The children`s green thread

European Commission
the children’s
green
thread
,
the children s
green
thread
European Commission
ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
Copies of this publication are available free-of-charge
while stocks last from:
Information Centre (BU-9 0/11)
Environment Directorate-General
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Fax: (32-2) 299 61 98
E-mail: [email protected]
Last year, to coincide with Green Week 2001, the Environment Directorate-General of the
European Commission organised five competitions aimed at young EU citizens, who were
invited to put their knowledge of environmental issues, creative skills and vision of the future
to the test. The response was amazing, with paintings, stories, photographs, speeches and
video productions arriving from all corners of the European Union.
This small book contains a selection of the best paintings and stories that we received. They
give a very personal account of what the environment means to many young people in the EU
and show with chilling realism how they see the current state and future of the environment.
Above all, the paintings and stories speak volumes about just how sensitive young people are
to the problems that affect our environment. If everyone shared as much caring and commitment about our environment as they do, then the future of the planet would look a lot brighter.
A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001
ISBN 92-894-1379-4
© European Communities, 2001
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON
50%
RECYCLED PAPER
Original Idea - Graphic Elements Co-ordination
Pavlina Kallidou
Art Director
Demetra A. Papadonopoulou
Editing
G. Dimitrakopoulos
D.T.P. - Films - Production Management
Tzifas Bros S.A.
Margot Wallström
European Commissioner for Environment.
,
the children s
green thread
Once upon a grey time not exactly in a green world, there was a young thread.
A green – like a spring leaf – thread that created a big green ball.
It lived at an unknown site somewhere on a small continent called Europe.
Most of all, it loved to listen to the stories that the older threads
used to tell about a past green, balanced world.
According to them, the human beings suddenly began destroying and polluting
the environment without caring about the world that
they left to their children and grandchildren.
One day, the green thread decided to explore the world on its own.
It started to meet the younger people of this grey world. All the children,
using their closest attention and their wide- open eyes, could clearly see
the dirty, polluted environment that they did not want to keep living in.
So the green thread took the decision to join up the dreams and the expectations
of the children as it travelled around Europe.
Silently, it began to unwind, and along its path it joined up all the young voices
and paintings of the children who, from each and every corner of Europe,
dreamt of a better, green and balanced world.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect those of the European
Commission. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible
for the use which might be made of the following information.
Letter to Mankind
Julio Fernandez Amodia, 12, Santander, Spain
Dear Mankind,
I’m writing to tell you that I’m not well. It’s me, the Environment, writing this letter
to warn you that I’m very poorly and to ask you to change the way you behave so
that I can get better.
●
●
●
●
●
Minna Pohjonen, 7, Finland
Tobias Conen, 9, Germany
Let me describe the symptoms of my illness:
My atmosphere is polluted by all the fumes from the cars and factories.
Too much felling of trees and uncontrolled forest fires are causing me to suffer
desertification and deforestation.
My blood (oceans, seas, rivers, reservoirs, etc) is being weakened and dirtied by
all the filth and rubbish being thrown into the sea, the rivers, and so on.
Indiscriminate building and roads are destroying my landscapes.
Animals and plants, which are adapted to the environment they live in, are
undergoing changes and their very existence is being threatened, with the
extinction of species.
All this makes me think that the cure for my illness lies in your hands. You need
to change the way you live, for instance by not cutting down or burning trees
unless you need to, by planting new trees, by not using the car so much, by not
dumping rubbish in the sea, by using biodegradable materials and recycled paper,
by respecting animals the way they respect us, and so on.
Chris Thomson, 8, UK
I hope all this will help to improve my health.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING TO MY ADVICE
6
The Environment
7
The environment can get better
Emma Fridlund, 10, Sundsvall, Sweden
Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in a little village where peo-
8
ple didn't care much about the environment. They used to drop things like
cans, bottles, orange peel and papers all over the place. The girl, whose
name was Ida, wished there were fewer cars and less exhaust fumes so that
the environment would be better.
She also tried to clear up all the litter during breaks between lessons and
after school. Ida's parents asked what she did so long after school, to which
she replied that she went for long walks.
But when Ida came home one day, her mum and dad said she couldn't go out
ever again. Ida was very disappointed and wanted to know why. Her mum said
they wanted to spend more time with her after school. Ida ran up to her room
and burst into tears. She thought she would run away, so she packed a bag with
three jumpers, three pairs of trousers, five pairs of socks and pantees, two books
and some food. She jumped out the window, and her mum almost saw her, but
she managed to get away. Suddenly she remembered she had forgotten the tent
and had to go back. Her mother saw her as soon as she got home and asked
why she was carrying a rucksack. She looked into the rucksack.
