Eco-book

=Chapter 1 - Kite (Poland)=
 * //written by Kasia and Marta, class 4C//**

This story took place in the era of space flights and computers in a small Polish town – Bogatynia. This is where the story begins… In the power station which produces energy, so much dust had gathered in huge chimneys, that Smog was born from the molecules.(You should know that //Smog// means „a poisonous mixture of smoke and fog” and //Smok// means in Polish „a dragon”). Smog was the Wawel Dragon’s great-grandson but the beast did not belch fire, he devoured clean air. When the chimneys spitted out Smog, he regularly started regularly to pollute the environment. There was a black curtain of dust in Bogatynia, everyone sneezed and waved their hands nervously in order to drive the dust away, they cried a lot of tears that were collected in specially designed glass containers. The administrator of Bogatynia was in a great despair. The supply of dust-proof masks was over. The administrator gathered the residents of Bogatynia and said: - The one who is able to clean the town out of dust will get a ticket for holidays in the cleanest areas of the world. However, most people wondered whether it is still possible to find any clean places on Earth. The scientists from every part of Poland came to Bogatynia and tried to save the town. Unfortunately, Smog grew bigger and bigger and ate such a big quantity of air that people started to sell it. Smog had damaged the nearby Izera Mountains and almost no trees remained there, except for naked stumps. However, smart heads and scientific spells did not help. Skuba, a descendant of a legendary shoemaker who defeated the Wawel Dragon centuries ago, lived in Bogatynia. But Skuba was not as brave as his ancestor was, though he really wanted to help. He sat at the river bank and began to think as hard as he could. As he was thinking, an idea came to his mind. (Meanwhile Smog started to swallow air in the Czech Republic, that is a Poland’s neighbour). Skuba assenbled his friends that lived all over Europe and he had known for years, since the times of magic and fires. There were quite many of them: Keloglan, Pacala, Hamish, beautiful Egle, Kekec, Pinocchio, who sometimes tells the truth, and Anbotoko Mari. Skuba decided to send them an e-mail with the following words: media type="custom" key="8019432" //Dear friends!//

//I am writing to you because we need your help. You probably know the story about my grand-ancestor defeating the Wawel Dragon centuries ago. The history is just happening again and our town is in great danger. In a nearby power station a monster was born – called Smog – and he is devouring our clean air. Oxygen is very precious here and it is sold in limited quantities. If we do not stop Smog, he will also reach to the rest of the European countries because of the open borders. And I must say that his appetite is endless! We must think of remaining together in order to stop the beast. Gather your scientific wizards and make them do some efforts and use their brains!//

//Best wishes from all of Bogatynia’s residents// //Skuba Shoemaker//

The letter was sent to all the countries. The news from Poland caused anxiety and fear. There were no borders for Smog, and his appetite for clean air was bigger and bigger. Skuba’s friends came to Bogatynia and met together at the foot of the Izera Mountains. Grey Smog lazily flew above their heads. Any time Skuba looked at the sky, he sighed sadly. The others stood in silence. Suddenly Skuba broke the ominous silence and said: - My beloved friends! There is no time to hesitate. We must think of some rescue before Smog destroys our life. Keloglan, who knew a lot of tricks, had an idea. He said that he could make the power station, which was Smog’s father, fall under the ground. But Skuba protested strongly: - No, Keloglan! People need energy. - I’ve got a fantastic idea! – shouted Pinokio and his nose got longer. Everyone smiled indulgently, Pinokio put down his head and no one heard about his brilliant idea. The sun went down and not even one idea appeared in Skuba’s friends’ heads. Suddenly Skuba’s eyes looked at something in the far distance and it seemed that an idea had come to his head. He raised his hand and pointed at something colourful in the sky. - What is it, my friend? – asked Hamish the Haggis, who wondered all the time whether the Izera Mountains were as beautiful as the mountains in Scotland, where he came from. - Do you see that kite? I guess some children have to be there. Let’s call them. It seems that children have much better ideas than adults. Well, well, well…in fact it is true. Everyone began to shout and whistle until they managed to gather the children. The children did not even try to hide their amazement when they saw the fairy tale heroes. Skuba told them about the problem and, with a great despair in his voice, he begged the children to use their imagination as much as they could. Children did it quicker than it was expected. The first to say something was a boy: - Listen to me. You have seen our kites. They don’t need any mechanical force to fly except for the force of the wind. Perhaps the wind is the one that can help us, maybe we can use its power. - And we can create a machine that will produce energy using no coal, and by burning coal Smog is all the time created – added a red-haired girl. Now everything went like lightning. The children drew a plan of a machine that was moved by the power of wind and could produce energy. In this way the project of wind power stations was created. Instead of the chimneys, some huge windmills came into being, waving their wings friendly every time the wind blew. media type="custom" key="8019422" Smog died out of old age and the modern power stations did not give the chance to another monster to be born. The air began to smell nice and everyone could sigh with a great relief. Only Skuba and his friends were a bit ashamed as they hadn´t been able to find such an easy idea. But, as we know, children’s imagination has no limits…

