle Climate Smart Future Sparks Carbon Neutral Climate Justice

SURF THE NET

Green LANENGE

FIVE sources OF Renewable energy 1. Solar power: The sun shines on “photovoltaic” or “PV” panels which produce an electric current. Batteries are used to store energy for use at night. In another method curved mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to heat up water and produce steam that can power a generator. 2. Wind power: wind pushes the blades of wind turbines and makes them spin. The rotation of the blades generates electricity. 3. Hydro-electric power: water movement from rivers and ocean waves pushes giant turbines. The

rotation of the turbines creates electrical energy. 4. Geothermal power: Underground heat from the centre of our planet can be used directly to heat buildings or can be used to create steam to push turbines and create electricity. 5. Biomass power: Plants and rubbish are burnt to heat up water and create steam that can push turbines. In another method, plants are converted into biofuels such as methane or ethanol.

Don’t FORGET THE NINE BILLION... Some countries around the world use HEAPS of energy per person, while others survive on little or no electricity at all. When we go camping or when there’s a blackout, we manage to survive.But for many people in the world, living without power is a part of everyday life.

Green LANENGE

LE CHALDo a count â&#x20AC;&#x201C; how many appliances do you have at home that use energy? Are they completely turned off or do they use standby power (some power a little light even when they appear to be off)? How can you keep them off when they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in use?

14 ACTION IDEA ! Develop a school project to reduce energy during peak hours when it really matters - let Green Cross know and your school might win an Energex prize!

PEAK ENERGY 4-8PM When everyone is at home at the same time we use a lot of energy. Think about everyone cooking dinner, watching TV and doing homework all at once. It can be hard for our power stations to keep up with the demand. Sometimes energy companies have to build even more power stations to meet peak demand, which costs heaps and increases our greenhouse emissions. How can we reduce our energy use during peak energy hours?

FAST Fact

Countries with the most renewable power: United States, China, Germany, Spain, India, Canada and Brazil.

BUILDING DESIGN Our buildings use huge amounts of energy, mainly for heating a cooling. This can be reduced if they are designed carefully by facing the right direction, using insulation, planting trees and avoiding ACTION IDEA ! Are there any carbon sinks windows on the west side. in your local area? What could you do around your Appliances should be school or home to become energy efficient. Well carbon neutral? Make a plan and get started! designed buildings need less energy!

Green Lane hero

POWER RANGERS TO THE RESCUE!

FAST Fact Electricity is measured by the kilowatt-hour (kWh) – you’ll see this abbreviation on your home’s energy meter.

THE ENERGY SWITCH

The students at Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School in Kenmore, Queensland have been working to monitor their school’s energy use. Every break, students volunteer their time to act as Power Rangers by walking around the school and checking to see if lights, fans, airconditioners and other appliances are switched off. At the end of the week, their teachers Paul Mitchell and Louise Erbacher select the winning classes who have managed to save the most energy and these classes are presented with the Power Ranger of the Week Award.

We can reduce the carbon dioxide we release into our air by using cleaner forms of energy, using less energy-hungry technology or capturing the carbon before it escapes into the atmosphere. Carbon can be captured through simple actions such as planting a tree, or more complex ones such as pumping carbon gases underground (also called ‘geosequestration’). Large manufacturing plants, airplanes, big buildings, homes and cars could all be powered by clean, renewable energy.

Fossil fuels 81%

Wind/solar/biomass/geothermal power generation 0.7% Biofuels 0.6% Biomass/solar/geothermal hot water/heating 1.5%

Renewables 16.2%

Nuclear 2.8%

Hydropower 3.4% Traditional biomass 10%

K R A P S E R U T U F BE A

BRIGHT IDEAS FOR BRIGHT SPARKS

Top things you can do to save energy and support renewable energy sources ❑ Turn things off at the power point once you have finished using them – especially during peak times (4-8pm) ❑ When it’s cold, put on a jumper and avoid using electric heaters ❑ Travel smarter to school and use public transport, walk or catch a ride with your mates ❑ Could your family put up some solar panels at home? Where would you put them? ❑ Recycle your old electrical goods (look up eWaste on the internet)

WE NEED YOUR IMAGINATION Evidence is showing that burning oil and coal is contributing to global warming. So we need new clean energy ideas to keep up with our demand for electricity without damaging our environment. And we need YOUR help to come up with new ideas to change the world. The fantastic www.futuresparks.org.au website is now part of Green Lane Diary! You can see more than a hundred cool videos developed by schools across Australia on the site - make your own two minute video and send it to Green Cross Australia you might win an award.

MACINLEY’S SOLAR PYRAMID Congratulations Macinley from Mt Keira Public School in NSW for winning the 2012 CSIRO and BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Primary Student Award!!! Macinley’s invention, the “REFLECTACON 3000” improves the amount of energy produced by solar panels by capturing more light using a reflective funnel. Check it out here: http://futuresparks.org.au/

NEED MORE INSPIRATION? Look at the Inspiration pages on the Future Sparks website: www.futuresparks.org. au/inspiration

ACTION IDEA !

Feeling inspired? Write a persuasive essay in your Green Diary Scrapbook about a clean energy technology that you want to develop. Tell Green Cross Australia about it and you might win an award!

Our kids are our future

Get your school involved in imagining a clean energy future www.futuresparks.org.au

ideas to GET YOU ALGAE POWER Queensland research corporation Stanwell caught carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power station and pumped it into water to grow algae. The algae grew very quickly doubling almost every day! This mountain of algae can be used to feed cattle or make biofuel.

The bouncing of a ball contains energy. The heat generated by our computers is wasted energy. How to capture and make the most of this energy is tickling the brains of many researchers around the world. Some of the world’s most incredible inventions were created by kids! Philo Farnsworth was 14 when he first came up with the idea of a working television in 1920. His invention went on to change the world.

THAT’s EMpowerING! Even kicking a football can generate energy - and now there is a football that can collect it. Once stored the energy can power a light bulb or charge a mobile phone. This incredible invention was created by a clever group of university students. They were motivated to help young people in developing countries and inspired everyone to think outside the square! Find out more: www.unchartedplay.com

ink of a Can you th

started!

PEEING POWER Next time you need a toilet break think about the energy you might be flushing away. Researchers in England have developed a fuel cell that uses pee to generate electricity. Imagine how much energy could be produced from your school’s loos!

way to cap

n and use it

ergy of fu ture the en

WEEK 3

Our big backyard

Australia is the oldest land mass in the world. Over the years, our country has seen many different types of plants, animals and people.

