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Community Corner

Walking For a Greener Community

Citywide WOW event heightens awareness of eco-friendliness.

Students across Cupertino are lacing up their walking shoes to participate in the third-annual citywide Walk-One-Week, or WOW event. The event, which began Thursday and extends two weeks this year, encourages students to hit the pavement instead of the driver’s seat to get around town.

The program, put on by the , aims at lessening greenhouse gas emissions and motivating kids to be more aware of pollution and the environment. Through walking instead of driving, teens are taking green steps to celebrate the Earth, according to organizers. The event culminates on April 13, prior to Earth Day 2011 on April 22.

“The strongly supports the Teen Commission’s WOW program,” said . “WOW is good for the environment and the health of each participant. It is also fun.”

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But did you know that teaching your child to be more eco-friendly not only benefits our world collectively, but also brightens their lives individually?

Experts say that teaching a child to respect nature by either growing a garden, taking a hike or observing a honeybee can promote positive lifelong traits such as respect, compassion, curiosity and independence.

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Engraining the concepts of reducing, reusing and recycling will lead to a cleaner environment and give your child that treasured feeling of being part of the solution.

According to Diane Gordon, a great-grandmother and director of Children, Nature and You in San Jose, having a solid relationship with nature spurs all kinds of positive benefits for kids. Chiefly among them are self-respect, compassion, discovery, a sense of curiosity and independence, she says.

“It’s all about asking questions and letting them figure it out for themselves,” she says. “When they’re out in nature, you can simply ask, ‘Which leaf is bigger, which is smaller,' or, ‘Oh did you see the sand pour out of the bucket when you tipped it?’ or, 'Why did that or didn’t that fit there?'”

Gordon says that setting the environment and allowing for the learning to take place through the children really lets it sink in and gives the children a greater respect for themselves and the world around them.

Being more eco-friendly and more connected to nature also encourages children to be more creative in the way they approach life, Gordon says.

Children, Nature and You is based on the belief that children need to be out in nature to explore, experience and observe. Explorations help children to feel that the world is a safe, interesting and friendly place, according to Gordon.

Getting kids out in nature is the first green step you can take, and the path is endless.

With WOW, Jeff Bowman, vice-principal of , says, “I’m hoping that kids would become life-long environmentalists. The Walk-One-Week program helps them to take the first few steps."

Easy ways to be green:

  • Recycle.
  • Reduce waste, reuse.
  • Conserve water.
  • Turn out the lights.
  • Adjust the heating or air conditioning.
  • Drive less; walk or bike more.
  • Buy organic, locally grown foods.
  • Replace old appliances with energy-efficient ones.
  • Use non-toxic chemicals for cleaning.
  • Change light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs.
  • Have something green growing in your home.
  • Organize clean-ups in your neighborhood or at a public place.
  • Cut down on TV time.
  • Get low-flow toilets; don’t flush as much.
  • Organize cooking so oven goes on once.
  • Organize your errands so there are fewer trips on the road.

Books:

Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care, by Dr. Alan Greene

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day, by Peter Roop

50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, by The Earthworks Group

Fun With Recycling: 50 Great Things That Kids Can Make From Junk, by Marion Elliot

Earth Book for Kids: Activities That Help Heal the Environment, by Linda Schwartz

Recycle: A Handbook for Kids, by Gail Gibbons

Where Does the Garbage Go?, by Paul Showers

Ecoart, By Laurie Carlson

Children of the Earth ... Remember, by Schim Schimmel

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