Mother Earth is hurting.

I used to love to theme the birthday parties for my children when we celebrated. They were always a hit as I put my heart and soul into the preparation.

One of my favourites and theirs and it was for my son's 6th birthday was ' Back To Nature'. We had so much going :



1. A super badge by big sister for everyone to wear. I love this badge so much, I still have one!
2. Uncle Foo , known to those in MNS circle, thought a showy erythrina glauca would be just right for our garden. So my son did the baptismal watering .The sapling bought from Sg Buloh was planted in full view of 40 pairs of eyes.
3. I prepared a womery and showed the children the burrowings of the hard working worms. There was even a poem Earthworm by Leonard Clarke which goes , 'Do you squirm when you see an earthworm....'
4. An MNS friend brought along his pet python. A brave boy loved the creature outright. But I was 'chicken'. I only touched.
5.We had an MNS member showing the kids the telescope - to see the stars. Only thing the party was in the afternoon, so we looked at other things. Say what you like, we had gone to the moon and back !!
6..We sold some MNS t-shirts
7. We played games that got the kids running free and wild!
8. And not least, there was a poem to say it all, for all to read.

Mother Earth

The earth is our mother
The ground is her skin
Mountains her bones
Trees and plants her living hair
Birds are songs
And the listening stones her ears
Animals her fingers
Frogs and snakes are her sense of smell
Insects her thoughts
Her dreams the sea and all its swimmers
Water her blood
The air her breath
Sunlight and fire the breath of her body
We are her eyes
And we are her children.

To this day, this is one of my favourite nature poems.

But Mother Earth is hurting. Pollution threatens the air we breathe and the water we drink. The land we live on is full of toxic waste and the list of endangered animals grows longer.

I passed by an Eco Week exhibition in One Utama shopping complex. The 'trees' propped with stands had eco -bags dangling from the branches. No one was hanging round the 'trees' and I decided to have a closer look and read. There was no need to read between the lines as the messages/images were direct.



Yeah, can't beat about the bush when Mother Earth is hurting. I decided to click away at some of the images and their messages. Well, am seldom caught without my trusty digital Canon since I started blogging :)

As, you read, do add your own precious thoughts, your feelings in your comments. Give me your passion . Let us reignite the love for Mother Earth and do our bit to save our planet. It's not too late but we must do. NOW!



YES, plastic LASTS! Imagine, it takes 400 -1000 years to break down!! It does not biodegrade instead photodegrades, ie. it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits and contaminates the soil, water in the oceans entering the foodchain when it is ingested by animals.
How are we meeting this challenge? we recycle the bags we get and refuse plastic bags as much as possible. Also, when shopping, I use my own carrier bag. How about you?


Keep swinging, friend! Hang in there!
Will we have our closest living relatives surviving in the near future? Many problems face them - deforestation, slash and burn agriculture, illegal trade, hunting,....

Everyone can identify with a fragrant garden, with the beauty of sunset, with the quiet of nature, with a warm and cozy cottage.
- Thomas Kinkade, landscape artist

Tropical forests of all varieties are disappearing rapidly as humans clear the natural landscape.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! - GOne!
I told a story I wrote , Paradise Lost to some children during one of my regular sessions. And we sang about the layers of the forest. We had such an enjoyable session and I know they remember trudging through the forest with me :)


Pandas, the peaceful furry creatures are dying and the main reason is habitat loss. The human population growth, increase in agriculture, mining and logging activities are responsible for the decrease in the population.


No one wants incinerators that burn garbage or garbage dumps in their backyards. When garbage is burned, it releases dangerous gases into the air. Dumped garbage and industrial waste can become deadly when acids , metals and other materials leak out of landfills

Penguins - stay cool. How, if snow is not there? There is a vast increase in the average temperature of the earth. All the warming is attributed to us humans.


ONE WITH NATURE
ONE VOICE
TOGETHER WE CARE!


Water, water, everywhere
Not a drop to drink
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

We are in troubled waters. By accident, we poison our waters as in the great oil spill by the tanker,Exxon Valdex as far back as 1989. 11 million gallons of oil spilled off the Alaskan coast. And through our thoughtless acts, we poison our lakes,rivers and oceans .


Say 'NO' to ivory poaching
Say 'NO' to bullhooks
Say 'NO' to chaining for long hours


Hope springs eternal in the human breast - Alexander Pope (English poet, 1688-1744).

Things look bad but it's not too late to act. The sooner we do the better. Because Mother Earth can't wait forever.