No way! All of us on the Duckey team are firm believers that ANYONE, regardless of age, has the ability to make an impact on the world around him or her. Still, I hear from kids who think they are too young to make a difference. Not true! Case in point? Casey Sokolovic of North Carolina. Casey, your average eleven year-old, turned her ordinary love for sea turtles into a mission to help these creatures. She even began her own organization, Help Them LAST (Love A Sea Turtle), which hosted fundraisers and sold turtle-shaped cookies to raise money for the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. Casey and her organization were able to raise $2,500! If that weren’t enough, she has plenty of additional plans in the works, including starting a website, creating t-shirts, and even selling her own brand of coffee with profits being donated to the sea turtle hospital. So you see, it doesn’t matter the age of the person, it only matters the drive and determination to make a difference. Every one of us has a voice and a choice to use it to positively shape the world around us. I think Duckey put it best when he said, “Believe it, Achieve it!”

Since the release of “Duckey and the Ocean Protectors”, we have been fortunate enough to receive some great reviews and hear from many special readers. But it seems that “Duckey” has grown legs of its own and has been popping up everywhere around the Web! It’s wonderful to see that so many websites appreciate the significance of Duckey and are spreading it around. With the help of all of these sites, Duckey’s educational message will inspire more kids to be environmentally proactive! Here are just a few sites that Duckey has been featured on recently:

BNET

The Free Library

Entrepreneur Magazine

North Carolina’s Office of Environmental Education

Environmental Education in Kentucky

Environmental Education in Georgia

Environmental Education in Wisconsin

Kid’s Guide

Walk into any supermarket today and you will see displays of reusable shopping bags. In an effort to cut costs and become environmentally conscious, most stores now sell bags that you can reuse in order to eliminate grocery bag waste. Many people have started carrying around the totes in an effort to “go green” but few really understand the importance of why we need to do away with plastic bags. Americans use over 300 billion plastic bags per year. Most of these bags don’t get recycled and instead end up in our landfills and oceans. It takes 1,000 years for one plastic bag to fully break down and as it does, it breaks down into toxic pieces, which contaminate the soil, water, and many animals’ food. Plastic bags are one of the most common items of debris on coastlines and pose a serious problem for wildlife. Millions of animals, specifically marine animals, die every year from ingesting or getting tangled in the bags. Due to the dangers to the environment, San Francisco has banned plastic bags, and many countries have done the same. It may seem inconvenient to opt for a reusable bag, but think of all the wildlife that will be spared. It’s time that we step up to the plate and start limiting our plastic bag usage. We owe that to our planet!

Earth Day will be celebrated all over the world this year on April 22nd. It’s a day when we celebrate nature and educate ourselves on ways to help preserve the earth.  There are so many fun things you can do with the kids on Earth Day, so don’t let the day go to waste! Here are a few ideas:

• Turn trash into recycled crafts like a tin can planter or milk carton bird feeder!
• Check out an environmental book from the library, such as “Duckey and the Ocean Protectors“, which teaches kids to appreciate and protect the environment.
• Color pictures!
• Take a trip to the local zoo. Have the kids read the signs at each exhibit so that they can appreciate the importance of each animal in our planet’s ecosystem.
• Go see the movie, Earth. Not only does this look like a great movie, but Disney plans to plant a tree for every ticket sold opening weekend.
• Plant your own tree with the family.

Earth Day can be educational and entertaining, so why not participate? You can teach the kids a lot about the world around us by having them take part in environmental holidays!

Time Magazine recently put out their annual “Top 10 Ideas Changing the World List”. Number ten on this list was an interesting surprise: LifeCycle Assessment. Not familiar with it? Neither was I! The LifeCycle Assessment has been in place for decades. According to the website, “LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the potential environmental impact associated with identified inputs and releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more informed decision.” Sounds complicated, but really the LifeCycle Assessment is in place to ensure that the products that we buy are environmentally friendly. Some manufacturers, such as General Motors, have a special section on their website detailing what they are doing to make sure that their products are created with the environment in mind. A few listed on GM’s website include using recycled materials, proper disposal of scraps, and eliminating hazardous materials. It’s great to see an effort by these industry “giants” to help reduce their company’s eco footprint. Sometimes, the little efforts may not seem like much, but when carried out for long periods of time and in conjunction with everyone else’s, it makes a huge positive impact on our planet!

Two of my greatest passions are reading and animals, so when I heard about the R.E.A.D. program, I was absolutely ignited. R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Education Assistance Dogs. With this program, kids have the opportunity to further their reading confidence and skills by reading to trained therapy dogs. The idea was originally created for children who were behind their peers in literacy levels. Since these kids are more likely to get intimidated and anxious when reading aloud to their peers or adults, reading to a dog provides them with a more relaxed atmosphere. The dog calms the child down and allows the youngster to have fun with it, instead of feeling humiliated when he or she stumbles over a word or mispronounces it. This comforting environment gives the child a boost in confidence as well as a boost in reading level. Don’t have a program in place at your local library? Create your own! Before going to bed, have your child sit down and read “Duckey and the Ocean Protectors” out loud to the family pet. It’s fun for the child and educational, too!

Have you ever wondered what your favorite ocean animals are up to? Now you can see for yourself! Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) has a fun website that allows you to track your favorite ocean animals, such as sharks, seals, and turtles. Researchers began the TOPP project by tagging 22 different species of animals to track where they live and where they migrate. To date, they’ve tagged more than 2,000 animals! The TOPP homepage features a really cool map that allows you to see the animals’ swimming patterns. You can also read the animals’ stories, see pictures, and learn all kinds of fascinating information about these beautiful creatures. The website also has some other great features, like a widget for your website or blog that features an animal with information about how fast they’re swimming and how many miles they’ve gone since they’ve been tagged. This website is jam-packed with information and things to do. If you’re a marine animal lover like me, you definitely need to check it out!