=Chapter 2 - **//Waterwheel//** (Turkey)= Keloğlan became very unhappy when he received the e-mail from his friend,Skuba.Hopefully,this unhappiness did not last very long because in the meeting in Bogatynia with his European friends ,he witnessed the children’s solution to the terrible beast,Smog.At that time,how could he know that it would be the children who would lead to what he was dreaming.. Keloğlan was the one who loved nature and he was an environmentally conscious boy.He was a close friend of nature and soil.He protected the animals.He knew that plants made the nature beautiful so he also protected the nature.He was maintaining his love for nature by attending the activities of TEMA which is the organization for preserving environment .(The word “tema” represents Turkey, Struggling against Erosion and Encouraging Forestation.)He was an active member of TEMA and working voluntarily for it.He was picking up the rubbish wherever he saw and was informing people how rubbish must be grouped before being put in the rubbish bin. According to what he learned in Tema,every year thousands kilometersquares of soil was mixing to water and then disappearing.It was also important to use water consciously because his teacher was telling that global warming was threatening the world and it was necessary to use it carefully.Keloğlan’s mind was always busy with how to save even each drop of water.Everyday he was going by the brook which was flowing near his house and he was dreaming by looking at it.In his dreams there was a thought of how he could save water more and more. One day,while he was sitting by the brook,he saw three children playing at the other side of it.They were putting their feet into the water and splashing it to each other.Two of them were putting the stones one over another and they were making a set and accumulating water.Then they were breaking down the set and watching the flowing of the water.They were floating their small boats made of paper.When Keloğlan saw these paper boats,he remembered his childhood.He used to play with his friends in the brook,they used to get into the water taking their shoes off.In spring,the melted snow water which was coming from the mountains, increased the water of the brook.Even there were some people who used to hunt fish in the pond which was constructed in the mouth of the stream in a nearby village.He remembered how they were unable to catch fish although they made a lot of efforts and how they became upset in the end.Then his mother had bought some fish in the market to make him happy.He remembered eating that fish with his friends.Since three sides of his country were surrounded by sea,there were various kinds of fish. Keloğlan had seen times that water was being wasted whereas they needed even one small drop of water.He thought that even waste water had to be used.If this waste water came together,there would be a large pond,who knew…..? Keloğlan noticed that these children started a new play.They made a few ponds connected to each other.They were filling the clean water coming from the last pond to the bottles.This gave him an idea.His mind was in the waste water.This waste water could be used in watering the gardens,washing the cars…etc.His mother used to wash the clothes by hands and empty the dirty water If this emptied water was accumulated and subsided,the detergent inside of it would settle down and the clean water on the surface would be used again.Also,rain could be accumulated and used in watering the flowers and the garden. Since his childhood,the importance of water had always been mentioned in his house.One of his greatest habits was that he was turning the tap off while brushing his teeth.First,he was washing his hands with soap and then rinsing them. Keloğlan was dreaming so deeply that he suddenly found himself in the construction of a dam.The water which was accumulated in the big pool, was being flowed from the high level and this water was rotating the wheel which was at the bottom.By the rotation of the wheel,everywhere was being enlightened and there was so much light that even the furthest houses could be seen. Each time the wheel was rotating, water was changing into various colours.He was feeling as if he and all his European friends were playing in the water and singing songs hand in hand.He was telling them what an important source water was.Water was scattering colours like a prism as if it was giving a seperate colour to each of them.They were trying to catch the colours but they could not.Keloğlan was dreaming how better everything would be if water was used more carefully. In the morning,he woke up by his mother’s voice.He washed his face and took a shower without wasting any water. He went by the brook again.In his mind there was the idea of the construction of the dam.He remembered the letter sent by his friend Skuba.Polish people got rid of the terrible beast Smog by making use of the force of the wind.Keloğlan aimed to produce energy in the dam by using the motional energy of water. He wished he could make his dreams come true.Maybe his name would be given to one of the energy stations he dreamed.He fell a sleep with those kinds of thoughts occupying his mind…

