I’ve always believed that humans should be the stewards of the planet and not the thing that hurts it. That’s why I’ve always been a proponent of teaching conservation to kids. We live on this big, beautiful planet, but so many out there don’t see it for its beauty, but rather for what they can extract from it. That has to change.
I took my son to Aquarium Pacific to celebrate Earth Day and to teach him about all the amazing life that lives in the sea. When we talk about conservation, the conversation so often revolves around deforestation, air pollution, and other terrestrial concerns. Those are all so important, but the other aspect of conservation is our waters.
A myriad of wildlife calls our lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans home. From plankton to blue whales, muscles to trout, and everything in between, there’s an entire world living under our waters. That’s what I wanted to highlight to Ukiah.
While we watched the jellyfish, sharks, crabs, manta rays, and all of the other amazing sea life at the aquarium, I explained to him how we could do our part to keep these amazing creatures and their habitats safe. I talked about how we should always leave anywhere we go as clean as we found it. How recycling helps keep trash out of our waters. We also talked about how picking up any trash we see on land or in the water helps keep our planet clean.
I was so please with how eager he was to help keep the planet clean and healthy. Children are sponges. If we make teaching conservation to kids a priority early in their lives, they’ll always have a desire to be good stewards of our planet.
My son and I had a blast at the aquarium for Earth Day. I’d love to know what you and your family did for Earth Day. Do you believe that teaching conservation to kids is important, too?