Picture your future grandchildren ‘…standing on a spotless beach, staring out at a vast ocean free of plastic, pulsing with life, surf and wonder.’ Is this a realistic prospect? Kids Fight Plastic by Martin Dorey tells us that it can be, if young eco-activists everywhere rise up and lend voice and action to the campaign to save our beautiful oceans. Abuzz with ideas, this practical how-to guide shows us how seemingly small actions can make a difference.
Perfectly pitched at its target audience of 8-11 year olds, this engaging book stands out in the inevitable onrush of kids’ eco-publishing. Filled with bright, cartoonish illustrations and happily devoid of preaching and wordiness, the focus is on the everyday kid as an eco-superhero.
Divided into a series of points-earning missions, you must work through the book’s activities, totting up your points to see what level of superheroics you’ve attained. It’s important to note that all scores are applauded, the main objective,of course, is participation.
Kids Fight Plastic is the brainchild of activist Martin Dorey, the founder of the #2minutebeachclean. For the uninitiated, this involves picking up litter when you visit a beach, photographing it and then posting on social media. To date, this has prompted well over 120,000 corresponding posts from around the globe.
Here, Dorey riffs on that theme and presents simple and positive strategies, such as ditching your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one (worth 20 points) or attempting a plastic-free shopping trip (worth an impressive 40)
His approach is direct. Our planet is choking on plastic.
‘It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic (by mass) than fish in the ocean.’
For those kids who feel anxious and helpless in the face of our prevailing environmental gloom, here is a way to take affirmative action and feel part of a plan for the future.
Big journeys begin with small steps, and this instructive and inspiring book tucked under your arm.
Kids Fight Plastic by Martin Dorey is published by Walker Books, 132 pages.