- What are all those clothes and food doing in your rucksack?
Ida said she was going on a trip.
- You'd better come in and have something to eat then.
- But I'm going to have a picnic on the trip.
- No, you must have something to eat first.
As soon as she was finished she slipped away. She took the tent with her
and, when darkness fell, crawled in and snuggled down in her sleeping bag.
She fell asleep almost immediately.
The next day was a Saturday. She thought of going to live with her aunt
Karin in Stockholm. She took her money, went to the station and got on the
9.45 train. She bought a ticket, then went to the buffet car for a hot dog and
an ice cream. Through the window, she could see the environment in all the
places they passed through. She thought she should travel all over the
world and do something about all the rubbish and pollution.
- “Next station Stockholm”, the conductor announced.
She got off the train and started walking towards the centre of town. She
got to a block of flats where her aunt Karin lived and ran the bell. Nobody
answered, so she went out and began collecting litter. When she saw her
aunt coming, she ran to her and asked:
- Can I stay with you?
- Of course, but what's in that bag?
- Litter!
- What on earth for?
- I want to save nature and the environment.
Ida lived there for seven years.
Seven years later:
Ida's now returning home. When she got back to the village, everything
had changed. The cars were running on rapeseed oil and the factories were
polluting less. Ida felt much better. She went home to her mum and dad and
said she would never go away again without telling them.
- “We now know how important the environment is to us”, said her parents.
Yvonne Dolerel, 10, Austria
Sara Grande Cobo, 9, Spain
9
Letter from the future
Natalia Kirkopoulou, 12, Bruxelles, Belgium
Planet earth, 2999 AD
My name is Mike. Tomorrow, on the 7th of February, I would have been 14,
an age I never expected to reach anyway. I am about to die and today is the
last day of my life. I live on my own with my brothers and sisters and with
R24, my faithful computer. These are very hard and difficult times.
Many children of my age are dying. The reason is that we are unable to
survive. We are created by artificial insemination and brought up by robots.
We don’t know the meaning of the word "nature".
I read books and wonder what on earth was this world which they
describe. What is a beautiful blue sky, or a sea lapping on a shore, or bright
green trees in the spring and the sound of birds singing?
Angelina Voulgaridou, 8, Greece
10
Carina Maurer, 8, Austria
I was reading that once the earth was green, that there were trees and
sweet smelling flowers. The earth was fertile, water was plentiful and the air
was clean. That was back in the year 2000, when everyone was happy and
paid no attention to nature.
The years passed and there were all kinds of serious problems and life
became difficult. Global warming, water pollution, acid rain and the hole in
the ozone layer. Production increased and the forests disappeared.
By the year 2100 forests were scarce. Water was in short supply.
Everything that man had done in the past had severe consequences for the
sea, the lakes and the rivers, and even for the fate of the animals which
depended on the water for the existence. They thought the sea was infinite,
and that their stocks of water were so plentiful that they never paid them the
necessary attention.
When it rained, the rain was polluted by the air and turned into acid. The
acid rain polluted the rivers and the lakes, and harmed the fish and the trees
and the rest of nature.
That was not to be my own fate, but the indifference of the people of the
past is being paid for now by the people of the present.
I like to imagine how the world would be today if our ancestors had not
created so many environmental problems. I dream of a beautiful world with
fresh air and clean water. Dreams are how we decide what we want. We
dream of something and then we do it. But I cannot perform miracles.
So I don’t know who will read this letter, or indeed whether anyone will
read it, but I hope they understand what I am trying to say…
11
Morsang-Les-Sources
Florence Pruchon, 11, Morsang, France
Federica Tedesco, 10, Italy
12
I am eleven years old, I am in sixth class in the Jean Zay College in Morsang
s/Orge to the South of Paris. I have a science teacher this year who is getting us to do
work on the environment. We have done lots of things. In September he suggested
that we collect rubbish on the banks of the Orge. There were about thirty of us from
school, some from each class. Journalists came to ask us why we were doing it, and
they took photos for the papers. We had gloves, t-shirts and these big bin-bags, we
gathered up loads of things. Our bags were full. We also made other field-trips. In
class we looked at these little animals under the microscope. Then our teacher told us
about a project in which we had to make a film. We met up every Wednesday afternoon at the House of the Environment to do surveys. We formed a club, the Nicolas
Hulot Foundation, "the ecollegians of Morsang". We became interested in the springs
in the town. We met and interviewed someone from the tourist office in Orge, a biologist, some engineers, gardeners from the park, historians, a librarian, we even took a
minibus to a neighbouring town to visit this amazing spring! We had great fun as well
as learning about lots of things. Last week our whole class made a film. We made up
a story with our French teacher so we could explain about how springs begin, about
the quality of the water and the importance of springs for our town. The TV people
came and we were even interviewed! That was hard and it was freezing cold! We had
to redo some scenes several times. That's how I became interested in the environment. We interviewed the Deputy Mayor for the Environment of Morsang. He told us
that there are houses in the town that are flooded regularly because of the springs and
that when they were being built nobody was bothered about protecting them, but now
they are beginning to realise that they should have taken more care. I like working like
this, seeing lots of different people and places, learning to understand our town better.
