June 2020
Announced last month, Love the Wild Foundation is sponsoring an academic challenge for kids to upcycle by encouraging them to look at waste differently. More information and registration for the project can be found here. Participants who successfully complete the challenge will be eligible to receive a digital copy of Green Kids Club's new book, The Belize Trash Monster and their product might even appear in a future Green Kids Club Upcycling Project book!
Green Kids Club has started a new Environmental Heroes spotlight section on our website. We hope to get to know some of the earth's best advocates through this forum. Our first featured hero is Taegen Yardley, an internationally-acclaimed teenager making mini-documentaries to reach and encourage the next generation. Can you think of anyone that has inspired you? Let us know!
Grizzly 399 is here! This book depicts the life of Grand Teton National Park's famous Grizzly Bear 399. Sylvia Medina worked on this story with Tom Mangelsen, an esteemed wildlife photographer who has chronicled the life of Bear 399 through his photos, including the one seen here.
To continue Grizzly 399's amazing story, she emerged this spring with four new adorable cubs!
June Observances
June is National Zoo and Aquarium month, Adopt a Shelter Cat month, and also has these specific observations:
- June 5 - World Environment Day
- June 7 - National Animal Rights Day
- June 8 - World Oceans Day
- June 16 - World Sea Turtle Day
- June 17 - World Croc Day
- June 20 - American Eagle Day
- June 21 - World Giraffe Day
- June 22 - World Camel Day
- June 22 - World Rainforest Day
- June 22-28 - National Pollinator Week
Giraffe Facts
World Giraffe Day is June 21. Giraffes are the world’s tallest living land animals and can reach heights over 15 feet tall! A group of giraffes is, appropriately enough, called a tower. They are known for their long necks, but they actually have the same number of neck bones as humans do. While those long necks are perfect for reaching leaves high off the ground, they are too short to reach the ground, so the giraffe has to nearly do the splits to get a drink of water. No two giraffes have the same pattern of spots, and they require less than half an hour of sleep per day. While we don't hear much about it, giraffes fall victim to poaching and their numbers have dropped by 30% over the last 30 years, so that there are four African elephants for every giraffe left in the wild. See how you can help on World Giraffe Day.
Monthly Challenge
As the weather warms up and we venture back outside for the summer, many of us will break out the sunscreen. You may not realize it, but many sunscreens can actually be harmful to the environment. When we go in the water or rinse off after sun exposure, chemicals from our sunscreen can enter waterways where they can have devastating effects on corals and other marine life. Your challenge this month is to seek shade during peak sun hours 10am-2pm, wear UPF clothing instead of sunscreen, and/or choose mineral, rather than chemical, sunscreen. Check out this article for more information on the effects of sunscreen.
Non-profit Highlight
It's Adopt a Shelter Cat month, so let's take a look at the Snake River Animal Shelter (SRAS). The SRAS is a non-profit animal shelter, founded by our own Sylvia Medina, in our local community here in Idaho. It serves to house unwanted animals until they find a home, provides educational opportunities to the community, and offers impactful programs like training companion animals. Shelters all across the country take in an estimated 6.5 million animals every year and serve as an important bridge between humans and their pets. If you are an animal lover, shelters are a great place to volunteer, as they often need dog walkers, foster homes, or animal socializers.
Denali, the Eagle
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Create your own product in our Upcycling Challenge
About the author
Lorielle Peterson