Today is World Water Day, which focuses on preserving our precious water resources. With the world’s population increasing and our water supplies dwindling, we are faced with challenges that simply cannot be ignored.  What can you do right now to help this cause?

• Educate yourself and your family about our water situation.
• Waste less water by turning off faucets while washing dishes and brushing your teeth.
• Stop wasting food; producing food uses a lot of our water supply.
• Use leftover water creatively (to feed your plants, give your pet a drink, etc.)
• Take shorter showers and less baths.
• Don’t pollute our water supplies.
• Don’t plant water guzzling plants in your garden, unless you are producing food for yourself.
• Don’t let waiters continue to fill your glass with water in restaurants, when you know you won’t be able to finish drinking it.
• Be smart about your washing machine and dishwasher  – wash full loads and use shorter cycles.
• If you have a swimming pool with a leak, fix it.
• Don’t wash your car excessively or waste water when you do wash it.
• Fix all leaky facets in your house.

Please take a few minutes to read my interview on Good Reads with Ronna. Sophie Webb is a biologist and orinthologist who travels the world via ship to do research and brings along her camera and her watercolors to capture the wildlife. She turned her life’s work and passion into several high quality children’s books that I highly recommend. Both you and your children will be interested in what she had to say about life at sea.

It isn’t that often that we come across a group of manatees we can see up close. But today my husband and I hit the jackpot! He was riding his bike home from the beach and called to tell me there were many manatees near the bridge at Stanley Goldman Park. I raced over with my 200 mm lens.

The water is very warm there, and that’s why they often gather in that spot. A mommy and her baby were loving each other up, and in the last 2 photos you can see manatees drinking water from a hose a man sprayed from his back yard. Read all about manatees here.

Last year we blogged about this wonderful contest, and lo and behold our friends at Action for Nature contacted us to let us know it is now time for 2012 awards!

What is Action for Nature?

Action For Nature (AFN) is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, that encourages young people to take action to better the environment.

What are the Young Eco-Hero Awards?

The AFN created the International Young Eco-Hero Awards to recognize and reward the successful individual environmental projects of children ages 8 to 16.

What do I have to do to enter?

Read the contest guidelines. Figure out what your environmental project will be, and fill out and send in an application form. You can find inspiration from past winners, but you must create your own, new  idea. Here are last year’s winners.

How are the projects judged?

Projects are judged based upon:

• originality
• difficulty
• organization
• length of time devoted to the project
• influencing/educating others
• use of outside resources (e.g. library, experts, media, community leaders)
• degree of success in reaching goals
• the impact on the environment.

Winners are selected by a team of independent judges with experience in environmental issues.

When is the deadline?

Applications must be postmarked or sent via email by January 15, 2012.

When will winners be notified?

April, 2012

What are the prizes?

Winners will receive public recognition, cash prizes and certificates for their outstanding efforts to help protect and preserve the environment.

Don’t miss out on a chance to do your part to protect our environment!

Fairchild Tropical Gardens

Today I went to the the new IMAX movie Born to Be Wild in 3D.

This movie parallels two different wildlife sanctuaries in two different parts of the world. And because the movie is filmed in 3D, with IMAX quality, viewers feel like they are right there. To top it off, Morgan Freeman is the narrator.

In Kenya the story takes you to a refuge for baby elephants managed by elephant expert, Dame Daphne Sheldrick. She and her team rescue baby elephants from the wild who have lost their mothers for various reasons and nurture them until they are old enough and strong enough to be released back into the wilderness. Half way across the earth from Kenya is Borneo, where an orangutan sanctuary – deep in the rain forest – rescues baby orangutans whose mothers have been killed. It is here that primatologist, Dr. Birute Galdikas, and her team, act as mothers to these fragile creatures until they can be released back into their natural habitat.

The cuteness factor of the baby animals in this movie is off the charts. There is a scene where a worker is pushing a group of baby orangutans in a wheel barrel, and everyone in the theater audibly sighed. There is another priceless scene where the primates are soaping themselves up in a bath. The baby elephants are playful and friendly and so darn adorable too. Some of the babies have trouble falling asleep so the workers have to stay with them to help them relax. You’ll wish you could take one home with you. I like the way the movie takes you back and forth to the two sanctuaries. The cinematography is spectacular, as it is in all IMAX movies I’ve ever seen.