__ Chapter 3 __ __ Outdoor Education and Biodiversity (Scotland) __ When Hamish, the Haggis received the e-mail from his friend and ECO buddy, Skuba, he flew directly to Bogatynia to help his mate. In Poland Hamish met up with the rest of the gang, but in spite of talking for hours they were no closer to a solution. Fortunately, help was at hand and the Polish children came up with a plan. And what a plan it was! Hamish flew home and talked to his friends, frequently, on Flashmeeting. This is web conferencing where each hero can speak to their friends without leaving home. Hamish heard all about Keloğlan and his fantastic plans for hydro-power and was really impressed. First of all Skuba had engineered the power of the wind and secondly Keloğlan had thought up a plan for water power. What could Hamish do for the world? He had read all about climate change and how it was affecting countries across the globe, with severe flooding, and abnormal climate conditions, but what could Hamish do to raise awareness? He was sitting in his cave on 30th November, St. Andrew’s Day; Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and Romania, and feeling very sorry for himself. It had been snowing for days and all the schools were closed. He couldn’t even go to Mid Calder Primary and talk to the children. All this snow must be something to do with climate change, this is the worst weather in years and it is not even winter. The schools have been closed all week and there is no sign of them opening. This is unheard of! He had to think after all he was Hamish, **THE** Haggis and had his very own super powers. He had a special waste bin that means Hamish can pick up all the rubbish and recycle it. He also has a water gun to help prevent climate change, by spraying it on areas which were suffering from extreme heat, but this was not enough, Hamish must do more. When the schools opened up again, Hamish went straight to Mid Calder Primary and had a long talk with the primary 7 pupils. They also showed him an Eco Code. Hamish was interested and asked if he could send it to his eco buddies across Europe and see if they could make up their very own Eco Code. This is what he sent -



They told him they had been studying BIODIVERSITY. ‘What is that?’ said Hamish. Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, biodiversity is life, biodiversity is OUR life. They told him that biodiversity means that humans are part of nature’s rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it. Human activity is causing the diversity of life on Earth to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate. These losses are irreversible, affect us all and damage the life support systems we rely on every day. But we can prevent them. Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on. ** 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. ** Let’s think about our achievements to safeguard biodiversity and focus on the urgency of our challenge for the future. Now is the time to act! ‘That’s all very well, if you understand it, but what are we doing about biodiversity here, in Scotland? The boys and girls took Hamish outside into our ‘Wildlife Connections’ area. They sat Hamish down on one of the log seats and told him a story……… We have been planting nectar flowers which encourage bees and butterflies to keep these creatures coming back and help protect them and stop them from becoming extinct. Butterflies are a highly threatened group in Britain. The new ‘Red List’ shows that the number of butterflies in need of our help has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. We have already seen conservationists bring the Large Blue butterfly back from extinction but there is so much more we need to do to secure the future for our fastest declining species. They are our heritage. Many of the commoner bumblebee species also look for food in gardens, and this resource has become increasingly important for these species as wild flowers have declined in our countryside, so it is important we plant lots of wild flowers to encourage more bees. We also made a bug house to encourage insects. Apart from planting wild flowers, we have also been planting trees. The Rowan Tree is indigenous to Scotland and we have planted many in this area. ‘I know about Rowan Trees, said Hamish. ‘We took one with us to Slovenia and I planted it in the grounds of OSNOVNA ŠOLA ŠMARJETA along with my Comenius friends.’ The children also told Hamish about the red squirrel which is native to Scotland, but its future is increasingly uncertain as the introduced American grey squirrel expands its range across the mainland. There are estimated to be only 140,000 red squirrels left in Scotland, with over 2.5 million greys. The Forestry Commission is working with partners in projects across Britain to develop a long-term conservation strategy that deters greys and encourages reds. Red squirrels are seed eaters. They like to feast upon pine cones, but also eat larch and spruce. We have planted these trees as well and hopefully we can encourage the red squirrel back to this area. ‘’I’m so glad you are working hard to learn all about biodiversity. I wonder what the rest of my friends are up to’ Slovenia, it’s over to you.

** Chapter 4 - Kekec (Slovenia) ** Soon after Kekec returned from Poland, he received a letter from his Scottish friend Hamish. Kekec was excited about the eco-code which was formed by the Scottish pupils. We could do something similar with my friends at Primary School Šmarjeta, he thought to himself. The pupils in Šmarjeta were very glad when Kekec, Mojca and Rožle visited them. They sat down among the trees which were planted by Kekec's friends from Europe. The pupils were very proud of those trees and they took good care of them. They realised how great they felt in their little forest. The air was fresh and clean. However, it is not like this everywhere. There are many areas, where the nature is endangered. Wherever the nature is in danger, the human life is threatened, too. Kekec and the pupils were thinking about how to keep the nature clean. There were so many ideas coming out of those young heads: instead of cars, we could use public transport or a bike more often, or we could walk; we could plant trees, we could sort rubbish, we could encourage ecological farming... Having numerous ideas, Slovene pupils, with the help of Kekec, Mojca and Rožle, also decided to form their eco-code.

** ECO-CODE OF ŠMARJETA PRIMARY SCHOOL **

Walking to school and riding a bike helps you to be a cleverer and healthier pupil.

Lower paper consumption means more woods and cleaner, fresher air.

Turn off the light when the sun is shining, don’t let the water run out of the tap when you don’t need it.

Make the world better by planting a flower each year.

Be cool and trendy – remind anyone not to throw rubbish in the nature, put it into bags, sort and recycle, be ECO.

Don’t be arrogant and don’t throw food into rubbish bin, you might be hungry tomorrow.



