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Hi Green Kids!
Welcome to the Green Kids Club Newsletter where you can keep up with the Green Kids Club happenings each month, learn some new things, and challenge yourself as a true Green Kid ambassador for the planet (adult or child)!
Photo to Commemorate World Ecology Day!
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We have just released our book for children that have Dyslexia; you can now order Elee and the Shining Star with NoahText. We are excited to have a book that helps struggling readers and ESL students to read with more ease and learn about the environment! Click here to purchase: Noah Text - Elee and the Shining Star!
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| We hope you have looked into purchasing our latest book, Kabelo, A Silly Little Rhino. It has beautiful illustrations by Morgan Spicer and a wonderful story that follows a real little rhino named Kabelo. Our proceeds go to benefit Saving the Survivors and The Rhino Orphanage. These organizations work hard to make a difference protecting and caring for rhinos that have been injured due to poaching incidents. |
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What book or story is next in our Environmental Heroes Series of books?
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Our plate for new books coming out includes a story written with Phil Fairclough, a wildlife film producer, who just recently produced Cher and the Loneliest Elephant.
Phil has supported - in film and action - some amazing work highlighting animal and environmental issues, and now he will be working on children's books with us at Green Kids Club. Together we will be telling the tale of an Orca – Saving Skali! Coming soon!!!
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Please help us with our virtual fundraiser to benefit our friends at Elephants Without Borders (EWB). The beautiful tote bag features a photo of Molelo and his adopted elephant family. All proceeds will go directly to the work that EWB is doing for elephant conservation in Botswana. With COVID hitting many areas in Africa including Botswana, EWB can use all the help they can to continue making a difference!
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Green Kids is proud to announce our newest Environmental Hero, Thomas D. Mangelsen. Tom is one of the most awarded and influential nature photographers in the world. He has traveled throughout the natural world for over 45 years, observing and photographing some of Earth's last great wild places. One particular project focused on a mountain lion family and inspired Tom to co-found The Cougar Fund for the conservation of this species and other carnivores through education and advocacy. We are proud to be collaborating on our children's books, Grizzly 399, and Grizzly 399 Hibernation Pandemonium. Thank you Tom for making a difference!
See this inspirational TED talk by Thomas D. Mangelsen - Tom Mangelsen and Grizzly 399
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How is Felicia the bear doing? As you may recall, the Wyoming Fish & Game department was hazing Felicia and her two cubs to try and move them away from a highway location. This was done because they felt that her presence was creating a safety issue for drivers stopping on the side of the road to look at her. Just a few days ago, I saw a report that she and her cubs are at least a few hundred feet away from the road. So good news so far! But other bears are not fairing so well. (Photo of Felicia and her cubs, courtesy of Marilyn Rodman.)
Recently another bear in Teton National Park, 1048M was euthanized because of food scavenging from garbage and/or bird seed left by people in areas accessible to the bear. This caused habituation, and as a result, he was euthanized by the Wyoming Fish & Game. Why can’t people learn to stop this kind of behavior? 1048M and other bears would still be here if people would behave more responsibly in grizzly country. See article for more info.
A Documentary called Tiger Mafia
As Green Kids has been working with Blood Lions to educate children of the importance of stopping lion farming in South Africa, Blood Lions brought to our attention similar issues in Asian countries where tiger farming is happening. The movie itself is graphic and difficult to watch. But this is something we are keeping an eye on.
THE TIGER MAFIA Trailer - Bing video
This movie reminds me of the legislation we are hoping will be passed here in the United States, the Big Cat Public Safety Act. This bill revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, cougar, or any hybrid of such species). Specifically, it revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats. If you watched Tiger King on Netflix, you have seen some of the issues our country is dealing with in this area.
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September Animal & Environment Observances
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Mark your calendars with these fun, environmentally focused holidays to celebrate Earth and all its amazing animals!