Children will learn that, although wild animals are cute and friendly, they are still wild and that must be respected. The rescuers give these babies a second chance to survive and let them be the animals that they naturally are while in captivity. That way when they are set free, they have the greatest chance of survival.

Anyone, young or old, who loves animals will love this IMAX movie.

Here is a great contest for your kids and their schools!

Press Release:

P&G FUTURE FRIENDLY JOINS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL AND NAT GEO WILD TO LAUNCH INTERACTIVE SCHOOL CONSERVATION PROGRAM

Teachers Challenged to Put Education to Action with National ‘Find Your Footprint’ Contest

To Win $36,000 in Promethean Classroom Technology Prizes and National Geographic Educational Materials

WASHINGTON/CINCINNATI (Oct. 12, 2010)—P&G Future Friendly today announced it has expanded its signature partnership with the National Geographic Society through the launch of an integrated in-school conservation education program called “Find Your Footprint.” Developed to inspire students and schools to monitor and reduce their environmental footprint this school year, the multimedia program focuses on energy, waste and water tips that can then be applied to participate in a national classroom conservation contest.

“We know that children can inspire more sustainable lifestyles. By supporting interactive conservation tools like Find Your Footprint, Future Friendly will help educate and motivate families to make simple changes in their homes and schools that add up to meaningful reductions in our environmental footprint,” said Maurice Coffey, marketing director, P&G Future Friendly. “We’re equally excited that this announcement represents the next step in our partnership with National Geographic to promote conservation-minded lifestyles through dynamic communications.”

Rules and details about how to enter and who is eligible for the classroom conservation contest are at www.nationalgeographic.com/findyourfootprint. Teachers can download a comprehensive lesson plan, “How Big Is Your Human Footprint?”, and competition entries must be received by Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. The grand prize for the winning classroom is five state-of-the-art Promethean interactive digital whiteboards (ActivBoards), five classroom sets of Promethean Learner Response Systems (ActivExpressions), $1,000 in National Geographic educational materials and 30 subscriptions to National Geographic Kids magazine. In addition, the campaign features educational resources on saving water, saving energy and reducing waste in an interactive online hub; on-air elements on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD, including contest spots and PSAs; and is featured in upcoming issues of National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Kids magazine.

Speaking on behalf of the competition is scientist and anthropologist Dr. Mireya Mayor, host of Nat Geo WILD’s “Wild Nights with Mireya Mayor.” “I’m thrilled to be working with Future Friendly and National Geographic on ‘Find Your Footprint.’ My kids and my work both inspire me to take simple steps that make a difference for the environment,” said Mayor. “‘Find Your Footprint’ can help students understand the link between their environmental footprint and the world around them and be champions for the planet in their schools and homes.” Mayor will be one of the classroom conservation contest judges.

Earlier this year, National Geographic and Future Friendly partnered on an interactive, digital, in-home conservation guide to inspire people to save energy, save water and reduce waste within their homes. This conservation education material developed specifically for Future Friendly by National Geographic is available at www.futurefriendly.com and www.facebook.com/futurefriendly in a dynamic, holistic consumer education experience promoting household and lifestyle conservation habits.

About P&G Future Friendly

P&G Future Friendly is a program that empowers consumers to save energy, save water and reduce waste, using science, innovation and unique partnerships to achieve meaningful environmental impacts. The P&G Future Friendly program is a direct extension of P&G’s long-term commitment and disciplined, science-based approach to environmental sustainability. Through the program, P&G is better able to share these solutions with consumers so they can realize the benefits in their own homes. Sustainability is core to P&G’s Purpose to Touch and Improve the Lives of the Worlds’ Consumers, now and for generations to come.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About National Geographic

The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. National Geographic reflects the world through its magazines, television programs, films, music and radio, books, DVDs, maps, exhibitions, live events, school publishing programs, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the Society’s official journal, published in English and 33 local-language editions, is read by more than 38 million people each month. The National Geographic Channel reaches 330 million households in 34 languages in 166 countries. National Geographic has funded more than 9,400 scientific research, conservation and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geography literacy. For more information, join the more than 15 million unique visitors who go to www.nationalgeographic.com each month.