Thrilled about their work they set out for a walk into the forest. Kekec took a deep breath of fresh air and said: ''It's so pleasant here in the forest! The birds are singing, it smells of resin and the trees provide shade for us.'' Suddenly someone standing beside Mojca screamed from the top of his lungs. Even Kekec, who doesn't get scared easily, was scared to death. It was Rožle. He forgot his shoes at home and stepped on a piece of glass. Kekec looked over his shoulder and saw a giant man with a rubbish bag running away, losing an empty can on the way. That man looks familiar to me, thought Kekec.



Who will get help for Rožle? he asked. One of the students ran towards the school and Kekec ran after the man so fast, Mojca couldn't even say a word. He soon found the mysterious man with the rubbish bag and hid behind a tree to watch him. He saw him shaking out the rubbish from his bag, cutting down trees, kicking the mushrooms and cutting the bushes. Kekec was outraged by his behaviour: Who would do anything like that? Suddenly the man turned around. Kekec recognized the dirty face, it was Bedanec. He returned quietly to his friends and told them what he saw. They were all very worried: What if he turns our forest into one big rubbish dump? Don't worry, we'll thwart his plans! Kekec said wittily. Later on, Kekec came up with a perfect plan how to teach Bedanec a lesson. He gave each of his friends a task and explained his plan. A pupil, who was squatting in the bushes made a noise and let loose a big dog. The other one that was sitting on the branches of an oak tree tightened a small rope, on which Bedanec tripped over. The big dog started chasing him around. Bedanec fell into a trap and it took ten students to lift Bedanec up on the tree. They even tightened a weight on the rope so Bedanec wouldn't fall down. Since the dog kept on barking, Mojca offered him a sausage and lured him away. Kekec approached Bedanec: Promise, you will never throw rubbish again and you will also pick all the rubbish in the forest and plant new trees! he said in a demanding voice.



I promise, just let me down! begged Bedanec. Bedanec started to work right away but Kekec realised there was still a lot of rubbish. Pupils saw them in forests, in caves, on meadows... They thought about how to pick all the rubbish and help the nature. Soon they realised the rubbish had outnumbered them and that there were not enough of them. What should they do then? Suddenly Kekec got an idea: “You know what? I will write to my friends all around Europe to visit us and we will clean Slovenia together.” “This is a fantastic idea,” the pupils screamed one after another. They wrote the letters in a moment, sent them to Kekec’s friends and hoped they would respond to the invitation. All heroes from Europe arrived to Slovenia: Hamish, the Haggis, Egle, the Queen of Grass Snakes, Keloglan, Pacala, Antoboko Mari, Pinocchio and Skuba. It’s hard to find the words to describe the enthusiasm of the pupils at Primary School Šmarjeta meeting Kekec’s good friends and their great role models. United they made a plan. Hamish, the Haggis suggested an environmental action but Pacala got an idea of a voluntary environmental action where the whole Slovenia would pick waste and rubbish. All of them accepted the suggestion. They agreed on informing the public by publishing the news in press. Radio, television, internet and posters attracted many volunteers to join the action. A lot of rubbish was found in forests, on meadows, in brooks, rivers and caves. Bags with waste were gathered in piles which trucks drove off to rubbish dumps. While picking the rubbish they enjoyed the nature which was getting a new, clean image. They had a feeling that the nature was returning them its gratitude since they felt very energetic at the end of the day. The next day Kekec met the pupils and his European friends. They were pleased to have done such a big work cleaning Slovenia. But Kekec thought of another question; what should they do with the rubbish? How could it be used? Rožle suggested: “In my opinion the best solution is to bury it deep into the ground.” They were still thinking for a few moments when Egle, the Queen of Grass Snakes, who looked after the clean water, broke the silence: “You know, burying all the rubbish into the ground is not the best solution. There are many dangerous substances that can pollute the underground water.” All agreed with her. They thought about taking the rubbish to a rubbish dump or to the other part of the world. But no solution seemed right. Besides, people collect day after day new piles of rubbish. What shall we do with it? Mojca suggested: “A magic wand is the only solution.” In the end they parted with a problem they couldn’t solve.

