"Kids CAN Make a Difference!"

Adults aren't the only ones who can make a difference in the world today. There are so many wonderful projects kids and teens can work hard at, and in fact many times children have more initiative to work hard at attaining those goals. I remember as a child in grade school when we all went around the school playground as a class just picking up trash to keep our school clean. Sometimes it's just the small things that make a big difference, and maybe even inspire others to do their part too. It is important to keep our Earth clean and safe for everyone living on it. Just like we don't like walking down our neighborhood streets seeing trash thrown on neighbors lawns, we are not the only occupants of this world. There are millions of animals and plants living here as well, who too are affected by these actions we make. Not only land pollution, but air pollution as well.
Because of these problems that we are being faced with everyday, we dedicate one day a year, which is not the only day that we should be respecting our Earth, but is a special day when we put it first and do projects that we had put off all year long. This day is Earth Day, and it has been a tradition started in 1970 by a man named John Mc Connell from the United States. It is annually observed on or around the date of April 22, and is a day that the whole world participates in! As a child, I always remembered seeing posters aroung my school about the day we dedicate to planting new trees, picking up pollution and just beautifying the Earth we all call home.
One website I found http://wupcenter.mtu.edu/education/earthweek/index.htm talks about the many different projects 410 students from nine schools in Houghton, Baraga, and Gogebic Counties in Michigan did while celebrating Earth Day this past spring. They conducted twelve different projects that benefitted their schools, their communities, and the environment. These projects were not only just on Earth Day itself, but continued throughout the school year. Some of these projects were: "Cool to Carpool" an 8th grade project raising awareness about air pollution and encouraging kids to walk, ride bikes or carpool to school to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and "Litter Critters" a 2nd grade project where the kids were reusing discarded items to make creative art. Every grade at these schools contributed in some way to these projects, which made worldwide news.
Another Earth Day project that children can work on is called "Dive In To Earth Day". It is an international Earth Day celebration of coral reef and marine conservation activities that take place during the week of April 22 and are focused on a common theme: to remind the public that more than 70% of our planet is covered by water and our marine resources need to be protected. More information can be found at http://www.coralreefalliance.org/divein/. They had an amazing turn out this past Earth Day of 60 Countries 222 Events and 32,000 Participants. It is just something everyone should be aware of and obviously anyone can help support.
If children are keeping the Earth clean and working so hard to obtain such wonderful goals, Anyone can do it. We all learned and were told since we were very young that we should take care of what is ours. The Earth is ours too, and just because we share it with billions and billions of other people too, doesn't mean we should just leave it up to those others to take are of it for us. It is at least important to start of by making a difference in your own community. If all of these kids are putting so much effort into it, we know a goal is attainable. Kids are people too and love their Earth just as much as everyone else does. They are our future, it is important that they are taught right and to respect their surroundings at a young age so they will continue to make a difference in years to come.