Uluru and the Olgas Kakadu

Australia has an amazing mix of landforms: rainforests, deserts, mountains, coral reefs, beaches and bushland - making it possible for more than 600,000 animal species and 18,500 plant species to survive. Our Big Backyard is also home to more than 22 million people from over 200 different countries. Of the people, Indigenous Australians have been here the longest. For more than 40,000 years, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have practiced Kanyini by caring for our land and passing on their wisdom to each generation.

Fast Fact

500 -180 million years ago Australia, Antarctica, South America, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and India were all joined together as one supercontinent called GONDWANA.

KEYWORD SEARCH

baby gorillas and bush tucker The Years 6 and 7 students from Strathpine State School in Queensland and their teacher Helen have been INSANELY busy with a huge range of projects including recycling mobile phones, reducing energy consumption, making accessories from recycled materials and raising money to install water tanks and support their adopted baby gorilla, Georgie! But wait – there’s more! They’ve also cleaned up their corner of Our Big Backyard, built a ‘yarning circle’ with the help of the indigenous students in their community, planted a bush tucker garden and created mutimedia presentations to raise awareness about koalas in and around their school. Now that’s impressive!

Gondwana World Heritage List Indigenous Elders Dream Time Eco-Tourism Resources Boom Salinity Murray Darling Basin Invasive Species Land clearing

SURF THE NET

Green Lane hero

WHAT’S IN YOUR BACKYARD? You could be living right beside a national treasure and not even know it! Maybe you’ve got some native, endangered neighbours such as the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat, the Woylie, the Tasmanian Devil, the Grey Nurse Shark, the Corroboree Frog or the Southern Cassowary. Your local council or environment group will have lots of information about the ecosystems around you. Find out! DEEPER UNDERGROUND

LOCATE IT! • Which states are rich in coal, gas, iron and uranium? Locate these areas on a map of Australia • Check out the online map of world heritage sites and locate National Treasures using www.whc.unesco.org/en/list • WHY are these places listed as World Heritage sites: Blue Mountains, Ningaloo Reef, Purnululu National Park, Tasmanian wilderness, Great Barrier Reef?

ACTION IDEA ! Find out how many indigenous language groups exist in Australia. Invite a local elder to speak to your class about how the land has changed over 40,000 years.

As well as being lucky enough to have some of the most incredible places, people, plants and animals on the planet, Australia is also rich with natural resources such as coal, uranium and iron ore. As we know, there are always two sides to the story and there are some positive benefits to mining our natural resources but we also need to consider the impact on our environment and the health of our people.

WEEK 4

Live green

Every day we make choices about how we live. These little choices have an impact on our environment and others around us. Find out how you can walk more gently on our earth. How can you change from being a BIG FOOT to a LITTLE FOOT? SIMPLE STEPS @ SCHOOL

✓ Travel smart: catch public transport, walk, ride your bike or carpool with your neighbours ✓ Waste not: collect lunch scraps for a worm farm or compost bin ✓ Re-use, recycle: use only what you need, reuse materials for craft work and recycle ✓ Join up: start an environmental group and make an action plan for bigger projects ✓ Eat healthy: take fresh fruit and homemade goodies for lunch in reusable containers instead of snacks in separate packaging ✓ Water watch: turn off the tap when you’re not using it ✓ Blog it: make a blog and share your Simple Steps with others to show it easy it can be to make a difference!

SIMPLE STEPS @ HOME ✓ Grow your own: start your own vege patch, herb garden or chicken coop – you’ll have fresh vegetables, herbs and organic, free-range eggs in no time! ✓ No plastic bags: take your own bags and say NO to plastic bags

✓ Buy local: go to the local farm or markets to buy your fruit, vegetables, meat and bread ✓ Good neighbours: share the harvest from your vege patch, car-pool to school, or just enjoy each other’s company with a backyard BBQ!

Green LANENGE

LE CHALRaise money to help Green Cross Australia build tanks and toilets in schools of developing countries.

FOOD MILES!

Some things you have in your home have travelled a long way to get to you. Things that travel great distances have used more energy being transported. The grapes you eat for lunch might have put lots of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere because they had to come all the way from the US. It’s much better for the planet to buy products that come from close to home. How to do this? • Eat food that is in season • Shop at the local markets and buy from farmers who grow things nearby • Check the labels and buy Australian products www.acfonline.org.au

WATER WISE In Australia, we’re lucky to have steady supplies of clean water. Still we join with the rest of the world in spending more than $100 BILLION on bottled water every year. Our water situation would be very different if we were living in a country like Ghana, where supplies of clean, fresh water are hard to come by. Thanks to the students of St Brendan’s Primary School in Moorooka, Queensland for raising money for the children from Dawu Methodist Primary and Junior High School in East Ghana! The money raised was used to install water tanks and toilets for their fellow students in Ghana.

Hands ON! Make your own list of foods with Friendly Food Miles. Publish the list in your school newsletter or on your school’s website.

ACTION IDEA ! Write to your local councillor to suggest ways to improve public transport services in your area.

Fantastic Fact The average family car emits 4 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. 1,200 trees need to planted to offset those emissions.

Green LANENGE CHALLE

Switch off! Make stickers for your power sockets and light switches to remind your family and friends to turn things off when they don’t need them. Make sure you ask people to switch off during peak hours, which matters most.

TAKING CHARGE Anna Le, a Year 3 student from Cabramatta Green Lane in NSW showed her community how to live hero green and develop environmental awareness. Supported by her classmates and her teacher, Miss Todaro, Anna turned her Green Lane Diary into a work of art, describing the class achievements in making their school cleaner and greener. Now that’s a great idea! LAW OF THE LABEL It’s now even easier to keep our Earth in balance. New labelling on food items, beauty and cleaning products helps us to choose what’s best for the environment and our health, and offers a fair go for people all around the world. What labels have you noticed on the supermarket shelves?