Animal Holidays for September 2021
- National Save a Tiger Month
- World Animal Remembrance Month
2021 Days
- International Vulture Awareness Day - September 4, 2021 (First Saturday in September)
- National Hummingbird Day - September 4, 2021 (First Saturday in September)
- National Wildlife Day - September 4
- National Threatened Species Day - September 7
- International Red Panda Day - September 18, 2021 (Third Saturday of September)
- Elephant Appreciation Day - September 22
- World Rhino Day - September 22
- Save the Koala Day - September 24, 2021 (Last Friday in September)
- Fish Amnesty Day - September 25, 2021 (Fourth Saturday in September)
- National Wildlife Ecology Day - September 25, 2021 (Fourth Saturday in September)
- Shamu the Whale Day - September 26
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| To commemorate National Threatened Species Day, we have a photo here of a Greater One Horned Rhino - a big thanks to photographer Aditya Panda. Thanks to strict protection by government authorities in India and Nepal, the greater one-horned, or Indian, rhino has rebounded from fewer than 100 individuals to more than 3,700 today. This is turning into a success story, but there are other species in need of protection or we risk losing them. |
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We would like to highlight International Vulture Awareness Day. Many people think of vultures as being the bird of death, or something just as disgusting, but this bird serves an important role in our world. By eating dead animal remains, these birds clean up our environment and help prevent disease from spreading.
But many people just don’t like them. There are 23 vulture species, but many of them are threatened with extinction. In some places, vultures are poisoned when they eat dead livestock that has been laced with poison. Poisoning of these birds occurs by poachers who don’t want the vultures to give away their poaching locations, or due to the vultures feeding on poached elephants poisoned by poachers as noted in this article:
Critically endangered vultures poisoned en masse in Botswana - BBC News
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This month we would like to challenge you to see what kind of volunteer work you can do at an animal shelter or other helping with animals. One area that is particularly fun is to be an animal Foster Home. You bring home a puppy, kitty, or other animal, and you take care of it during the evenings or weekends, when it's not at an animal shelter, trying to be adopted.
Also, there are currently a lot of animals misplaced during Hurricane Ida and other flooding. See what you can do to help an animal in need. Here is a video to help answer some questions for you, if you want to foster a dog:
Foster Dog 101: Getting Started, Cost and Common Questions!
This photo is a picture of Deliah, who is looking for a home. She is currently at the Snake River Animal Shelter.
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We would like to highlight the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center (baccbigfork.org) They will be presenting the Inspired Classroom about Grizzly 399 for the next 6 weeks (September – November 2021). As part of the children’s classroom experience, they will meet guest lecturers, such as people who work with grizzly bears on a daily basis, and also artists whose art renders amazing grizzly illustrations. The children will also learn how to draw and/or make 3-D renditions of grizzlies. At the end of the session, they will receive a free book donated by Love the Wild Foundation and Green Kids Club.
We are excited to be working with them! On this same note, we attended a fundraiser to help education with the Bigfork Art museum. While at the fundraiser, a grizzly bear swam across the river right in front of us! And what a wow! A good omen for sure!!!
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This month we will be giving away our newest book, Kabelo, A Silly Little Rhino, our book Molelo, the Fire Elephant and just because – Grizzly 399 and also the Hibernation story. Look out for these during our Facebook and Instagram announcements!
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Our Livestream Interview with Ian Michler of Blood Lions
Princess storytelling with Dr. Gary Shapiro - click here
Hear us read Grizzly 399 and also A Tail of Three Lions.
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Calling all Educators – Including Home Schooled Children!
If you are interested in an online class to teach children about wildlife, especially grizzly bears, go to our online class about Grizzly 399, through Inspired Classroom. We plan to add in some additional classroom challenges as we get into the fall. If anyone is interested in participating in this challenge go to Inspired Classroom to learn more. Feel free to email us questions as well, if you would like to get involved in our challenge! |
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About the author
Sylvia Medina