** Chapter 5 PINOCCHIO MAKES THE DIFFERENCE (Italy) ** Pinocchio comes back home thoughtful from Šmarjeta because of the rising problem. During the trip, all he thought about was the solution to reduce the risk of pollution, a concern he could share with his European friends without getting any solution. As soon as he gets off the plane, Pinocchio realizes that something changed: also in his country there is the same problem discussed with his friends Kekec, Hamish the Haggis, Egle, Mary Anbotoko, Pacala, Keloglan and Skuba. Now the landscape appearing in front of him is not the same any more. A few minutes later he finds himself in a stinky place full of garbage and, surrounded by plastics and papers, he sees the good Fairy, sweeping everywhere with great difficulty. She is happy to see him again, but she says she can’t go on any more: she complains that she cannot keep everything in order because it's too much polluted and she cannot carry a weight as heavy as a mountain. // - If it goes on this way // - says the Fairy - //every man will be forced to carry his mountain of garbage with serious risk for health//. -     Pinocchio is sorry and pro mises to help her…so he starts up and…walking and walking…he gets in a large forest. Suddenly, he sees a column of smoke and he smells burning: there is a burning pile of garbage. Scared, Pinocchio would run away. He is ready to leave when the Speaking Cricket appears reminding of the promise done to the Blue Fairy and explaining that Fire Eater is responsible for setting the fire, because he wanted to bu rn down the garbage. Fire Eater is no more under control and, doing so, he damages man’s health because burning garbage produces a toxic substance called dioxin, which is released during the initial burning phase. Pinocchio goes on and he is not able to recognize the places he loved: the Field of Miracles has become an outdoor dump; the Cat and the Fox are very able to manage the toxic waste, they got rich and didn’t loose the bad habit to cheat people. Pinocchio is outraged: he is determined to stop the two wrongdoers doing business with the trade of waste. They won’t get away with it. The Little Cricket, the wise animal, takes Pinocchio back to reason by saying: - //My little friend, think, you won’t solve the problem giving a ringing lesson to the Cat and the Fox, because there will always be some other cunnings ready to take their place. What we need is a plan to clean this place and make it nice r//-. Pinocchio has got an idea: to create a pleasant amusement park with the waste by establishing accurate rules to separate them… But how?... We need everybody’s help and commitment. Enthusiastic, Pinocchio runs to the Blue Fairy and informs her about his idea. The Fairy, quickly, gathers all the characters of the tale and assigns to each of them its task. She convinces Fire Eater and the two wrongdoers to change their mind in view of the amazing project to be realized. Fire Eater will take care to separate cans and glass; the Cat and the Fox will dispose of paper; the slow Snail organics and Lucignolo plastics. Pinocchio himself would help his father and the Fairy to realize the new amusement park just where now is located the outdoor stinky dump. Recycling the waste: a challenge for everybody! While Pinocchio rummages among a pile of garbage, a strange feeling catches him… Suddenly he hears something that sounds like hiccups. A vehicle of undefined shape, and dotted with puffy as a cloud, approaches the pile of rubbish and... "kling... klang" a swarm of well-crushed aluminum cans is lifted from the ground and disappears in the vehicle that moves away muttering, followed by Pinocchio and the Cricket. So they arrive in front of a smoking mountain: it is the "Volcano of cans" and Fire Eater is there, happily managing his new task. The vehicle pays the whole swarm of aluminum in the crater and walks away. But the surprising thing is that a large fissure, at the foot of the mountain, lets out a sheet of aluminum, ready to be turned into new cans and items for the new amusement park. It 's a good way to avoid accumulating the used cans that defile the landscape. Walking along a lane nearby, Pinocchio is surrounded by a landscape even more mysterious. A slight smell of ink impregnates the air, on the right and left, a gray mush boils quietly. He can't believe his eyes: his book of mathematics floats on the surface. The Cat and the Fox tell him that he is going through the area of the "Charter of the Marshes": - //Hello Pinocchio, as you see we here collect used paper, we work and transform it into new paper that we'll sell gaining honestly - .// The Cricket rejoices, adding: -//Well done, so many trees of the forest will be spared//-. After a walk to reach the "Lake of plastics”, the Know-all Cricket explains that this is the place where objects are melted and blended. Lucignolo, acting like a good guy, adds: -//You should know that plastics is derived from petroleum, a substance rare but polluting, so saving it is helpful both for the environment and economy// -.     From the lake, a waterfall of plastics dives in a special factory, where the objects are transported far from ecological islands that Geppetto has built with the help of the Fairy and new objects for the new playground are created.      Suddenly, a rhythmic music and tinkling sounds loud and clear: it comes from the "Desert of glass and sand”, where are located the factories recycling glasses, which Fire Eater has collected with help of his puppets. The Cricket tells Pinocchio: - //At last people have understood that waste cannot eliminated entirely, however you can use most of it to get something good: the recycled materials help the planet to stay healthy and we need to choose recycling whenever we can// -. Pinocchio adds that everyone must, already at home, treat the waste with care, separating it by type and depositing it in special containers located on the gree n island. For this purpose, all the students of the 2° Circolo Didattico are committed in the differentiated waste disposal. Moreover, they will carry the different wastes to the ecological area. In this way each group of students will receive points depending on the gathered materials and, at the beginning of the next scholastic year, they will have coupons to spend in books and other school equipment. The most important and useful thing is to avoid rubbish tip disposal by recycling resources and to protect the environment. All the characters of the tale want to share these experiences with European friends when they will come in Santeramo, on March. __** Chapter 6 **__ __** Mission of the Fairy-tale Characters in Lithuania **__ One day Egle, the queen of