There are lots of programs to help your school reduce its ecological footprint. Check these out: • Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation • Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative • Junior Landcare • Green and Healthy Schools • Solar Schools • Carbon Sink Schools

FAIR TRADE

In some countries around the world, farmers are paid a very small amount of money to produce goods but there is a HUGE profit margin when the goods are sold around the world. The FAIR TRADE logo ensures that the people who made the product receive a decent wage and fair working conditions. www.fairtrade.com.au

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Keyword search: RSPCA Food miles Solar Schools Ecological Footprint Green and Healthy Schools Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

UNPLUG FOR A WHILE!

and learning more about the world around them. Being outdoors Everyone these days seems to keeps us strong and healthy and have a Nintendo, an iPod or an teaches us how our bodies work Xbox but electronic games are – especially when we’re climbing only a recent invention. Before trees! When we play in nature, that - believe it or not - kids had we learn about plants and animals fun without electronic gadgets! and learn what it feels like to be How did they survive? They spent time outside, building cubbies, connected with our planet. So go exploring, playing games and sports on, get outside and play!

Give your pet food and water regularly

POPULAR PETS Pets are fantastic – they’re fun to play with, they cheer us up when we’re sad and when we care for our pets, we’re learning how to take care of the world around us. How to care for your pet: 1. Give your pet food and water regularly 2. Clean up after your pet 3. Spend time with your pet – take it for a walk! 4. Prepare a pet emergency evacuation plan.

The REAL COST Eat less animal proteins to reduce carbon and methane emissions. Start a Peanut Butter and Jelly campaign! www.pbjcampaign.org

FISHY GOODNESS Make sure that the fish or seafood you’re buying is caught or farmed in a sustainable way. The Marine Stewardship Council (www.msc.org) runs a certification program, which assesses whether a fishery is well managed and sustainable. Look out for the MSC ecolabel! Even kids are coming up with fantastic green seafood guides! Check out Naysan’s site www.bluepromise.org

WEEK 5

Every drop counts

THE Water CYCLE

The fresh water we use each day from local reservoirs or rainwater tanks is actually as old as the hills – maybe even older! Water makes its way around the planet in a process known as the water cycle. When it’s hot, liquid water in the oceans turns into gas that rises into the atmosphere through the process of evaporation. High in the sky the gas cools down and turns into little droplets, forming clouds. When the little droplets get denser, they form bigger droplets of liquid water. When the droplets get too heavy they fall back down to Earth as rain. When it’s really cold, the water will turn solid and form snow or hail.

Fast Fact

The agriculture industry used 7589 GL (more than 3 mil ion Olympic size swimming pools!!!) in 2008, which is 54% of total Australian water consumption. Food supply is thirsty work!

COME RAIN, COME SHINE When it rains, it pours – so true for Australia, the second driest continent on Earth after Antarctica. After a decade of drought, we were devastated by floods in 2011 and 2012! There’s not much that we can do to change the cycle of floods and droughts but we can take ACTION IDEA ! better care of our catchments Invite a local farmer to come and talk to your class and teach about the issues farmers families how to are dealing with. Find out prepare better. what you can do to help.

A catchment is like a giant bucket, waiting to catch rain and the water that flows down the mountains, through the valleys, along creeks and into our rivers and oceans. The Murray Darling Basin is Australia’s biggest catchment. It’s actually one of the largest river systems in the world, covering

almost 1 million square kilometres across five Australian states and territories, connecting 23 different rivers and providing the water to produce more than one third of Australia’s food supply. The Murray Darling Basin is home to a rich variety of biodiversity including birds, fish, insects, plants and marsupials.

Keyword search: Water Cycle Evaporation Condensation Greywater Water footprint Murray Darling Basin Year of the Farmer Salinity experiment Coral Bleaching El Nino Reef Guardians Great Pacific Garbage Patch

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CARING FOR OUR CATCHMENTS

Photo courtesy: Murray Darling Basin Authority

THREATS TO THE MURRAY DARLING BASIN • When we are in drought there is less water for people, animals and plants • People and nature at the bottom of the river suffer most because much of the water is used for agriculture, industries and towns further up the river • When we have lots of rain, communities near the river can suffer from floods, and farmers can lose their crops • Farming makes the natural water table rise and bring with it lots of salt previously stored deep in the ground

WHAT CAN WE DO? We can raise awareness about the problem of salinity, especially in the Murray Darling Basin so that more people understand the seriousness of the issue.We can plant native plants, which are usually a bit more tolerant to droughts and help you save water!

n e e r G LANENGE

LE CHALWhat’s your water footprint? Make a list of all the different ways you use water each day and go online to calculate your water footprint: www.waterfootprint.org

2012: YEAR OF THE FARMER

This year, we celebrate our farmers. Some farmers have been on their land for generations, passing on their knowledge to kids and grandkids. They’ve learned how to work with the cycle of floods and droughts and have come up with creative ways to manage threats to their crops, livestock and water supplies.

BOTTLE-FREE FRIDAY

Green Lane hero

Tyler, a Year 6 student from Palm Beach State School in Queensland has come up with her own way of protecting our oceans. She arranged a campaign to start a ‘plastic bottle free’ Friday at her school to reduce the use of plastic bottles and raise awareness of the damage they can do to the oceans.

AHOY - ACID OCEANS AHEAD Carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the world’s oceans are also making them more acidic than they have been for tens of millions of years! Check out www.oceanacidification.net for more info.

Hands ON! Make a rain

gauge out of a recycled plastic bottle by marking the millilitres on the bottle. How much rainwater can you collect?

CATCH EVERY DROP We need to be careful not to waste a single drop! Help your parents choose and install a rainwater tank, turn off the tap when you’re not using it and half-flush the loo when possible. Learn about the amount of water used to produce the food you eat. This plate of food used 665 litres of water – and that’s before the plate was washed up!!!

n e e r G LANENGE CHALLE

Become a Reef Guardian Ask your teacher to sign up your class as Reef Guardians so that you can find out more about protecting the Great Barrier Reef. www.reefed.edu.au/home/ guardians

WHAT CAN BE DONE? Do your bit to save our oceans! • Put rubbish in the bin • Say no to plastic where you can • Collect rubbish from the beach and put it in the bin

THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH Way out in the Pacific Ocean there is a HUGE pile of floating garbage known as the ‘Pacific Trash Vortex’ or the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’. The total size is unclear as it accumulates in 5 different gyres or ocean currents that are constantly moving. Some people think it’s the same size as France! This stretch of ocean is covered with millions of bits of plastic mixed with chemical sludge and all sorts of rubbish that has fallen off a boat or found its way down our catchments and into the oceans. Unlike other materials, plastic takes more than 1000 years to break down. It disintegrates into plastic confetti that fish can swallow and if we eat the fish we swallow it too!

