On Earth Day this past Monday, I wrote about 10 ways to love the earth. But I did not forget about our planet after Monday. In fact, I have been thinking about it more frequently. I have been watching Our Planet on Netflix. I have been paying attention to the brands and businesses making initiatives to help. And I have been reading Charlotte’s Web.
I have been reading this beloved book aloud to my class of first graders, and there is a speech that Charlotte gives to comfort Wilbur before she passes away. She says:
These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world…Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur–this lovely world, these precious days…
It made me think of how distinct the seasons were when I was little. We always had four separate, gorgeous seasons. We could count on some snow in the winter, blooms in the spring, and bright leaves in the fall. Now, the seasons tend to blur. Winter often skips straight to summer, and summer back to winter. Sometimes winter is only a mild spring. When we do have those beautiful classic snowy days in January or 70-degree days in April, the world feels right again.
I long for the world to feel right again, everywhere, all the time.
I asked my first graders what they thought we could do to help the earth, and wrote down what they said. Here it is:
How to help the earth, according to first graders
- Turn off water when brushing teeth
- Turn off lights
- Recycle
- Be careful of how much material you’re using
- Don’t litter
- Pick up trash
- Don’t throw away what can be used
- Shop locally
- Don’t use much plastic
- Don’t waste water
- Reuse what we already have
- Save trees
- Save endangered animals
Even 7-year-olds know what we need to do. Let’s do it, so that we can enjoy this lovely world, these precious days.
Love, Bee