I hope that I will have this teacher again next year.
Elena Romani, 8, Italy
Eva Keskinen, 10, Finland
13
Eco-Baddie Bertil and Eco-Mindful Mats
Niclas Hägglund, 10, Sundsvall, Sweden
This is the story of Eco-baddie Bertil and Ecomindful Mats. They are two very different people,
as you can tell from their names. Mats and Bertil
are both around 20 years old.
Bertil' s day
Raisa Pernu, 9, Finland
14
Bertil woke to the alarm clock ringing. He yawned
and stretched himself. He got up and ate breakfast,
which consisted of toasted sandwiches and chocolate milk. When he had dressed and brushed his
teeth, he got the car key and went out to his car.
Once he was outside, he took out a cigarette, then
a match, and lit the cigarette. He threw away the
spent match after blowing it out. He got in the car
and turned the key. The car started. He drove to the
corner shop, although it was barely 100 m away. His
neighbours think he is lazy. When he arrived at the
corner shop he left the engine running while he
bought a paper, chewing gum and an aluminium
can of Coke. He said goodbye to the shop
assistant. When he got back into the car, the engine
still running, he thought he would have a look at the
paper. He opened the can of Coke and turned to
page 3. When he saw the picture he thought “She's
a bit of alright!” He threw away his cigarette-end
and the empty can. He looked at the time, and
exclaimed “It's never already ten o' clock!” He
drove off after a flying start. When he got home he
put on the washing machine. He had a shirt which
needed washing. He used lots of washing powder.
After putting on the washing he took a shower for
around 40 minutes, then ate lunch. After eating he
went downstairs and watched TV. He took some
sweets to eat while he watched.
Mats' day
Mats woke up to the sound of birds singing. He
stretched himself and got up. He had breakfast,
consisting of porridge and juice. He switched off
the kitchen light before leaving. He got the key to
his bike lock and went out. He stretched and
walked over to his bike. Mats cycled to the corner
shop. He went in and bought a loaf of bread and
a litre of milk. When he came out he saw a Coke
can on the ground. He picked it up and took it
with him. Mats had collected 100 crowns that
way. He put the loaf and the milk on the baggage
carrier, cycled home and had a shower. He
showered for around 4 minutes. He then put on a
week's worth of washing. He used only a small
amount of washing powder. He went into the
kitchen and prepared lunch. After eating he went
to bed for a lie-down.
The meeting
Eco-mindful Mats got up and went to get breakfast. He looked in the fridge for an orange, but
there were none left. He put on a jumper and got
his bicycle to cycle to the corner shop.
Bertil woke at the same time. He got up and went
to the breakfast table. He saw to his despair that
there were no more cigarettes. He threw on his
coat and got the car key. He drove to the corner
shop at speed.
When Mats got to the corner shop, Bertil came
out with a packet of cigarettes and a can of Coke.
When Bertil had emptied the can he threw it on
the ground. Mats saw it and said:
“Thanks! Now I can buy that computer game.”
“What?” said Bertil
“Yes, this month I' ve saved the last 100 crowns I
needed for a computer game. How much money
do you burn on cigarettes in a month?”
“Around 1000 crowns”.
“I can get 3 computer games for what you spend
a month, and what's more, you're paying for
them.”
Mats gave Bertil food for thought.
15
Luca Martin, 12, Innsbruck, Austria
The environment is important ....
..... and not to be taken lightly,
it needs to be revered and not regarded as our own.
It has to be loved and cared for,
otherwise it will send us acid rain.
We can find it beautiful, but also pollute it,
Which is to no-one' s benefit.
Many fish have to die in oil slicks
but no politician is willing to risk anything for them.
Traffic exhaust gases
have environmentalists in a rage.