CORAL BLEACHING FaST Fact The average use of a The Great Barrier Reef plastic bag is about 12 minutes stretches along the east but it takes between 20 and 1000 years for a plastic bag coast of Australia for almost to decompose. 2000km and is home to many colourful and amazing sea creatures such as corals. Corals are highly sensitive organisms and need perfect conditions to survive. Corals LOVE pure, salty water, the right temperature and lots of marine friends. Scientists have discovered that higher temperatures and carbon dioxide emissions are bleaching coral, leaving it white and lifeless. Turtles, fish, seabirds, starfish and anemones who depend on healthy coral for their survival are also being threatened by the problem of coral bleaching.

Write an

e m o s aWe y diary entr ! o R I s C h t i w

WEEK 6

The 6Rs Recycle, reduce, reuse, refuse, respect and replenish With over 21 million Australians, we make a lot of rubbish. If we all lived by the 6Rs it would make a big difference.

what is your favourite R?

29 How much of what you buy ends up in the bin before an hour is up? Could these items be repaired to make them last a little longer? Maybe some things could be reused or recycled and made into something else? What about

the packaging – love it or leave it? Rethinking the way we use resources can help to reduce landfill, cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, ease the pressure

on our natural environment and save us money! Be on the look out for special tricks, such as advertising, that hook you in to ‘needing’ more stuff.

what do we really need? Of course we love stuff and some of it is necessary for our survival. But we’re making a lot of stuff we don’t really need. Making stuff uses up natural and processed materials, energy, money and creates pollution. Then it needs to be transported to the shops and often we only use it for a little while before throwing it away. It’s a good time to ask: how much stuff do we really need? How can we make stuff we love but doesn’t damage our Earth?

Green Lane hero

LIVING THE 6Rs

The Year 4 students from Sunshine Beach State School in Queensland worked with their teacher Carolyn to live the 6Rs. As part of their ‘Litter Busters’ investigation, the students chose a problem area within the school grounds and collected data about the amount of rubbish there. They created an action plan to rectify the problem and became caretakers for their chosen area. The students also designed an environmentally friendly sports shoe to reduce the number of sports shoes sitting in landfill and collected used running shoes for recycling at the specialist Nike recycling facility at Biggera Waters.

POWER FOOD FOR WORMS

One of the easiest ways to reduce landfill is to build a compost and worm farm. Food scraps and other plant-based materials such as paper and cardboard can be used to feed the worms. They will break it down to organic material that can be used as natural fertiliser in the garden.

LASTING A LIFETIME? When shopping with mum or dad to buy something new, look for good quality stuff that’s built to last. Buy products with a warranty to make repairing or replacing them easy and cheap. Sometimes it’s cheaper for companies to give us a brand new item because the cost of repair is too expensive. Sometimes companies also sell products that are not built to last but only work until the next model is released – they call this whacky idea “planned obsolescence”. Always think before you buy and look after your things to make them last for the long haul.

ACTION IDEA ! Find out where the recycling depots are in your local area and advertise the list in your school newsletter or on your school website.

Most paper and plastic packaging can be recycled in the recycling bin. But landfill sites are piled high with items that could have been recycled. Zero Waste South Australia is one of the world’s leaders in recycling. Other states and territories around Australia are starting to follow in their footsteps. South Australians receive a 10 cents refund when they recycle things at collection depots. Around Australia we have systems for recycling chemicals, oil, batteries and even old X-Rays!

Keyword search: The Story of Stuff Methane Clean up the World Planned Obsolescence CERES Environment Park Zero Waste South Australia

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RECYCLING RULES

CLEAN UP THE WORLD

More than 20 years ago, Australian yachtsman Ian Kiernan organised the first of many ‘Clean Up Australia’ days. 40,000 volunteers joined him in Sydney Harbour. Since then, the numbers have grown into the millions and spread across the entire globe. ‘Clean Up the World’ is not only about picking up rubbish. It’s about repairing the damage our rubbish has caused and protecting our natural environment for future generations. Check out www.cleanuptheworld.org. FAST Fact

The average use of a plastic bag is about 12 minutes but it takes between 20 and 1000 years to decompose.

best friends forever

Ever heard of Aquaponics? It’s where fish and plants are grown together, well in two different but connected containers. The water with fish poo in it is used as fertilizer for the plants, reducing the need for chemical nutrients. The plants’ soil acts like a filter and keeps the fishes’ water fresh and clean. Think outside the square Thinking outside the square about different ways to use the land and our resources is fun! The Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) built a community centre on an old rubbish tip in Victoria. Together with local volunteers the people at CERES converted the local tip to an ‘eco-oasis’ for the local community.

Green Lane hero

0.5 TONNES OF COMPOST – THAT’S IMPRESSIVE!

Over a 10 week period, the Year 5 students from West End State School and their teacher Susan Jones managed to collect an incredible amount of food scraps to be composted – 0.5 tonnes. That’s the same weight as 3 camels!!! By composting their food scraps, the students stopped 0.5 tonnes of waste going to landfill! Top effort, guys!

FAST Fact

The average family throws out 13,000 pieces of paper annually. How much of that is junk mail?

Where do we live? To do the following experiment, use an apple to represent our planet: • With help from a parent or teacher cut your apple into quarters • Eat 3 pieces – these pieces represent the oceans, 75% of our planet’s surface area. • Cut the final piece in half and eat one half. It represents the deserts we can’t live in • You have one eighth of the apple left – cut it into four pieces and eat three of them. These pieces represent the mountains and poles of the Earth where it’s too cold, ACTION IDEA ! too rocky or too steep to grow food. Contact your local council or • Peel off the skin of the last piece, keep community garden network. it and eat the rest. This TINY piece of Invite a representative to skin represents the area of land with talk to your class about how to set up a compost bin or soil that is healthy enough to grow worm farm in your school. food for our entire population. We need to be careful and clever with our resources!

Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waste education Council offers free lessons and activities to all Redland schools and community groups. These fun lessons help students explore the world of waste, inspiring them to change their habits to minimise their own waste. Contact RedWaste on

1300 362 036.

Home energy auditing kits

Help the environment and reduce energy costs at home. Get your mum and dad to borrow a home energy auditing kit, which includes an ene rgy meter to measure your home energy use, from any mainland Redland library.

g tips are Energy-savin line at on also available .gov.au d.qld www.redlan and waste t n e m n o ir v n >e g >green livin

Redlands IndigiScapes Centre

Join the IndigiKids Club! For Redlands kids aged eight to 12 years We meet once a month to learn about our environment - and sometimes get our hands dirty taking actions to help care for our local plants and animals!

