Children have an incredible influence over each other and over their parents, as well. With music and the media playing such a big role in their lives, what if the most popular song had something to do with saving our planet and not just being sexy or lazy? Believe me, I adore Bruno Mars and find "The Lazy Song" stuck in my head continually, but as a parent and teacher I've realized we can also use music to inspire children and teach earth consciousness at any age.
Here's my own personal experience: In the 1970's during the OPEC oil embargo I was just a kid. I was so freaked out by the reality of a future with no oil that I had my eye on a beautiful new 8 gear bike for my birthday because I was convinced by the time I would be able to get my driver's license there would be no gas and no cars left on the road. I envisioned a "Jetson's" world with everyone flying around in little solar energized vehicles that could lift us right out of that 3 hour wait in the gas line. The point is, that at such a young age, the environment in crisis made a huge impression on me and set me on course to become the environmentalist I am today.
Two years ago I started a non-profit called the Eco Hero Kids Foundation, which puts into motion my belief that music can motivate kids to do anything. So, I wrote a collection of catchy songs about the environment and got my friend, Carl Graves, who played with Oingo Boingo for years, to funk it up. I put a great group of kids together and formed the "Eco Hero Kids" and began touring with them locally at schools, green expos, and festivals. The idea: kids teaching kids about the environment through music. Put a catchy melody to anything and it can remain in a person's mind for their entire lifetime.
The impact of the songs and the Eco Hero Kids is amazing. I have seen children light up from the inside out with the music. There is nothing quite as rewarding to me as seeing a five year old singing and dancing about worm composting or riding a bike to school instead of driving. I know kids who now police their parents as to what should be recycled and where. I've watched they're reaction when they learn that some beaches have more plastic than sand. But most children don't know this stuff.
So we are starting a movement...
If asked whether kids can save our environment, I would have to shout a resounding "Yes." We often underestimate kids' profound understanding of human responsibility. It's up to us to educate our kids to cultivate deeper connections to our earth so they can create sustainable lifestyles as they take our place in this society. Who knows... it could be your child who develops the Jetson's flying solar energy car! Kids WANT to save the world. They just need to be given tools to do it.
Kids will make the difference... Stay tuned...
"Tug on anything at all and you'll find it connected to everything else in the universe." John Muir