If we can't solve the problems of CFCs and nuclear power
the hole in the ozone layer is going to get bigger.
We want to live with precious energy and clean air,
but give up the tropical forest for nothing.
Jeannine Weber, 10, Austria
Martina Sandström, 8, Sweden
For many the rain forest is free for clearing.
Riijja Saarela, 7, Finland
All we have left is hope.
To build houses that our children will inherit
more and more animals have to die.
We have to respect nature and the environment,
16
otherwise it will take its revenge on us in the future.
17
Konstantinos
Asonitis, 8
Greece
Eleni Kyriazi, 12, Giannitsa, Greece
The environment is gradually being polluted
more and more, because of man’s irresponsible
behaviour. So, the whole of nature held a meeting
and after a lot of discussion decided to give man
a warning and do something to make him understand what he had been doing all these years by
neglecting the problems of the environment, even
though he had of course been trying to do his
best by developing technology.
So the whole of nature decided to go on strike
and not to provide man with his needs. "Man is
destroying us. He is changing everything for the
worse but without realising that he is destroying
himself. He is forgetting that we are the most precious thing that he and his children have." These
were some of the main thoughts of the environment. And the organiser of the protest was
Mother Nature herself.
The trees decided not to give their tasty fruits,
18
nor to release their precious oxygen. The soil
decided not to give its crops nor its valuable vitamins. The water was angry because it had been
polluted by chemicals, and with poisonous
nuclear waste, so that wherever it went trying to
do good everyone was afraid of it because it was
polluted. The disgusting water also kept shouting
and cursing man because man does not realise
that he is polluting it. And the poor water cannot
do anything about it. Mrs Air and Mr Ozone were
furious with man: Mrs Air was grumbling that he
had made her all dirty and Mr Ozone was angry
because there was a big hole in him which he
could not mend. Meanwhile Miss Grass was
moaning because man had ruined her and
replaced her with plastic Mr Lawn and she was a
little jealous of him.
The whole group wrote out their demands on a
large piece of recycled paper. They explained in a
letter to the Minister for the Environment that they
were going on strike using a turtle (of the threatened species Caretta caretta) as the postman.
They told man that if he did not come to his senses within five days at the most they would mount
a General Environmental Attack. They started
preparing warning signs and placards bearing the
initials GEA.
As the days passed, it did not look as though
man would meet the demands of the environment
group. So the group decided to carry out its
threat.
Everything was ready. They were about to give
the signal. One, two, three - GO! And then… I
woke up!!! I was covered in sweat. I had been so
worried about the fate of man - just as I am now
worried about the results of this competition. But
I am even more worried about the future of the
environment and life on planet earth.
Michele
Trimarchi, 9,
Italy
19
Giuseppina di Giorgio, 13, Taranto, Italy
That summer Giorgio didn't spend his holidays in the usual way, sitting
Cesar Castañeira García, 9, Spain
20
Stefania Granieri, 10, Italy
in the sun on the beach beside a dirty sea and surrounded by empty bottles,
litter and all manner of other rubbish.
Thanks to a trip he had won, Giorgio and his friends went to Trieste that
summer. On discovering such a clean city he started to dream about how
much nicer it would be if his own town were so clean.
He imagined nice parks full of flowers and playing areas for children, litter
placed in the rubbish bins, clean roads and parks.
Dreaming and at the same time thinking of his own town and what the
summer holidays were like there. He was sad and disappointed that his own
town was not cleaner and less polluted. Giorgio wanted to do something.
He had loads of ideas but he knew that they would never come to anything.
He allowed his imagination to roam once more, thinking about his town.
He imagined relocating and modernising factories to leave more space for
green areas and clean air in the city.
Coming back to reality, Giorgio felt unhappy that the nice dreams he had
had were over. All his ideas were just silly childish dreams.
At that point Giorgio, lost in thought, broke away from his group of friends
and crept into a corner.
Marco, his roommate, went up to him and asked him what he was doing
alone. Giorgio told Marco of his dreams and Marco, too, confessed that
since he had been little he had always dreamt of nice parks to play in with
clean roads and air. Now they could.
On returning to their town they began to think more about the environment. They stopped dropping litter, putting it in the rubbish bins instead,
they treated the green areas with respect and above all they tried to convince their friends that this dream of theirs and of so many other boys and
girls of their age might become reality.
21
My environment
(A bird’ s-eye view)
Kristina Weitacher, 11, St Josef, Austria
Like just about every day, my friend Jerry and I are sitting in the hazel
22
bush by the pond when I get an idea.