More information: 3824 8611 or visit www.indigiscapes.com.au To keep up to date with what Council is doing, visit www.redland.qld.gov.au>environment and waste>green living

8080 04/12

Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental education centre, IndigiScapes, has an information centre, native display gardens, bushland with walking tracks, barbeque facilities and a playground. You can visit daily (except for Mondays) or ask your teacher to inquire about the range of school and holiday programs.

WEEK 7

Harden up

Get ready! Extreme weather can be unpredictable and dangerous. The best thing we can do is learn about emergency situations and know what to do. our wild weather Cyclones, floods, bushfires, earthquakes, serious storms and tsunamis are part of nature. They are unpredictable and can be very dangerous. Climate change might be causing extreme weather to occur more often but we are still learning about this. The best thing we can do is learn about the disasters and know what to do.

RING OF FIRE Our planet’s crust is made up of different pieces, called ‘Tectonic Plates’. Some plates stretch underneath whole continents and other plates join underneath the ocean. The Pacific Plate is located on the edge of the Ring of Fire – a horseshoe shaped arc that stretches from New Zealand up around Asia and the Pacific. Inside the arc is a hot bed of sleeping and active volcanoes. 90% of the world’s earthquakes are within the Ring of Fire. Find out more about them!

what’s the difference? WEATHER AND CLIMATE Weather is all around us all of the time. It is the day to day conditions of a place. Rain, temperature, fog, snow, clouds, sunshine are all elements of the weather. Someone who studies weather and

makes weather forecasts is called a meteorologist. Climate is the average weather conditions measured over time. Australia has a hotter climate than Alaska. Climatologists are people who study climate patterns and climate change over time.

RECENT DISASTERS 2011: QLD/NSW/VIC flood (covered more land than Germany and France combined), Japan earthquake and tsunami, Cyclone Yasi, Christchurch earthquake 2009: Black Saturday’ bushfire in Victoria 2006: Cyclone Larry, QLD 2002-06: Drought in South Australia

ECO-HOUSE INVESTIGATIONS The Year 5 students of St Pius X Primary School in Queensland worked with their teacher Mrs Romer to investigate the benefits of ecofriendly and sustainable housing designs when rebuilding communities devastated by extreme weather events. They explored how products can be recycled and used glass and tin pieces to create new products from old. They also prepared ‘Extreme Weather Lists’ for ‘Grandparents Day’ for use in emergencies. Well done!

LEARNING FOR THE FUTURE In 2011, an earthquake and resulting tsunami destroyed a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. The land around the power plant, as well as food and water supplies, were badly contaminated. Nuclear power companies around the world took the opportunity to learn from the disaster and have taken major steps to improve their safety procedures. However, there’s a huge amount of work to be done to rebuild the community, and some people do not think nuclear energy is safe. What do you think?

Keyword search: Ring of Fire Build it Back Green Climate Watch Witness King Tides SES Red Cross Extreme Weather Events Fukushima Nuclear Power Extreme Weather Heroes

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Green Lane hero

build it back green Each time a city is damaged by a natural disaster, we learn more about the materials we need to rebuild the city so that it can withstand the pressures of extreme events and can use less energy, water and waste. After the bushfires in Victoria and Western Australia, the cyclones in Queensland and the floods around the nation, we are getting better at building back green so our buildings are more sustainable and can cope better with future disasters. Do some research and find out how we can build things sustainably! www.builditbackgreen.org

n e e r G LANENGE

LE CHADoLdrills at school If you live in an area that is likely to be hit by an extreme weather event, talk to your teacher about what kinds of drills you could do to practise staying safe in case a disaster occurs.

Fantastic Fact

On average, an earthquake of Richter magnitude 5.5 (almost the size of the Newcastle event in 1989) occurs every 15 months in Australia.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

ADULT ALERT! WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO HELP When disasters occur EVERYONE * Building flood levees pitches in - volunteers, firefighters, * Warning systems neighbours, leaders, builders, PREPARATION teachers. We plan for events so * Telling people and evacuation we know what to do if they happen. * Protecting property Plans are created to deal with and animals prevention (stopping disasters), * Arranging supplies preparation (getting ready), RESPONSE response (during the disaster) and * Arranging accommodation recovery (after the disaster). for people PREVENTION * Arranging relieve funds Clearing leaf litter RECOVERY * from drains * Clean up * Laws for total fire * Rebuilding ban days * Support for people affected

❑ Talk with your family about what to do in case of an emergency How would you respond if you knew a flood, cyclone or fire was nearby? ❑ Find out where to take shelter in a storm. At home, it’ll be the strongest part of your house and the room with fewest windows. The local hall or school might turn into an Evacuation Centre ❑ Take care of your pets. Plan how you will transport them to safety, make sure they are vaccinated and prepare pet evacuation kits ❑ Make up an Emergency Supplies Kit with food, a first aid kit, safety equipment and contact numbers ❑ Know who to call for help. For the State Emergency Service (SES) call 132-500, for police and emergency services call 000 ❑ Pack up your special things to keep them safe ❑ Print this checklist and go through it with your family: www.emergency. qld.gov.au/kids/kidnas/ documents/ prepared_ home_checklist.pdf

Hands ON!

Sign up for ‘Witness King Tides’ and join mum, dad or friends to take some photos when big tides hit our coasts. www.witnesskingtides.org Social NETWORKING POWER Communication has proven to be ESSENTIAL in responding to disasters and extreme weather. Once the electricity is cut off, people can become very isolated and are unable to find out what’s happening and where to go for safety. AM radios and mobile phones are definitely essential items for your emergency kit. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter were valuable sources of information to help people respond and recover during the 2011 natural disasters.

ACTION IDEA ! Find out about a volunteer organisation in your area. Invite a representative to come and speak to you about what you can do to help in the case of a disaster.

Many hands make light work The best things in life really are free like being kind and helpful to others by volunteering your skills. Volunteers worldwide give millions of hours and their actions change the world. Some people rescue injured animals, others run tuck shops or care for the elderly. Kids can get involved too by helping whenever you can.

WEEK 8

Cool Citizens We are all in it together!

