Eco Kids!

Eco kids

This page is for kids who are interested in things going on in the world. We have links for great websites, news articles and other great things!

Beavers are Back!

Beavers are due to be re-introduced in Scotland in 2009. Read our feature all about these lovely animals.

Doggy Disaster

As a new scheme, police won’t collect any strays that are reported to them at weekends or at night. Instead, councils will be put in charge of stray dogs found wandering the street, all day and night. They are being given lots of money to help look after the homeless animals, but some charities think that the amount they have been given isn’t enough to look after the poor dogs.

The Dogs Trust said some councils could ask people who find a stray in the night or at weekends to take it to a dogs’ home themselves. And they're worried that people won't want to hold a dog they’ve never seen before, which could lead to many more strays being left to wander the damp and cold streets. Hopefully any dogs that get taken in will find a nice safe home.

Big-Cat Budget

In Indonesia there are fewer than half the number of tigers living there than a few years ago.

In an £80 million scheme, the government is building many new parks for the animals, and will get ex- soldiers to guard  them to keep all the tigers living there safe. Sumatran tigers are some of the most endangered in the world because people there believe parts of them can be used to make medicine . Although in many countries it is illegal to buy or sell tiger produce a government surveys shows that around 20% of the tigers killed are used to make things that are bought in shops.

It will take 5 years for the parks to be built but then at least some tigers can be protected.

Water Worries

A new map is showing the damage to oceans for the first time ever . It has shown that not even the remotest  parts of the sea have escaped being polluted by humans. The most damaged areas included the north sea-off the coast of Scotland and the English channel.The least damaged areas were (of course)  the seas near the north and south poles. Oceans actually cover more or less 70% of the world's surfaces! The map shows the 17 main causes of harm to the oceans, including fishing, climate change and pollution.“The big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected. It was certainly a surprise to me." said Ben Halpern, assistant research scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who led the research.

Carbon-free camping

The Church of England wants people to give up carbon for Lent.

One man called Ben Clowney has taken this so far he has decided to sleep in a tent outside his office!

He is going to stay in the tent for a whole week!

He says "I've done a few challenges like this before, but this may well be the toughest yet. A week in a tent? I think I can manage that. In February? Just about. In the company of foxes? I'm not so sure!"

This is what some people said:

"It makes it easier to get the press release noticed, but living in a well insulated house that didn't need any heating switched on would be more significant. I have a six year old - we can't go and sleep out in a tent, and we'd be warmer inside with the heating off anyway - provided we do sensible things like closing interior doors, etc. My house has cavity wall insulation and stuff in the loft. Low energy lightbulbs. Nearly empty kettle... Standby is scourged - what else can I do?"

Rotting Rubbish

Loads of rubbish is littering the streets in Naples because the dumps are full.

Some schools even had to close for a while because they couldn’t expect their pupils to climb over HUGE Mountains of rubbish just to get to school.

When the schools weren’t closed the smell was so bad they couldn’t open the windows so classrooms became hot and stuffy.

There has been a rubbish problem in the city for a while now and many English politicians  have warned Italy to clean up before action is taken against the country. 

Many schools have re-opened now seeing as the situation is a little bit better.

Lets hope Naples gets cleaned up soon ! 

Energy guzzling gadgets

The amount of energy we use in our living room is increasing .Now we have all these flashy new gadgets like DVD players,computers , flat screen TVs,Nintedo Wiis and lots more we are using up loads and loads of energy.

A small TV or computer is fine but as we get more of these things and are able to get bigger,better versions of these gadgets

it is using up lots of energy that could be saved.

Researchers expect the carbon footprints of our living rooms will rise even further, as more high-tech gadgets appear in our shops.

Years ago families just had a small TV at the corner of their living room , now most families have several TVs and lots of other gadgets.

Larger screen TVs and computers use up lots more energy than a small TV or computer. But some manufactures are already tackling the problem, by making more energy-efficient sets.

Also technology already used in mobile phones could be used on TVs and computers to make them more energy-efficient.

Fun Links

Miniclip is a great gaming website with loads of different games including a few of our favourites including Sushi Go Round ,Kindergarten and Show Jumping .

CBBC Games - lots of games and fun activities

Childrens' ITV (CITV)

Blue Peter

Habbo hotel - American but fun. Chat room, non-violent games etc.

Switcheroozoo - make your own animals

Horseworld - horse mad people will enjoy this one

Neopets - electronic pets online. All the fun, none of the mess.

Northpole.com - where it is Christmas all year round.

Bubblegumclub - more games and activities

Cbeebies - for younger children

Mamamedia.com - games, puzzles, quizzes

Create your own creature

Bonus.com - good graphics and games

Yucky.com - slimy but fun science

Wonka.com - sponsored by Nestle but otherwise a cool site

Nickelodeon Junior - good for under 8s.

Sesame Street - games, art and music

Disney - US site / UK site

Aardman Studios - home of Wallace and Gromit -brilliant site with insights into the making of the films

Peter Pan - a site from the Great Ormond Street Charity

Horse Isle -A fun game for horse loving people