grass-snakes, was walking along the seashore. An intelligent grass-snake approached her and said: “More and more children are getting ill in the city and even the best doctors cannot help them. The kids cannot breathe and they suffer from headaches.” Having heard the news, Egle called all grass-snakes to a meeting. Hundreds of them slithered together to the seashore. They talked and talked and finally decided that potion made of healing herbs might help the children. Egle gave some potion to the parents of the sick children. The next day the children got better, they could go to school and play outdoors. But the evening came and the children felt sick again. The children of the city were moaning with pain in their beds. Egle realised that the herb potion would not help. She wrote seven letters to be taken by seven seagulls to Kekec, Keloglan, Pacala, Hamish the Haggis, Skuba, Pinocchio and Mary Anbotoko. In her letters she told them about the sick children in Lithuania and the herb potion that had not helped. In her letters Egle asked the fairy-tale characters of all the countries to join the international mission. Seven seagulls flew away carrying seven calls for help. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"> Three days passed and respectful guests from seven countries visited the seashore of Lithuania: Kekec, Keloglan, Pacala, Hamish the Haggis, Skuba, Pinocchio and Mary Anbotoko. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">They spent three days and three nights in Egle’s amber castle thinking what had made the children sick and how to help the little patients. However, they could not find the answer. Then Pincchio said: ”Let’s go and see the little patients.” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Walking along the city streets and seeing the sick children, they were surprised at the huge number of cars in the streets. The cars were causing terrible noise and emitting dark poisonous fumes. The fairy-tale characters felt that it was getting difficult to breathe and they started complaining about getting headaches themselves. Suddenly Pacala exclaimed: ”I know why the children in the city are ill. They are being poisoned by car fumes!” The fairy-tale characters looked around. They saw leaves on the trees turning yellow and flowers withering. Now they understood that car fumes were bad not only for people but for plants and animals as well. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The fairy-tale characters returned to Egle’s amber castle to find the solution for the problem. Hamish the Haggis came up with the idea to stop using cars. He said: “People could wear shoes as fast as mine! No one would pollute the environment and the air would be clean.” At first everybody liked the idea but then Kekec said: ”I see your point, but how about little children who cannot walk yet? How about old people? It is difficult to walk for them.” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Keloglan said that he had an idea: “People could fly on magic carpets, as I do. Magic carpets are easy to maintain and to fly on them is a real pleasure!” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"> Anbotoko Mary – queen of the Nature, who lives on top of high mountains had some doubts: ”How about the ones who are afraid of heights and cannot fly?” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">All ideas were good; still they could not solve the problem. Not knowing what to do, the friends decided to ask the children for help. They all agreed that children were the smartest and most creative of all. They had no doubts that the children would help them. Then Scuba, who had a very strong voice, called the four winds: the North Wind, the South Wind, the East Wind and the West Wind. Scuba told the winds to carry the news to all the children about the fairy-tale characters asking for help. The winds promised to be back in three days. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">A severe storm started, huge waves reached the sky when the four winds left for the four corners of the world. The winds told the children about the car fumes that had negative effects on people, plants and animals and made tree leaves turn yellow, flowers wilt and children get ill. What could be done to have the air clean? <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">All children agreed that trees should be planted as they purify the air. They remembered the beautiful park near the school in Slovenia. It would be great to have such a park near every school. The trees would make the air clean and the children would be healthy and happy. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Of course, that would not be enough. People should walk more instead of driving short distances. They would be fitter, cars would not pollute the air so much and children would not get ill. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Then some boys ran up and shouted: ”Let’s produce new kind of cars!” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">“What cars?” - people could not understand. - “There are too many cars. Perhaps we should destroy them.” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The boys just smiled. “We must invent a car that would not pollute the air” - they explained. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Now everybody understood the idea: “Some people ride bicycles, scooters or rollerblade. They protect the environment. We must produce such cars that would help to protect nature, too.” <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The children started working. They made drafts, produced models and tried them out. Adults were impressed by their imagination. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Soon bright colourful cars, run by solar, wind or water power, ran into streets. Happy people cheered and waved to the new cars. Yellow tree leaves turned green again and flowers bloomed. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Three days and three nights passed and the four winds returned. The fairy-tale characters were extremely happy to hear the good news. They clapped their hands and danced with joy. “The international mission in Lithuania has been accomplished!!!” they sang. <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: times new roman; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Egle thanked her dear friends for their help. Mary Anbotoko, Skuba, Pinocchio, Kekec, Keloglan, Pacala and Hamish the Haggis wished Egle success in protecting the environment. Before saying good-bye and going back to their home countries the friends promised to help each other whenever necessary. They proved that a friend in need is a friend indeed.