EYE ON THE PRIZE The United Nations (UN) helps look after the citizens of the world. In 2005 they started a ten-year program called the ‘Decade of Education for Sustainable Development’ and developed a list of ‘Millennium Development Goals’ to improve health, education, living conditions, food security, gender equity and environmental sustainability for everyone. In order to achieve these goals, we all need to get involved! That’s why the UN helps teach young people like you what we can do to have enough for all. Learn more here: www.un.org/millenniumgoals

I AM THE LORAX AND I SPEAK FOR THE TREES

Find out how a group of kids in the USA was inspired by Dr Seuss’ story about the Lorax and helped people make a difference for the environment. Check out their story and how they got in touch with the moviemakers: www. climaterealityproject. org/2012/01/27/avictory-forthe-lorax.

GOVERNMENT, HOW DOES IT WORK? In Australia, everyone older than 18 years has his or her say on who represents us in Parliament because we are a democracy. Our Government is led by politicians who we elect to make decisions. The Prime Minister is the head honcho for Australia and leads the Federal Government. Then there are the State Governments, led by Premiers (or Chief Ministers for the ACTION IDEA ! Territories) and local councils, led by Mayors who look after our towns, Which Australian cities and shires. Each level of movie star or TV show Government focuses on particular will you write to about going green? areas like defence, education and telecommunications. Who are your politicians?

KIDS TEACHING KIDS IN ACTION The Year 6 students of St Mary’s Primary School in Williamstown, Victoria have been working with their teacher Mrs Sadler to teach their younger friends about environmental issues that are important to their local area. The students investigated problems such as endangered species and water salinity. Then they presented lessons to the Year 3 classes, teaching them how to make a difference for the environment.

A BURNING ISSUE

KEYWORD SEARCH The Earth Charter Kids Teaching Kids The Little Committee Wildlife Warriors Youth Environment Council Year of Reading The Lorax The Burning Season Millennium Development Goals

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Green Lane hero

CRIKEY! Steve Irwin will forever remain a hero for inspiring people all around the world to care for our environment. He established an organisation called ‘Wildlife Warriors’ to conserve land and protect vulnerable species and his daughter Bindi now leads the way. Wildlife Warrior volunteers are working with local people in Australia, Asia and Africa to protect animals and their habitats. Find out how you can be a Wildlife Warrior, check out their website: www.wildlifewarriors.org.au

Dorjee Sun was so passionate about protecting orangutan habitat in Indonesia, he started a program called ‘Avoided Deforestation’ that encouraged farmers in Indonesia to protect the native forests and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He also made a documentary to share his stories. Check it out here: www.theburningseasonmovie.com

Green LANENGE CHALLE

How to live the Earth Charter in your school: ❑ Read and discuss the Earth Charter with your teacher ❑ Make up your own words for the Earth Charter ❑ Share your story online: www. earthcharterinaction.org

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS… Kids can make a difference. There are a million stories of kids who asked WHY? and WHY NOT? Kids created some of the world’s most amazing inventions. Do some research and get inspired. how To be a cool citizen ❑ Know what goes on in the world ❑ look out for others and try to do something

to help ❑ Write to your local politicians telling them

your opinion ❑ be positive and have a go - that’s how people

THE GOLDEN RULE

change the world

We all need to treat each other with respect. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed on 10 December 1948 and contains 30 articles that explain our rights. In summary, everyone on this planet has a right to: • Freedom and equality • Work and have a family • Live and be safe • Justice before the law • Nationality, representation and education • Think, believe and express yourself

Fantastic Fact South Australia has the cleanest energy in Australia.

DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING People talk about countries being ‘developed’ or ‘developing’. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, defined a developed country as ‘one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment’. Developing countries are working toward this, but face serious clean water, food, energy, health and pollution challenges on the way. Australia and New Zealand are among the developed countries.

Extreme Weather Heroes

In a tricky spot – these guys can help! They are helping us cope with intense floods, fires and storms right across Australia and for cyclones in the top end. Which service would you like to volunteer for when you are old enough? Zoe - St John Ambulance WA

Ruby Haouchav

Ruby – Victorian SES Ruby is a leader in her Victorian SES group. Ruby is trying to spread that word that EVERYONE can be a hero! Ruby doesn’t spend all her time wearing an orange jumpsuit, she is a Forensic Tech and is studying EXTRRREEEMMMEES of climate change & enviro issues at Monash University!

Zoe Payne

After hearing about St John Ambulance First Aid Volunteers at age fourteen, Zoe couldn’t wait to sign up. She has been an active member since and has now gone on to become a Registered Nurse, using many of the emergency medicine skills learnt as a St John Ambulance Volunteer. Zoe is still at the very same division where she was trained and is now training young cadets.

Ben – NSW Red Cross

Jake Cannon

Ben volunteers in the Emergency and Youth Services fields handing out bandaids and bandages, educating the kiddies in drug awareness and helping with personal support when you’re up to your neck in water or your roof has collapsed. When he isn’t volunteering he is a robotic engineer!

Ben Tsang

Jake – ACT Rural Fire Service Jake was practically born a firefighter, and as a volunteer for the Remote Area Fire Team (RAFT) with the ACT Rural Fire Service, he’s an Extreme Weather Hero. Devastated at age 4 that he could not immediately don a hat, hose, and listen to sirens all day he returned on his 16th birthday and now is super highly skilled to save our bushland from the next fire season!

ACTION IDEA ! Make a list of important emergency numbers for your fridge. Add them to your parent’s mobile phones.

Start your journey towards being part of the solution. Get into volunteering!

www.extremeweatherheroes.org

We are on the hunt for the best TravelSmart school and TravelSmart child. There will be great prizes at the Green Lane Diary Awards Ceremony later in the year. So, make sure you track your activities in

bike education

the Travelling Smart section in the back of your scrapbook. Visit www.travelsmart.qld.gov.au for more information on how you and your school can travel smart.

Park, walk OR ride tHE REST OF THE WAY Fewer cars in the school zone makes it safer for you and your friends.

Get on your bike, RIDE TO SCHOOL Ride safely with a buddy. Remember your helmet!

Use your feet, WALK TO SCHOOL You will feel great when you walk to the school gate. Remember your hat!

Jump on board, catch public transport Catch the bus or ride the train. Remember to travel safely with a buddy!

Share the ride, carpool Put a friend by your side. Remember to buckle up!

www.travelsmart.qld.gov.au

Travel smart one day a week and help reduce traffic around your school, improve your health and the environment.

Transport and Main Roads

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WEEK 9

Biodiversity Variety is the spice of life!