“Hey, Jerry, let's do something,” I shout across to him. He just sits there on
his branch, rather lazy and unenthusiastic. “It's nice just sitting here, though,”
he grunts. But I' m not for giving in. “We can play cops and robbers again,” I
suggest. “Yeah, sure, Gina and Jerry, the environment cops,” Jerry jokes.
“Why not? I think it's a great idea,” I say. “Let's go.” “And where to
today?” asks Jerry, starting to get a bit more interested.
“Over to the town. There' s always something going on there,” I reply as
I fly off. Jerry has no choice but to fly after me. It's quite a hike to town, and
Jerry soon starts to moan. “Blimey, Gina, are you trying to break the speed
record!” he gasps. But I carry on regardless. “Shut up! Then you' ll fly
better!” I shout back. We reach town and land on the first chimney we come
to. “Thank goodness for that. Now I can have a rest,” Jerry pants. But today
he's out of luck. No sooner has he said that than a mass of smoke comes
streaming out of the chimney, engulfing us both in a black cloud. “Yuk!
Gross!” I splutter, complaining myself now. “It's terrible up there,” Jerry
says. “Maybe we should go a bit lower,” I reply. So we land on a traffic light
that's showing red. “Fresh air again,” Jerry rejoices. But just then the lights
change to green and a massive line of cars starts to roll by, exhaust gases
billowing out and stinking the place out. “I' m starting to feel quite poorly. I
want to go home,” Jerry groans. “There's a park over there. Let's go and
catch our breath,” I suggest. “Good grief! What's going on here? Looks like
a rubbish tip,” Jerry shouts. “Bottles, cans, and all manner of stuff. What a
pity, in such a lovely park,” I sigh. “Now where?” Jerry asks. “Over to the
avenue lined with chestnut trees. A lot of people go walking there. It's
bound to be clean.” “Let's hope so,” says Jerry, not very convinced.
“Looks OK,” I say. But Jerry isn't too sure. “What's that on the pathway?”
he asks, “people are giving it a wide berth.” “I thought as much,” I shout in
horror, “dog dirt! Let's get out of here.” We finally find a nice spot in the
park, with no smoke or stench. “There's a fearful din over there,” Jerry
shouts, “let's fly over and have a look.”
An old man is screaming at some children playing: “Good-for-nothings!
Someone should fetch the police.” “Poor people,” I think to myself. We're
now enjoying our outing less and less. “I think we should head back,” I say.
On the way back we fly over a would-be flea market that looks more like a
battlefield. It's full of clutter and junk. Once back at our hazel bush we just
enjoy the peace first of all. How nice town would be without all that smoke,
noise, dirt and stench. “Humans should take a bit more care and think about
us animals and plants. Without us they won’ t survive!”
Dario Fernandez Amodia, 9, Spain
Picha Robert, 8, Germany
23
Dorperveldpoel
Nele Vanstipelen, 13, Neeroeteren, Belgium
Luigi Rizzo, 10, Italy
24
Elina Ritala, 9, Finland
Since the 1995-96 school year, something beautiful has developed at
the College Heilig Kruis-Sint Ursula 1 [St Ursula College of the Holy Cross
1]. With the help of the World Wildlife Fund and the City of Maaseik
[Belgium], we could announce that we would be establishing an educational nature reserve with a pond in it.
This was very important for the school but also for the local residents.
Our school is located in the Dorperveld district, from which the pond
derives its name of Dorperveldpoel [Dorperveld pond]. We owe a great deal
to our biology teacher who has been very active in developing the
educational nature reserve within our school into something beautiful and
usable for many different subjects taught at the school.
We have also cooperated in a large number of projects. Last year we
worked out the Houtwal voor Dorperveld [wooden bank for Dorperveld] project. For this project, we planted out an 18 are green belt around the playground. Every class was assigned a small plot to cultivate. The first-year pupils
immediately went to work on the proliferation of grass. Of course, the teachers kept an eye on who joined in and who didn’t, and when the whole area had
been freed of weeds, prizes were awarded. As a result, the small plots overgrown with that awful grass became a pleasure to the eye. During the lunch
breaks, we covered the footpath around the pond with wood chippings.
