- Get a game of Jenga, or if that's not available, some other blocks. Label the individual blocks with the names of plants and animals. Have you child remove blocks and set them aside until the tower collapses. Explain to them that this is what is happening to the world now.
- Take your child to a zoo or museum to talk to some of the administrators about extinct or endangered species of plants and animals. Have them talk about what each of these plants or animals need to live. Ask why they do not have this.
- Start recycling if you are not doing so. Show you children why and what happens to recycled goods. See if you can arrange a tour for your child and possibly their class in a recycling factory. (Many recycling plants offer this for free or for a small charge.)
- Get books about conservation and read them together.
- Get your Coven involved in a letter-writing campaign about conservation. Either to the Government or to the businesses or to other private citizens.
- Get the media to cover any ecological projects you find yourself involved in. Wicca always needs the positive press. Let your children talk on camera about the whys and wherefores of the activity.
There are many more projects of this kind that can be done. Use your own judgment on what you should do, and keep in mind that your child may not have the same passion you do about these projects. Of course, they may have MORE passion about it than you do.
 |
 |
|
Pagan Children Stories: Conservation
A Story Collection by Daven and Theresa
From www.ecauldron.com: A Child's Book of Wicca
Sarah was helping her teachers at school.
There was to be a visit from the man who ran all the schools.
He was the Superintendent. He was also the Principal's boss.
All her teachers and the Principal were nervous. They asked everyone, even the Kindergarten kids, to help clean the school from top to bottom.
Only the adults were allowed to do the neat things like paint, but all the kids got to work outside for a while. Sarah decided that she wanted to work on the flower beds.
It took a lot of effort, but she was pulling the weeds, putting dirt around the bushes, and helping plant trees.
Sarah remembered what Herne and Rhiannon said about taking care of the Earth. She tried extra hard to help Them do a good job. She even asked Rhiannon to keep an eye on the plants she worked on.
She had fun while she was doing it. Every kid likes to play in the dirt. Being told to play in it on purpose only made it better.
Later, when the Superintendent left, the Principal made an announcement that made everyone happy. There would be no school the next day. All of them had done such a good job cleaning, that the Superintendent was very impressed.
Sarah was just as happy as everyone else.
The next day was Friday. Everyone around the neighborhood was off that day. Sarah's Daddy said he would watch the kids whose parents could not put into daycare. Sarah thought that was very nice of her Daddy.
He even took the day off from work.
The day went pretty OK. There were a couple of fights between some of the kids, but Daddy broke them up pretty fast. After that, he took them all to the Zoo. Sarah thought it was wonderful to see all the animals. Daddy even managed to convince one of the keepers to come around with all of them.
The Zoo keeper, who asked the kids to call him Mr. Phil, said that there were several types of animals in this zoo who were almost extinct. There were many more that were endangered. Someone asked what endangered means. Mr. Phil said that it means the animals who are endangered have scientists and others watching them to make sure they don't become extinct.
Some of the endangered animals were the Bald Eagle, the symbol of The Untied States, the African Elephant, and the Panther. "These animals," Mr. Phil said, "have more of them dying than are being born each year. This is what makes them endangered."
This is sad thoughts Sarah. She learned that there are many animals on every place on the Earth that are endangered. There were people trying to help them not to die out completely, but there were more people who were accidentally killing them.
Sarah wanted to talk to the Green Lady about this tonight.
That night, when Sarah went to sleep, she went to the tree where she could talk with Rhiannon.
When she got there, Rhiannon was there waiting, and so was Herne.
"Hello, Sarah," Herne said, "We have been waiting for you."
"You knew I was coming?" Sarah asked.
"Yes," Rhiannon said. "Every time you learn something new concerning Us, you come here to talk to Me about it. This time I wanted Herne to be here also, because it is something that is important to both of Us."
Sarah asked, "Why is it important to both of you?"
Herne answered. "Not only are many types of animals dying faster than they are being born, but many more types of plants are being killed, without a chance to have any more."
"How is that happening?" Sarah asked.
Rhiannon looked very sad. She said, "People are killing them. Many of My plants are used to make your medicine. Aspirin comes from the bark of the Willow tree. But there are men who want money, any way they can get it. They are cutting down the forests at a tremendous rate each day, then burning the land to kill all the small plants and make the next day's work easier. Because they are doing this, the seeds which the trees have made, and the saplings which are too small to use are being destroyed. Many medicines that your people need to cure your diseases are being lost."
Sarah was angry. SHe asked, "What are the trees used for?"
Herne said, "Lumber. They use the trees to make wooden boards for furniture and houses. If they think, they plant other trees, but many of the trees planted are 'pine' trees. The trees cut down are usually Oak, Maple, Sycamore, Birch and other slow-growing trees. Pine is not used in building things. It is too soft."
"But, that's not very smart."
Rhiannon sighed, "Many humans aren't very smart. When it comes to things that affect most people's comfort, many people are not willing to sacrifice what they want to help the environment."
Sarah was now sad. "Does this happen to animals too?"
Herne looked angry now. "Yes. It is happening to many types of fish and aquatic animals. Whales and dolphins are being hunted or killed dimply because they are in the way. The whale is an aquatic mammal, like humans, but a whale only eats tiny shrimp. People are hunting and killing the whale for the oils in their flesh, even though many of the products that are made from that oil can be made without it, through other means."
"What about dolphins?" Sarah asked.
"They are simply drowning." Herne was still angry. "Fishermen who use nets to catch fish for food are also catching dolphins. Because dolphins need air to breathe, they are drowning because they become tangled in the nets."