Animals need young people to find a solution THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL Australia is a popular destination for tourists because of our amazing mix of animals, plants and landscapes. Some of them can’t be found anywhere else in the world - like woylies - and we need to protect them. Scientists have collected evidence that global environmental issues can upset the balance of our Australian ecosystems. What are these issues and how are they threatening our environment? Read on to learn more.

WISE WORDS

“Its not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one that’s most adaptable to change”- Charles Darwin

what’s cooking A yummy dish includes all kinds of ingredients with just the right amounts of everything. Biodiversity is like that – it’s the balance of a variety of animals, plants, micro-organisms and humans and the way they work together to form an ecosystem. If things aren’t in balance, something needs to be done to restore that ecosystem to good health.

Fantastic Fact

There are over 13 million different species of plants, animals and micro organisms on earth.

Green LANENGE

E CHALLFind out about environmental issues in your area. Get in touch with a local environment group, such as Junior Landcare, to see what you can do to help www.juniorlandcare.com.au

ACTION IDEA !

GOING, GOING, GONE? Poaching, diseases, land clearing and climate change are the main threats to the survival of our animal species. Governments around the world are taking action to protect threatened species and their habitats. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) splits up species into different groups depending on how risky their survival is: Extinct: all gone! Extinct in the wild: some are in zoos – but none are left in the wild, so they are precious Critically endangered: there’s a real chance they will soon be gone in the wild – focus hard here! Endangered: Could be a real chance on extinction soon – be aware! Vulnerable: Medium term risk of extinction - so we need to protect them! Near threatened: Could be at risk in future – so keep them in mind! Least concern: No worries mate – at least compared to other species

Find out which species are threatened here: www.iucnredlist.org

Look online to find the closest National Park to your home. Plan a bushwalk with your family and go nature spotting. How many different animals and plants can you identify?

(International Union for Conservation of Nature)

Hands ON!

Find out what species of frogs are native to your local area. Build a frog pond in your school or backyard to help breed more frogs – watch out for toads!

SMALL ACTIONS, BIG CHANGE Use the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to find out about threatened species. Here some action ideas – can you think of other ones? ❑ Recycle mobile phones to stop coltan (columbite–tantalite) mining in gorilla habitats in the Democratic Republic of Congo ❑ Buy palm-oil free products to protect orangutans in South East Asia ❑ Use recycled paper or sustainable forestry products to stop land clearing in the rainforests of South America and South East Asia ❑ Buy sustainable seafood to stop overfishing ❑ Plant Australian trees and flowers in your garden.

THREATS TO OUR LANDSCAPE • Carbon dioxide emissions and global warming are impacting on mountain ecosystems, ocean temperatures and coral reefs, including ocean acidification • Droughts and floods are testing the survival of the ecosystems of the Murray-Darling Basin, dry rainforests and temperate eucalypt forests • Sea level rise is changing the ecosystems along coastal floodplains and wetlands, especially mangroves and salt marshes • Foreign plants and animals are destroying the native ecosystems on offshore islands.

SURF THE NET

Keyword search: Biodiversity Ecosystem Scats, tracks and signs Thylacine Threatened species IUCN RedList Endemic species Exotic species Wildlife Warriors WWF

45 BE A DETECTIVE The only way to find out what’s going on in your backyard is to get out there and have a close look. Plants and animals leave all sorts of clues, so keep your eyes peeled! ❑ Watch out for scats – or animal poo! These little ‘presents’ are sure-fire signs of the presence of animals nearby. Take a photo, draw a sketch but you probably don’t want to touch or smell them! ❑ Look for tracks. Even animals without feet leave footprints of some sort. For thousands of years, Australia’s Indigenous people used animal tracks to find food ❑ Search for signs. Holes in a leaf could be evidence that an insect lives nearby. Holes in the ground could be evidence of an animal’s home – a spider, snake or maybe even a wombat!

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A THYLACINE

Fast Fact The Thylacine – or better known as Tasmanian Tiger – There are more than was the largest carnivorous marsupial in our recent 200 million insects for history. After decades of hunting, diseases and habitat each human on the destruction the last Tassie Tiger ‘Benjamin’ died in 1936 in planet! Hobart Zoo. The Thylacine is the only marsupial to become extinct on the island of Tasmania in comparison to the huge number of mammals who are now extinct from the Australian mainland. It might be too late for some of our extinct animals, but we can help save the threatened ones.

46 MISSION RECOVERY Fabio the Southern Corroboree Frog and his friends are part of a breeding program at the Amphibian Research Centre in Melbourne. Fabio is an endemic species and depends on chilly ecosystems in the Snowy Mountains and Brindabella Ranges to survive. At the research centre, Fabio and his friends live in the fridge, in the hope that they will make lots of babies and return home soon. Researchers are also working in the field to learn about the best possible environment for Fabio and his family. We need to give them a hand to protect the alpine ecosystems of Australia! What can you do to help?

WISE WORDS “Live simply so others may simply live” - Mahatma Gandhi

Be crowned a 2012

GREEN LANE HERO! 47 Every year we celebrate your wonderful projects and awesome ideas with a HUGE awards ceremony. Win terrific prizes for your project ideas and have fun saving the planet! Visit the Green Lane Diary website for more details and to sign up for our eNews where we announce competitions and awards!!!

Grab your diary and start thinking about what you can do to make the world a better place! • Write a diary entry every day of term: stick on stuff and make it look cool • Join together to run your own green project: at school, at home or in your neighborhood. • Share your projects with other kids: online, in print and in video!

www.greenlanediary.org

WEEK 10

Destination Clean The future is just around the corner and we need to think outside the square to create solutions to the challenges we face.

and Green

What part will you play? Can you dream up awesome, green answers?

Green LANENGE

Green Lane heroS

LE CHALAsk The Elders Research the wisdom of The Elders to help solve the problems of climate change. http://theelders.org/find/ climate-change

SUSTAINABLE CITIES

The natural disasters in recent years have highlighted the importance of living more sustainably and safely. Some places are focussing on environmental living. We call these places Sustainable Cities and town planners and engineers are currently working on ways to restructure our cities to make them more sustainable and durable.

WISE WORDS

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

2011 OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ‘ISLAND DREAM’ Zaid, a Year 5 student from Broughton Anglican School in Campbelltown NSW, created ‘Island Dream’ an environmentally friendly island to show people how we can live more sustainably by preserving our natural resources for future generations. Maybe this is not only a dream, as Australia is the world’s biggest island... Great idea, Zaid!