In November, we organised the Wetenschapsfeest [science fete]. Secondyear pupils analysed the water in the Dorperveldpoel pond. It was perfectly
pure, and we had of course not expected anything else! The science teacher conducted physics experiments, which, of course, had also something to
do with water. We were allowed to assist in the experiments, making objects float in the air, float on water, or sink. Pupils in the first year caught little
fish and other water creatures from the pond and occasionally allowed the
younger kids to also catch a little fish. Of course, they also made sure that
everything went as it should. In the school canteen, the small creatures
could be looked at under a magnifying glass or a microscope. At the end of
the day, the Dorperveld pond book was presented, entitled Dorperveldpoel,
een educatief reservaat [Dorperveld pond, an educational nature reserve].
The book sketches the development of the reserve. To sum up, a great deal
is done at our school to benefit the environment.
Recently, we also set up an environment working party in which a wide
range of subjects is discussed, e.g. how to keep the school as clean as possible. Some time ago, it came up with a new proposal, and now the playground is cleaned up by a different class every day. Only if there is any rubbish lying around, of course! And only a few days ago, we planted a number
of new trees: chestnut, linden and oak. These are some of the many projects intended to make our school as environmentally friendly as possible.
Anyone seeing the results of our projects realises that we treat nature
with proper respect. We ask others (family, friends and acquaintances) to do
the same. If we are good to nature, it will be good to us all in the future!
25
Our future
Tamara Sonderegger, 13, Innsbruck, Austria
What does the future hold in store for us? This is a question many people
are asking, but no one has an answer yet, not even the scientists or researchers.
Some think aliens will come and populate earth, others imagine a future where
everyone has to walk around with gas masks. Others that mankind will die out
sooner or later, like the dinosaurs did. Some people hope for life in big settlements under water, others for resettlement on other planets. Who knows what will
actually happen? My view is that our environment is bound to change. All the
exhaust gases our cars produce will make the gap in the ozone layer bigger and
the sun will become so unbearably hot and dangerous that we will be forced to
stay indoors between 10 o'clock in the morning and 6 o'clock at night. This heat
will also result in glaciers and icecaps in the polar regions melting and thus sea
levels rising. Entire towns and villages near the sea or below the previous sea level
will have to be deserted as they will be submerged.
I also think that in the next century we will suffer from all manner of diseases
brought on by the poor air quality and toxic gases and radioactive contamination.
The human race will expand at a tremendous rate and more and more people
will populate this planet. It will go so far that there will be no more room left and
someone will have to come up with new ideas, although just what I don't know.
Sami Rantanen, 8, Finland
26
Laura Draber, 9, Austria
Alexander Bäsecke, 8, Germany
I also feel that there will soon be no more plants on earth, that rain forests will
be cut down and people will prefer artificial flowers at home to real ones, which
will lead to excess CO2.
For me the future looks anything but rosy.
27
A perfect environment
Jooel Tuokola, 14, Pietarsaari, Finland
Alessia Consiglio, 9, Italy
28
Iordanis Panidis, 10, Greece
I think that in a perfect environment there ought to be above all green
colours. When you look at your environment, you should not see dirt and
rubbish but beautiful things instead. Everyone can have their own environment, but also their own perfect dream environment. Maybe some people
like to be right in the centre of the city, surrounded by dirt. And there are
others who like to be in the middle of a hot desert. But at this moment you
are asking me my opinion about what is a perfect environment and my story
goes something like this:
I can imagine going out of my house in the middle of the rainforest in
South Africa, where I would see my pet monkey, Tano, jumping from tree to
tree and then into my arms. I would give him a banana from the nearest tree
and he would eat it, while I myself was getting my breakfast from the trees
nearby. And even the rainforest would be no ordinary forest, but a perfect
rainforest. Naturally. I would take two mandarin oranges for myself from
another tree and a water-melon from the field for breakfast and lunch. Then,
of course, another banana for Tano.
After breakfast - and now it's almost midday - the sweat would be
pouring off my forehead and I would go to my own swimming pool in my
backyard to swim and sunbathe. Then, if my skin started to burn, I would
go inside. I would pour myself a glass of punch and take a good book from
the library. After that I would sit in a big, soft armchair and read the book
while drinking the punch made from exotic fruits.
When I'd read enough of the book - and now it's close to 5 o'clock - I
would go outside back to my tree on which meat grows. I would pick any
kind of meat I wanted from the tree. I would then go inside and roast the
meat, having eaten my water melon. Then I would start my normal work,
which is nature-watching. In other words I would take the most beautiful
pictures of nature you could imagine. I would have to go deep into the forest and there my turtle friend, Bono, would meet me. There I would take
photographs not only of flowers but also of animals, from the smallest to the
largest.
Once I had taken enough pictures I would return home on Bono's back.