= CHAPTER 7 – PROJECT “BE GREEN!” (ROMANIA) =

Back from Lithuania, where Pacala had witnessed what a child’s imagination could do, he paid a visit to School No. 24 in Galati. Although his sometimes rebellious behavior was not the favourite among the school rules, they had a very good relationship that worked well in the past. On his way, he saw a group of pupils laughing and eating having a good time, but just as everything seemed fine, one of them threw some wrapping paper on the ground! That very moment, Pacala’s mind stormed : he had to do something against that! He could have called his European friends to help him clean the city, but would it have helped in the long term? Surely not! So he had to do something to make everyone aware of the consequences… He had no idea right then, but still those kids needed to be taught a lesson. He went to the nearest store, bought some sweets and bumped into the group of students. ‘Sorry for disturbing you. I’m Alex! Nice to meet you!’ ‘Hi, Alex! We’re Victor, Ionel and Razvan! We’re going to the park! Want to come?’ ‘Sure!’ Getting there, he was led to an isolated spot, where everything seemed peaceful and quiet. ‘Wow, it is so beautiful here! And so clean!’ ‘Yes, we keep it so. It is our favorite place! said Ionel.’ Pacala realized that his plan was to be successful. They started talking and while doing so, he kept eating sweets and throwing the wrapper on the ground. You could have seen the anger in the children’s eyes! ‘I’m sorry, can you stop doing that? We worked so hard to make this place look the way it does!’ said Victor. ‘That’s what the Earth would have said if it could have spoken when you threw garbage on the ground on the way here!’ ‘That was different!’ Intervened Razvan. ‘How exactly was it different? The only thing you do is encourage others to follow your example! Is this what you want?’ The kids didn’t utter a word. Pacala had convinced them. ‘We’re so sorry! We promise never to do that again!’ ‘Well, you’d better! Now, I hope that you can spread the message to your acquaintances, convince them that you are right!’ ‘We will, we will! ‘ ‘Okay, then. I will pick the package up and find a recycling bin to get it into!’ Pacala left with a smile on his face, knowing that he had made a good thing. Suddenly, a million ideas came to his mind about ways to make everyone aware of the pollution danger. Getting to school, he talked to the principal and asked the opportunity for him to tell them about a major project he wanted to involve them into, consisting of producing warnings, drawings and a little show directed by Pacala and his foreign friends. Everyone seemed excited about these ideas, so Pacala wrote a letter to Scuba, Keloglan, Hamish the Haggis, Kekec, Pinocchio, Egle and Anbotoko Mari:

//Dear Friends,//

//It is my turn to ask for your help! I want to make the people in Galati more responsible of their behavior and turn them against littering, so I would like to start organizing a play, a concert and filming local advertisements for them. I cannot do this alone; I could really use your creativity and advice!// //Hoping to see you soon,//

//Pacala//

Not more than 24 hours had passed when each of them showed up at Pacala’s door. Project “Be Green!” was commencing! Skuba and Anbotoko Mari helped to find the best costumes and shoes for the actors, Keloglan and Pinocchio gave acting lessons – the kids loved it when Pinocchio’s nose grew just because the lines he read were taken as lies as the script presented an imaginary story-, Egle and Hamish taught the children beautiful songs about nature and Pacala spoke to the Mayor to get his approval for the kids to draw in chalk on one of the main streets in town and of course he received it! The next days were filled with activities: the group usually met in the morning to decide on the time for the shows, to enhance the scripts for the advertisements or just to talk a bit. After the classes had finished, they filmed and practiced with the children and 2 hours later they brought the children to their homes. A week later, one of the main streets in town was blocked, to the drivers’ anger. Still, no one could be angry after seeing the pupils laughing and trying to spread a good message. The day turned into a good occasion to walk to work while admiring the kids ‘drawings. It was such a successful activity that the street remained closed for 3 more days! Soon, the play’s turn came and the theatre was full of people wanting to watch it. It was a great success and the ecological message was even better printed in everybody’s minds after the concert! Also, the ads were such a hit; they started to be shown on national TV channels. One week later, such was the success of the project that no one even dared to think about throwing garbage on the streets again. Even more, it seemed like the whole country followed Galatz’s example. The children were so proud of themselves! Pacala thanked his friends once again and hoped to see them soon. //**CHAPTER 8 - "ECO SHOP" (THE BASQUE COUNTRY)**// <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">Once back from all the countries and meetings, when Anbotoko Mari returned to the Basque Country from her trip to Romania, started thinking about the recent problems she had had to face to help her friends from the European countries. All had been related to the wrong way people took care of Nature.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Mary and the basque society were conscious that all the good things that European friends had developed could make <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">Europe different: **cleaner**.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">It was in the trip to Scotland when all the heroes realized that they had the same problems and that they had to do something to fix them. So, each one decided to solve one of nature´s problems: in Poland Skuba and the children, looking at the kites, invented the windmill. It´s a machine to produce energy without making the air dirty, in Turkey Keloglan took care of water, in Scotland Biodiversity was solved taking care of the region´s trees and animals, in Slovenia Kekec cleaned the land of rubbish, in Italy started recycling in that fantastic Green park that Pinocchio and the children developed, in Lithuania they had to deal with the poisonous car fumes and built an eco car. In Romania Pacala wanted to make the people responsible with Nature.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Mari after solving these problems in her country, as she had tried to do for ages, still tried to preserve the nature by means of making the sun bright so much that the drought caused the crop to fail, or the storms to be so extreme that the forest couldn´t bear the water… But now she wanted to think about the way of making people become aware of not polluting. It was good to stop habits that were unhealthy for the Earth, but she wanted something else.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">She had always thought that recycling waste was enough when the objects couldn’t be used anymore, but what happened when things could be used once and again? . She really wanted people to become conscious of reusing. The amount of produced waste by all the inhabitants was enormous and the processes followed to recycle different items, required the use of chemical products that also affected the wildlife, so that practice should only be used when there was no option left.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">If people don’t change their minds, one day she and her friends wouldn’t be able to stop the environmental disasters that could be provoked even if they used their magical powers. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">After thinking for a long time, Mari came up with an idea that seemed ingenious to convince people. As she aimed people using their clothes and objects made of polluting materials until they got broken, she thought it would be a good idea to resell those used objects to habitual users, so that they were sold again or refilled (depending on the material and the use given to it). That was an **ECO-SHOP**.