TAKING THE BEST OF THE OLD...

... AND MIXING IT WITH THE BEST OF THE NEW

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how the world has changed since humans built our civilisation. There are some great tips and tricks to live more sustainably that have been around for aaaaaages! Compost bins, water tanks, backyard vege gardens and the 6Rs aren’t new ideas – can you think of some more?

Some issues simply didn’t exist a generation or two ago and we are finding new ways of thinking to address them. One cool way of thinking is ‘biomimicry’, where we look to nature for ecological ways of doing things in our everyday city living. For example, we now have coatings, fabrics and other materials that were inspired by the microscopic texture of butterfly wings.

ACTION IDEA ! Think about the kind of world you would like to live in. Share your ideas with people around the world at the Future We Want Project: www.futurewewant.org/

GREEN JOBS

LOOK INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL What could we achieve if we didn’t say it’s ‘impossible’? Thinking about amazing ways to solve problems is exciting. Some of these things are being worked on now. What can you dream up? • Floating green city • Skyscraper veggie farms • Flying solar cars • Portable green stadiums • Clothes that make energy when you move • Self growing house • Home recycling systems – transforming waste on the spot • Printers that produce solar cells

Keyword search: The Elders Biomimicry Ask Nature Solar Water Purifier DNA Future we want The Venus Project Sustainable Cities

Hands ON! Be inspired by nature to design your own invention. Be creative – the sky’s the limit!

SURF THE NET

What do you want to be when you grow up? The possibilities are endless, especially when you’re thinking about green jobs of the future. In 2012, people are employed as environmental engineers, energy auditors, fauna spotters, environmental scientists, meteorologists, hydrologists and environmental lawyers. By the time you’re looking for your future career, there will probably be even more green jobs! No matter what the job, you will need the skills of creative thinking, problem solving and teamwork. You’ll probably also need a positive attitude and the ability to think critically about possibilities and consequences! Here’s a secret: scientists – the people who are helping us to learn about our world – are the coolest futuremakers of all!

Meet the characters How do you like my barbells?

Shelly, the Western Swamp Tortoise I’m only tiny – about 15cm long –but I make up for it in age! I usually live for about 60 years. I lost many of my relatives when early settlers cleared our swamp homes in Western Australia for agriculture. There are about 100 of us left in the wild but we have to be really careful of feral species like foxes and cats. As well as the shell on my back and the scales on my head, I’ve got barbells under my chin, which help me pop my head above the water. I lay about 3-5 eggs in November but they don’t hatch until the following winter when the swamp fills with water. I’ve got a sixth sense… Shane, the Grey nurse shark I’ve had a bit of bad press over the years – people hunted me because they thought I’m a man-eater. But the truth is that I much prefer squid, fish and lobsters to humans! I am about 3.5 metres long and usually keep to shallow coastal waters around rocky reefs but I can swim as deep as 190 metres. Sometimes I come up to the surface to gulp some air - but not for breathing! I keep it in my stomach to help me float while I look for food.

Have you met my endangered friends?

Wazza, the northern hairy nosed wombat I’m actually bigger than you think – almost 1 metre long – and my wife carries around my kids in a backward facing pouch. These days it’s been pretty tough having to work against drought, floods, rabbits, cattle, sheep, land clearing, dingoes and introduced species of grass to stay alive and feed the family! Some days I just want to hang out in my burrow and hide from it all, but I’m hanging in there and now that Epping Forest National Park in Western Queensland is being fenced off, I’ve got a much better chance of survival. Need Need anyany soilsoil turned over? turned over? I’m your girl! I’m your girl! Wendi, the Woylie I’m a bit of a night owl. I sleep during the day and spend the night hours looking for food and decorating my nest with grass that I carry in my tail. I’m pretty good at keeping water in the soil because I bury leaf litter and recycle plant nutrients while I’m digging around for food. I live mostly in Southern Australian woodlands and don’t need to drink much because I get all the moisture I need from seeds, insects, fungi and bulbs. Feral cats and mysterious diseases have put me and my family onto the endangered list.

I look like a frog but move like a lizard… Fabio, the Southern Corroboree Frog Even before the Days of the Dreaming, I was known to be fabulous! My squelching voice could be heard across the mountainous areas of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. My name comes from the yellow stripes that look like the ochre used by local Indigenous people during a corroboree. Now, I’m Australia’s most endangered frog with only about 30 friends left in the wild. If there isn’t enough rain during the autumn breeding season, our eggs won’t hatch and we have to wait another year. We also have to stay away from a nasty fungus that eats up the keratin in our skin, stopping us from breathing (frogs use their skin to breathe!). But all is not lost – I can be fabulous again!

ACTION IDEA ! Find out what other creatures might be endangered in your local area. Invite your park ranger to tell you more about what’s living in your backyard.

I enjoy a spot of gardening!

Kylie, the Southern Cassowary Once my children leave the nest, I prefer to live alone and use my three toes to dig for insects and seeds in the rainforests of Northern Queensland. I’m pretty popular amongst the plants and animals in the local area because I transfer seeds from one area to another. But because my numbers have dropped due to land clearing, feral animals and traffic, I’m finding it hard to spread seeds to replace all the trees that are cleared. It’s a relief to know that there are people planting my fruit trees and reducing the threat of feral animals. I’ve got diamonds in the soles of my paws! JT, the Tassie Devil 400-year-old fossils show that my great great grandparents used to live on the mainland of Australia. But today my family and I only live in Tasmania. For a while there, it looked a bit gloomy as people were chasing us. But in 1941 the government decided to protect us. We’re pretty good at finding our own food in the wild. We also keep farms and bushlands free of blowflies by eating animal carcasses. Many of my friends are sick at the moment, they suffer from a nasty disease, but zoos and environmental groups are helping us to breed new populations free of disease.

Everyday actions do make a difference - start right now!

Green Lane Diary is a Green Cross Australia project PO Box 12117, George Street, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 4003 Phone: 07-3003 0644 Email: info@greencrossaustralia.org Website: www.greencrossaustralia.org CopyrightÂŠ Green Cross Australia 2012. Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to acknowledge the source of all contributions to this diary and Green Cross Australia apologises for any inadvertent omissions. Green Cross Australia does not accept any liability for any loss or damage arising from any errors omissions or inaccuracies in the information in this diary or the associated website.