Tano would already be waiting at home, munching a banana. After that, I
would spend a while in my day-time room, where I would have all kinds of
really cool gadgets (I would even have a Playstation 2). I would spend my
evening there playing and watching films on DVD.
When it was time to go to sleep, I would go bed and when I woke up in
the morning suddenly I would find myself in some small Baltic state in some
small village far away from the dirt and pollution. Remember, this would be
a perfect environment.
29
"Happy end"
Gabriel Campos, 13, Coimbra, Portugal
- "Pedro Alexandre, do you take Elzbieta to be your lawful wedded wife?"
Calmly, his voice filled with the joy of a dream come true, he replied: - "I do."
- "Elzbieta, do you take Pedro Alexandre to be your lawful wedded husband?"
Trembling, blushing with emotion, she replied: - "I do."
And that was the result of a real-life encounter, which is still a fairytale today.
At a time when so much is said about "real-life novels", a rapidly perishable, easily consumable product, it is good to see that there are still young
people who are drawn together by values and ideals. Young people who
cement their love with stronger, more lasting ties than a few Internet chats
or an artificial, empty encounter on some "Big Brother".
It started two years ago. They first met in Romania, at a gathering sponsored by the Council of Europe to debate environmental issues. He, from
Portugal, met Elzbieta, from Poland.
They both say it was love at first sight!
30
The nature which they love so dearly lent the whispering of the wind, the
mystery of the forests and the babbling of the brooks to awaken their senses.
Pedro, at the end of a civil engineering course, was torn between a
secure, promising career and his love for such a mistreated planet. At the
time, photography was more than a simple hobby. It was already one side
of the passion which drove him to observe dragonflies and butterflies, birds
and secret flowers.
She, after a sociology course, saw the world as a common home.
And so the ties which united them in observing nature grew stronger, as
did their will to devote their lives to protecting the environment. From there
they joined the European Voluntary Service to work on an environmental
project in a nature park in Spain.
Today they are still united in protecting the same ideal.
They married. They are living happily and believe that it is for ever. Will
they have many children? I do not know, but they are already preparing for
them a cradle-world measuring up to their love.
Sanni Mattila, 7, Finland
Adrián Álvarez Alonso, 9, Spain
31
Diary of a tree
Margarita Diaz Miguel, 14, Valladolid, Spain
Hello my friends,
Let me introduce myself; my name is Peruco and I am one of those trees
you tend to see in most parks. I’m going to tell you about something that
really caught my attention today and that pleased me a great deal.
The thing is, children in the olden days had great respect for the environment and took good care of it. But as the years have passed I’ve got older
and the children I see nowadays do terrible things.
Before, they used to amuse themselves by playing in the sand, they made
their toys out of the twigs that fell from the trees, and they even took shelter under me when it rained. And in the spring they used to make dens in
the great big pine tree that stood in the park. Also, in the summer time, they
would go for a dip in the pond that used to be there, keeping themselves in
close contact with nature.
Veronica Ferretti, 9, Italy
32
Frederic Röttger, 8, Germany
Today, as time goes on, children are always wanting more (a bag of crisps,
some chewing gum, etc.) and even their toys have changed, from balls made
of rags to perfect balls with funny names on them, and from home-made
dolls to dolls made of something called plastic and then painted.
Youngsters and adults sometimes drop litter and they also stick those
sticky things they call chewing gum onto me. My friend Papi (she’s the litter
bin) complains because the children don’t put their litter in her (except now
and again). Sometimes, when they feel like writing silly things, they carve
them into my bark and wound me. They might think it doesn’t hurt, but
believe me it does!
Well now, all these years of experience have made me ramble on too
much, but let me just tell you what has made me so pleased. This morning
some thirteen-year olds came along with their teacher. He was telling them
all the things they shouldn’t do, like dropping litter and mistreating us trees.
Oh! and then, even though you might think it’s strange, they made nests,
planted trees and picked up all the rubbish that was lying around the park.
You wouldn’t recognise the place now!
That’s all from me. I hope you’ll follow their example and come and see me.
33
The environment can be improved
Micaela Jonasson, 11, Sundsvall, Sweden
- Hi, I'm Siri the anchovy and I would like to tell
you about my life under water.
Many many years ago, the water was clean and
clear. There were no cars or nuclear power
stations. In short, everything was just fine. But
then things started to change. Before people knew
that it was dangerous to dump oil drums in water
they sailed far out to sea to dump them there.
- Come with me, Mona, and I will show you. It is
amazing how much rubbish there is in the water.