<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">She was thinking of “sustainable development”, so to start with, she called her European friends and organized a market with lots of reused things. Besides, they went all around different schools to tell children how to reuse everything they liked.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Eventually they finished their campaign in the Government where they asked the President to take some measures related to the trades both, import and export. For example, they asked to the manufacturer to specify the origin and the trip the goods made until they arrived anywhere so as people could choose to make “responsible consuming” or not. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">But she felt that something else could be done and she did it. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">Her relation with the Government was closer than ever. The President was an ECO person and she presented him the new idea: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 53.25pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">- Dear President we are doing our best to keep our country clean. We have cleaned it and developed different machines to keep it clean. We had also researched to re-use as many material as we can but, What does happen with the factories that still produce NON ECO objects?. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 53.25pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">- Mary. Thank you for all your work and interest. You have always been our Nature´s Protector and let me know what I can do. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 53.25pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">- Changing the law of producing new materials would be the clue. Then, the different factories would change their way of production and develop new ECO materials. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 53.25pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">- Ok. Tomorrow we´ll have a meeting and I´ll present your idea.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">                                      <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">Few weeks after Mary read on the newspaper an article:

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">She sent the article to all her friends in Europe and each one had a meeting with his President. These ones read the article and called the Basque President to know how they did it. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">All the countries changed the producing way and here started the big change.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Thinking back on last year, when Mary went back to Anboto and was so angry. She had always been the person that took care of Nature and all around the area was dirty: the land, the water and the air. No one was taking care of biodiversity. Even people were worried but not knowing what to do. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">At that moment her European friends were the solution. There wasn´t a way to fix Nature just with basque people. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify;">But Mari knew she had to try. She had the go, so she just needed people ready to change their habits and expand them as a net all around the Basque Country first, and Europe later.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">After some months, she realized that everything was on everyone´s hands. No matter how big or important people or countries were once we got convinced:

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;">„**Let´s be ECO” was introduced as our** **life stylour** **life style.**

<span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 36pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: center;">

<span style="color: black; display: block; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; overflow: hidden; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 36pt; line-height: 150%;">„ <span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 150%;">YOU CAN BE: EFFICIENT BY REDUCING YOUR TRASH, REUSING WHAT YOU CAN AND RECYCLING YOUR WASTE”

**//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Start making wise „package selections //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Refuse store bags //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Use durable goods longer //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Use durable items rather than disposable items, when possible. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Say NO! To junk mail. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Start a garden //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Start a compost to transform your garbage into a rich earth material. //** || **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Take along washable cups instead or disponsables. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Bycicles ( os washers, driers...). Repair them instead of replace them. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Donate. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Give away things. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Try to buy second hand. //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Use washable table napkins instead of paper. //** || **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Plastic //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Glass //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Paper //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Steel //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Aluminiun cans //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Milk containers //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Paper //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Phones //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Old electrical machines //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Batteries //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Motor and home oil //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Computers and printers //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Household toxics //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Furniture ... //** ||
 * **//__<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">OUR CODE: __//****//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">PRODUCE BIODEGRADABLE //** ||
 * **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">REDUCE: //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">The KEY part of waste „reduction” is „conservation” //** || **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">REUSE: //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">You can reuse materials in their original form instead of throwing them away or pass them on to others. //** **//__<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">„One man´s trash is another man´s treasure __//** || **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">RECYCLE: //** **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">It occurs when you save and take reusable materials to places where they can remade into the same product or new. //** ||
 * **//<span style="font-family: 'Maiandra GD','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">- Buy and use less //**