Rhiannon spoke up. "Not only that, but pollution in the rivers and streams is flowing downstream to the sea, killing many things. The shrimp the whales eat, the oysters who make pearls, plankton and other types of fish are being poisoned. The pear oyster is almost completely dead. Plankton are dying out very quickly and since most life on this planet, and in the sea, depend on the plankton, this is very dangerous."
"Are we all going to die?" Sarah asked.
Herne looked at her. "if things continue the way they have been, it is possible. If people do not begin to understand how Man fits into the Chain of Life, many more animals will die. If enough animals and plants die, Man will die also."
"Will I die?"
"Eventually, everything dies. The Earth and Humanity probably will not die in your lifetime, but it could happen within the next one hundred years." Herne stated.
"But, that is such a long time from now. Why should I care?"
Rhiannon looked deep into Sarah's eyes and stated, "A very wise man once said that 'The earth is not inherited from our grandparents, but borrowed from our children'."
Herne spoke up. "If you care about something, you are supposed to return it in better condition than when you got it. Since the Earth is borrowed, it should be taken care of and protected, so it is better than when it was borrowed."
The Lady said, "I would hope that everything you interact with is given back better than when you first saw it. Everything, from the plants to animals to people to places. If everyone does their part in making whatever they see and touch and use better, then the Earth will eventually become a better world."
"Is that all that is happening?" Sarah asked.
Rhiannon said, "No. Pollution n the air is making everyone sick. Plants, animals, and people are all getting sick and dying because of these poisons. Trees and green plants could correct the problem, but with logging going on the way it is, that solution is fast becoming nearly impossible."
"How could trees and plants correct the pollution?" wondered Sarah.
Herne said, "The plants take the pollution out of the air to live. It is part of their purpose. Gasses that would suffocate you, the plants use to live. Like Carbon Dioxide. All the plants need Carbon Dioxide to live, and they produce Oxygen, what you need to breathe from that Carbon Dioxide. The plants cannot use Oxygen, but without oxygen, people will die and so will all the animals. Plants give off Oxygen in great amounts, just like people and animals give off Carbon Dioxide."
Rhiannon stated, "Everything is interconnected with each other. plants use dangerous gasses to breathe, make food and are eaten by animals and humans. Animals eat each other and grow, giving humans another source of food. Humans and animals die and rot and seeds grow and become more plants. Plants give off Oxygen and use Carbon Dioxide, humans and animals exhale Carbon Dioxide and breathe in Oxygen. Everything is dependant of and connected to everything else in a very delicate web of Life. No one creature or plant is above that web. But Humans are disturbing that web, and soon it may be too late for anything to correct the disturbances."
Herne looked at Sarah. He said, "Imagine a house of block. Each block is a creature or plant. You may be able to take some of the blocks away without the house falling, but if you take too many out, eventually the house will fall. Humans have taken too many 'blocks' from the 'house' of life to stand for much longer."
"Why aren't more people doing something about fixing the 'house'?" Sarah asked.
"Most," Herne said, "don't even know what is happening. There are may who are working on telling everyone, but many more don't care."
The Lady said, "That is why it is important for you, your friends, parents and all people, Wiccans or not, to work to help the planet. Recycle, talk to others who don't know, don't buy things from companies who don't care. Talk to the Governments of the Earth and get them to do something about the situation."
Sarah decided to think about this for a while. She thanked the Lord and Lady for talking to her and woke up.
She went to talk to her parents about everything she learned from the Lord and Lady. She was worried and determined to do something about the situation with her parents. She didn't want the planet to die.
Conservation Discussion
This story (as promised) expands ideas touched upon in earlier stories. While some of the things happening in this story would probably not happen, I plead poetic license.
Some questions for you and your child to discuss:
1. How did Sarah help the Lord and Lady by pulling weeds?
2. What does "endangered" mean?
3. What does "extinct" mean?
4. What makes an animal endangered or extinct?
5. Can a plant become extinct? How?
6. How are the Dolphins and Whales dying?
7. What will happen if the pollution kills all the plankton in the sea?
8. What should you do if you care for something you have borrowed?
9. Why would life be compared to a web?
10. What will happen if too many animals and plants die?
11. What can you do?
Once again, children should be encouraged to think of an original answer to these questions, and they should be encouraged to think on a global scale. Some explanations of terms and ideas may be required in order to properly present the information. Due to space limitations, I was unable to properly explain everything.
Projects for you and your child are:
Helpful Pagan Parenting Links & Resources
PaganParenting.net: The Pagan Parenting Page
Pagan Parenting Books
I'm OK-You're OK
-- By Thomas Harris
-- By Kristin Madden
-- By Ashleen O'Gaea
-- By Starhawk, Diane Baker, Anne Hill
-- By Cait Johnson, Maura D. Shaw
-- By Amber K (Illustrator)
-- By Kristin Madden
-- By Margie McArthur
-- By Chara M. Curtis, Cynthia Aldrich
-- By Shawna Carol
Pagan Ritual Supplies
Mountain Rose Bulk Herbs
Mountain Rose Aromatherapy Oils
A Source For Medicinal & Ritual Herbs & Supplies
This MoonDragon's WebRing
site owned by
Leather Dupris
|Previous 5 Sites|
|Previous Site|
|Next Site|
|Skip Next Site|
|Next 5 Sites|
|Random Site
| |List Site|
Want to join the ring?
Click here for info.]
Web Site Blessing
May the powers of The One,
the source of all creation;
may the Goddess, the Lady of the Moon;
and the God, Horned Hunter of the Sun;
may the rulers of the elemental realms, earth, air, fire and water;
may the powers of the stars above and the Earth below,
bless this web site, and this time, and I who am with You.
I ask for you to protect these pages,
and that no harm to those who visit here.
So mote it be.
Leather Dupris, Domiciliary Midwife & Pagan Priestess
