September 2020
Two of our books have recently won awards from Creative Child magazine! Grizzly 399 was given the 2020 BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD in the Animal Environmental Stories category. The Belize Trash Monster was given the 2020 PREFERRED CHOICE AWARD in the Environmental Products category. We are so proud!
If you like our books in print, wait until you see them come to life as "read-along" books! Tune in to Ameba TV this fall, where our Animal Environmental Heroes (Molelo, Princess, Moyo, Grizzly 399, and Elee) will be expanding Ameba's collection of "read-along" tales. Check here for more information.
Green Kids Club is revamping our Kids Club, an online club designed to get kids, ages 12 and under, involved and knowledgeable about taking care of the earth. We'll be rolling it out very soon, so keep an eye out and keep your favorite kids in mind to become Official Green Kids!
Our newest book, Grizzly 399, has been getting a lot of attention and was in the news this past month! Due to the surprise quadruplets birthed by 399 this spring, we will be revising the book to include the new cubs. At 24 years old, Grizzly 399 deserves to have recognition for her latest contribution to the Grizzly family tree.
Our second rhino book will be arriving soon! Tendaji (the Silly Little Rhino) in Are You My Daddy? follows a young rhino on a search to find his dad. Don't forget to support some of our favorite rhino heroes, Saving the Survivors, on World Rhino Day, September 22.
September Observances
September is Save the Koala Month, National Save a Tiger Month and has a bunch of earth and animal days. Take your pick!
- September 4 - National Wildlife Day
- September 5 - National Hummingbird Day
- September 5 - International Vulture Awareness Day
- September 8 - National Iguana Awareness Day
- September 19 - International Red Panda Day
- September 19 - World Cleanup Day
- September 20-26 - Sea Otter Awareness Week
- September 22 - Elephant Appreciation Day
- September 22 - World Rhino Day
- September 22 - World Car Free Day
- September 24 - World Gorilla Day
- September 24 - National Bluebird of Happiness Day
- September 25 - Save the Koala Day
- September 26 - Fish Amnesty Day
- September 26 - International Rabbit Day
- September 26 - World Cassowary Day
- September 26 - World Environmental Health Day
- September 27 - World Rivers Day
- September 29 - Happy Goose Day
Gorilla Facts
September 24th is World Gorilla Day. All four subspecies of gorilla are considered to be critically endangered, which means they could go extinct during our lifetimes. Gorillas only have one natural predator, the leopard, but they are susceptible to habitat loss when forests are cleared for farming or other development and to poaching. Though they have often been depicted as scary, gorillas are actually gentle plant and insect eaters. Male gorillas can reach heights of 6 ft and weight 300-400 lbs; females are usually about half that size. Gorillas and humans share over 95% of our DNA. As such, gorillas have unique fingerprints, like humans, but unlike humans, they also have unique nose prints!
Monthly Challenge
September 19 is World Cleanup Day. OK, but this year is probably cancelled, right? Wrong! Everyone can do some digital clean up from their very own home. We probably don't realize the effects of our digital trash, but it's been reported that the carbon footprint of the internet and the systems supporting it account to about 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions, which is similar to the amount produced globally by the airline industry. Every email we send or excess file we store requires energy, even when it's not being used. So even if you can't get out to physically remove trash from the environment, you can certainly DELETE trash from your digital devices. Deleting digital waste not only helps the environment, it improves your devices' performance and enhances your efficiency, too. Check out these sites for more eye-opening facts and helpful tips about handling digital trash:
Non-profit Highlight
Returning to school is on many minds this time of year, so this month we will take a closer look at The Island Academy (TIA). TIA is a private, non-profit entity founded in 1995 by Sir Barry and Lady Dixie Bowen to enhance the education of the children in San Pedro, Belize. The mission of The Island Academy is to provide a quality education in an atmosphere that encourages learning and awareness of the environment, together with participation in civic and community affairs, while nurturing and developing the character of our young. Green Kids Club supports TIA through a portion of our sales of the book, The Belize Trash Monster, for which Lady Dixie Bowen was a contributor.
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About the author
Lorielle Peterson