Children willing to help protect the enviromment

NEW YORK -- Children seem to have a natural affinity toward animals -- they want to see them, hold them and learn more about them whenever they have the chance.

Have you ever noticed how young zoo visitors widen their eyes as they pass the bears, big cats and elephants? Or, how long the line is for a chance to touch the stingrays at the aquarium?

These same children also realize it'll largely be up to them to maintain an environment in which these critters and creatures thrive.

Over the past year, nearly 60,000 youngsters responded to a poll about the condition of the planet that was conducted by Proprietary Media on behalf of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). The poll was offered at zoos, aquariums, schools and at the AZA's Web site.

The results show that children believe in volunteerism and they are eager to do their part to ensure animals always have a place on the earth.

"Three main things came out of the poll: One, kids think the environment has some serious problems; two, kids want to help; three, they think they really can make a difference," says Bruce Carr, director of conservation at the AZA. "Points two and three are the gratifying things to hear."

The challenge now is to take this desire to make things right and parlay it into action. It will work best if an emotional connection between children and conservation is established when the children are young so they'll have a lifelong, vested interest, he says.

Finding ways to help

Programs at zoos and aquariums aim to act as a bridge to show children that their efforts can -- and do -- pay off. "We try to connect the animals in the zoo to the real world," Carr says.

A century ago, at least 50 percent of the people in the United States had a direct contact with the land and its animals, according to Carr, but the number now is more like 3 percent, so conservationists have to find new ways to expose children to the environment beyond their backyard fences.

The Philadelphia Zoo, for example, produced a CD-ROM educational kit for teachers that explains the plight of giant river otters, which are losing their habitat. The CD has prompted several schools to launch fund-raising drives to help support conservation efforts, says Ron Fricke, vice president of education at the zoo.

The zoo tries to get children to care about the animals and think about projects they can do in their back yard.

Although it might seem odd to parents who seem to favor the cuter, larger mammals, children often take a greater interest in the smaller, less charismatic animals that others take for granted.

"Kids will focus on reptiles, amphibians, insects. The favorite animals of kids include snakes -- they're our most requested animal for education programs," Fricke says.

To help these animals, children can urge their parents to recycle automobile fluids, plastic six-pack rings and plastic bags, all of which damage the habitat of these smaller creatures.

Other easy, quick-result projects for children Fricke suggests include hanging "bat boxes," flat, thin wooden boxes where bats -- which help control insects -- can roost during the daytime, and to check the lawn-care products being used in the backyard to make sure they don't damage the environment.

"Kids are like sponges. They want opportunities to experience new things and soak them up. Hands-on experiences get them interested for life."