Helping make the grown-ups greener (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Helping make the grown-ups greener

8:31am Wednesday 8th July 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

Today’s youngsters are raised around a green agenda. With green issues taught at school and broadcast on the television, children are quick to catch on and adopt a green lifestyle.

So eco-conscious are today’s children, they keep grown-ups in check. There’s even a book to help them – How To Turn Your Parents Green gives tips on how to convert mum and dad to a greener lifestyle.

Emma Dickerson tries hard to be eco-friendly, but she still finds herself at the sharp end of a telling off from her ultra-green-minded daughters, Cara, ten, and eight-year-old Maya.

“They tell me to turn things off when they’re not in use,” says Emma. “Maya goes around turning off lights – sometimes we’re left sitting in the dark, so I explain that we can leave a few on.”

The sisters are also vigilant with plugs, reminding their mum to turn off the television at the mains after use. “I try to do these things as part of my routine, and I can’t forget as they will remind me.”

Says Maya: “I tell my mum to turn off the lights and remind her to unplug her mobile phone charger.”

Cara adds: “You can use up power if things are left on standby and I always make sure the TV and DVD are turned off at the plug.”

The pair have grown up with recycling, both at home and at Harden Primary School. “They know what can and can’t be recycled,” says Emma, who works as a special needs assistant. “The school covers the subject thoroughly, and the children are really interested.

“They say to me: ‘Don’t put that in the bin’, plastic can be recycled,’ so we collect it and take it to the household waste site or recycling facilities in Cullingworth or Bingley.”

If an item can’t be recycled, Cara and Maya will look for ways to reuse it. Cara says: “We really like to help with recycling. We have a battery recycling scheme at school and we have been taking batteries in from home.”

Both girls are aware of energy use in the home and how easily it can be wasted. “They know a dripping tap wastes water, and always turn off if they see one,” says Emma.

Emma donates goods no longer in use to charity shops and, as her daughters get older, they are keen to help sort out clothing and toys to take along. “They sometimes bring me an item of clothing that no longer fits and ask whether it can be donated,” she says.

For all families, food is a regular conversation topic, and Emma has talked with her daughters about food miles and the importance of buying locally-produced food where possible.

“They are keen to develop the garden so we can grow food – at the moment we grow a few things such as mange tout.”

The sisters know the difference between free range and intensively farmed product, but don’t need to lecture their mum as Emma only buys RSPCA Freedom Food monitored meat, and is lucky enough to have a friend who keeps hens, for free range eggs.

Cara and Maya are vocal about their journey to school. Says Emma: “We have a choice of two routes, the shortest of which involves walking along a busy road – if we go this way the girls put their hands over their mouths and complain about the fumes. They always ask to go the long way.”

“Both girls are very keen on being green and will let me know if there’s anything extra I can do to help the planet.”