About National Geographic Channel

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channel (NGC) is a joint venture between National Geographic Ventures (NGV) and Fox Cable Networks (FCN). Since launching in January 2001, NGC initially earned some of the fastest distribution growth in the history of cable and more recently the fastest ratings growth in television. The network celebrated its fifth anniversary January 2006 with the launch of NGC HD, which provides the spectacular imagery that National Geographic is known for in stunning high definition. NGC has carriage with all of the nation’s major cable and satellite television providers, making it currently available in more than 70 million homes. For more information, please visit www.natgeotv.com.

About Nat Geo WILD

For more than 30 years, National Geographic has been the leader in wildlife programming. Now the animal kingdom is taking center stage with the new network, Nat Geo WILD. Offering intimate encounters with nature’s ferocious fighters and gentle creatures of land, sea and air, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo WILD HD draw upon the cutting-edge work of the many explorers, filmmakers and scientists who have long-standing relationships with the National Geographic Society. Nat Geo WILD is a joint venture between Fox Cable Networks (FCN) and National Geographic Ventures (NGV) ? the same partnership behind the National Geographic Channel (NGC), which launched January 2001 and has since been one the most successful new networks on the landscape. Nat Geo WILD launched globally more than three years ago and is the fastest-growing channel among the international portfolio of National Geographic networks.

About Promethean - Lighting the flame of learning

Promethean is a global leader in the rapidly growing global market for interactive learning technology. Developed for teachers, Promethean’s ActivClassroom brings together its interactive display systems (ActivBoard), its learner response systems (ActiVote and ActivExpression), and its suite of specialized teaching software (ActivInspire). Together, these interactive learning technologies change how teachers and classes engage and interact, how students learn and how they are monitored and assessed. Beyond the classroom, Promethean provides comprehensive training and support and, with over 600,000 members, the rapidly growing Promethean Planet (www.PrometheanPlanet.com) is the world’s largest online community for users of interactive display system technology, providing user-generated and premium content, and is a forum for teachers to exchange ideas and experience. Headquartered in the U.K. and listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange as Promethean World Plc (ticker symbol ‘PRW’), Promethean’s technology is today helping educate over 12 million individuals in over 500,000 classrooms in some 100 countries. www.PrometheanWorld.com.

National Geographic has announced a new contest for teachers and classrooms. Your class picks a theme to save water, energy or make less waste. Then you take action and do a proposal to help change your school. All the details are right here on the official website. There’s an online entry form for teachers, and the deadline is December 3, 2010. Click here for the prizes.

What a great idea!

You all remember Kevin Huo, the amazing 5th grader who won 1st Place in our “I Love Costa Rica’s Rain Forest!” Contest – 4th-5th Grade Category. Well now Kevin has done it again. He just returned from Washington DC  where he received the River of Words Environmental Art & Poetry “One Square Block” Grand Prize Award.

“Our goal is to help children become informed, engaged and inspired citizens of the places they live,” added River of Words co-founder and executive director, Pamela Michael. River of Words (ROW) is a Berkeley-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting literacy, creative expression and community awareness of our most critical environmental concern: water. It was co-founded by U.S. Poet Laureate (1995-1997) Robert Hass and writer Pamela Michael to help young people make a personal and lasting connection to the environment.

Kevin’s Entry, Birds Over the Bay depicts birds, inspired by the artist’s memories of seeing ducks in his yard and birds flying over the sea near his CA home.  You can’t help but smile when you see Kevin’s artwork. He uses vibrant colors and captures nature in such an inspiring and mature way. This is just one of many awards Kevin has one for his artwork. And he”s only 11 years old! Click here to read our interview with Kevin, which was published in January.

Birds Over the Bay

For the Grand Prize Award, Kevin received a trip to the River of Words Environmental Art & Poetry Award, Ceremony, where he attended a luncheon and public reading at US Capitol -  The Library of Congress – on June 30, 2010 The ceremony was emceed by River of Words co-founder, former US Poet Laureate,  Robert Hass, recent winner of the both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

After the ceremony, Kevin visited and met with California Senator Barbara Boxer in the Capitol, Washington DC, where he presented his 2010 One Square Block grand prize & 2010 River of Words Watershed Art & Poetry winning art work to Senator Boxer.

Kevin and his parents got to meet CA Senator Barbara Boxer following the awards ceremony

Kevin is not just an artist, but a true environmentalist.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is looking forward to Kevin’s next artistic masterpiece.

Congratulations Kevin!