Besides oil drums there are jars, returnable
bottles, plastic bags, sweet papers, rusty old cars
and bikes, etc.
- You know when that nuclear power station
exploded in Chernobyl? It happened 17 years
ago. The wind took the radium to Sunsvall. My
brother was there on holiday and he still hasn't
come home.
- Oh dear.
- People have got a lot to answer for.
- I know.
Up to the surface...
34
- Hi, Martin Gull.
- Hi, Siri Anchovy.
- Can you take Mona on a journey of discovery,
she said with a knowing look at Mona.
- Certainly, what do you want to see?
- Something good, please.
- That might be difficult.
- You can always try.
- OK, then.
- Thank you.
- What do you want to see?
- First you can show me some bad things and
then some good things.
- Sure. First we should go to Kuball
- What? Kuball?
- Yes, what about it?
- My daddy works there. What are they doing wrong?
- 1. They are using too much electricity.
- 2. They are releasing poisons.
- Oh dear, I shall have to talk to my daddy about
that.
- Do that.
- Now let's go to Ortviken. Here is the paper-mill.
- I know. My mummy used to work here. What are
they doing wrong?
- They release poisons into the water.
- What did you say?
- They release...
- I heard you the first time. I suppose you'll be
saying next that Saab are behaving badly as well
- That was the third one I wanted to show you.
Who works there?
- My mummy.
- They...
- I don't want to hear about it. Can you show me
something good for a change?
- Let's fly to the coast.
Much much later...
- Look how beautiful it is.
- I know.
- If you look in the water you can find jellyfish, fish,
plankton (which you can't see with the naked eye),
birds (not in the water) and much much more.
- Do you know what I want?
- No.
- I want a world where there are no cars, factories,
radium or anything else that can harm animals and
nature
- Yes, if we make an effort the environment can be
improved, can't it?.
Hanna Ottman, 8, Finland
35
Fight to the right to stay
Alison Lindsay, 13, London, UK
Tommaso Grechi, 8, Italy
36
Alessandro
Fanfani, 8, Italy
“All rise. Case five, an argument between Laura Scottworth and the government. Calling Laura Scottworth to the stand please.”
I stood up as smartly as I could and walked to the stand.
“Now Laura! How old are you may I ask?”
“Thirteen,” I replied.
“And you’re here to make the government leave your environment alone?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the more this environment is ruined the more things will die. If
they cut down all our trees then they’ll kill all our animals. If they kill all our
animals then they will be closer to becoming extinct. They are even taking
our old people to homes when they don’t want to go. Families have been
living here for over one hundred years and we don’t want to go. Also, there
is nothing wrong with town so they have no reason to knock it down. In
other words they haven’t got any rights and we have! They’re useless!”
“Objection!”
It was the head of the government.
“How dare you call us useless, we’re not useless, it’s this run down little
town of yours. We’re doing you a favour. You need us!”
“Some favour,” I said patiently. “You’re ruining everything in sight and causing pollution to go through our nostrils. No-one want you here. No-one likes
you here and no-one needs you here. In fact, no-one wants you full stop.
You can try and ruin us but we’ re not going to give up without a fight. We
have human rights!”
There were screams and cries of agreement, everyone saying that we had
the right to protect our environment.
“Order! Order!” shouted the judge banging away. “I have come to a conclusion!”
I waited, while biting my nails.
“Laura Scottworth has given true statements and has put up a fair fight. She
managed to keep her temper unlike the head of the government. Therefore,
the government must lose this case and leave the Worpleston environment
alone. Thank you!”
There was a burst of applause, everyone coming to shake my hand and
congratulate me! I did it! For once, I actually felt good about myself!
37
Shortly after its marvellous journey around Europe, the green thread was certain.
Having joined up a long series of trees, fruits, crops, animals and fish, it had an undeniably positive vision.
If children ruled the world, it would be in a much better state.
Children could see clearly the dead- end where those “grown- ups” were stubbornly leading them.
An environment polluted by waste, chemicals, exhaust gases, noise.
This situation needed some changes and a lot of action.
“It cannot stay the same,” said the green thread. “I travelled from freezing northern climates to places
in the Mediterranean where the sun nearly discoloured me, and from small villages to huge cities
where I nearly got lost. Everywhere, the thoughts of the children were the same.”
We cannot continue living in an environment like this.
We want a clean and safe environment.
The world belongs to us. We’ ll make it like we deserve it!
European Commission
The children’s green thread
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications
of the European Communities
2001 - pp.40 - 17,6 x 25 cm
ISBN 92-894-1379-4
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