From Laura8957@aol.com Sun Aug 11 17:19:18 1996 Received: from mx3.u.washington.edu by lists.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW96.06/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA44760; Sun, 11 Aug 96 17:19:17 -0700 Received: from emout14.mx.aol.com by mx3.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW96.06/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA24038; Sun, 11 Aug 96 17:19:15 -0700 Received: by emout14.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id UAA13417 for consbio@u.washington.edu; Sun, 11 Aug 1996 20:21:40 -0400 Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 20:21:40 -0400 From: Laura8957@aol.com Message-Id: <960811202140_597202611@emout14.mail.aol.com> To: consbio@u.washington.edu Subject: LONG-Responses to goddaughter's gift question. Hi everyone. I received several responses to my question of what I can give my goddaughter for her birthday as a gift which is helpful for the environment. I appreciate each and every response that I received, they are all great! I have been requested to post a summary of the responses, so here it is. I hope that it can be of help to others as well. A couple of people suggested books, which I am considering for a birthday in the future. These suggestions were: Beth Chase said: "For a two year old, I'd suggest some Serendipity books or Dr. Suess, Any good picture book that depicts the environment is great. " Terry Doonan said: "Have you considered getting here something like a subscription to one of the magazines that focus on the environment and animals, but are geared to younger children? There are several (many, I imagine) such as Chickadee, but I don't remember publishes that. Ranger Rick, from the National Wildlife Federation, may be a little too old for a two-year-old. National Geographic may even have a magazine for young children. You also might check with Arizona or New York State wildlife agencies, or other natural resource agencies to see what publications they have. The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission has two publications, one of which, The Skimmer, includes sections with activities for children." Onto other suggestions.... Cynthia Chin wrote: " How about giving her a colourful poster of a rainforest, a toy animal (like a seal or other endangered animals). " When it came to planting a tree, there were several ideas. Among them.... Tom Lupo wrote: "Shortly after our daughter was born, my wife and I felt the need for a symbolic gesture of celebration. We found out that The Nature Conservancy was holding a volunteer oak tree-planting day at a local preserve where they are trying to restore the riparian forest. We invited a number of friends and spent a pleasant summer day planting oak acorns in the "Katie Lupo Grove" as it has come to be known in our house. Maybe there is a place in NYC where you can plant a tree or two that your goddaughter could someday visit? I'm born and raised in Brooklyn and I know the area can use all the trees it can get." Franck Courchamp wrote: "whatever your choice, I suggest that you choose a tree that will give fruits. This will have much more strength when, several years after she realize the symbol, the tree is old enougth to offer her a "gift from the earth"." Other earth-friendly suggestions were: Kirt Barker wrote: check on the adopt an acre program at Nature Conservancy. Contact their Arizona office at vmdiggin@aol.com Alternatively, consider helping to save sea turtles and study whales. Look at our web site www.methow.com/~custodio contact me if you have any questions. Marion Klaus wrote: "Hi Laura, Several years ago, I adopted a whale for my goddaughter who lives in Wyoming. She is now 5 and loves the ocean and all of its creatures. " Ziggywalk even included addresses and phone numbers: "The Nature Conservancy has the Adopt-A-Bison program. They are recreating a prairie in Oklahoma and are populating it with bison. I got one for my nephew as a Christmas gift and he was absolutely thrilled. He told me he was the only one in his class who could go back to school and say that they got a bison for Christmas. The cost is very reasonable and your goddaughter can visit her bison. The Conservancy also has other adoption programs (i.e. Rescue the Reef 1 (800) 84-ADOPT). The Nature Conservancy International Headquarters 1815 North Lynn Street Arlington, VA 22209 America Online, keyword "nature" http://www.tnc.org Another suggestion, though a little bit more cash, is the Save-the-Redwoods League. You can have a tree planted and your goddaughter can go visit that, too! Save-the-Redwoods 114 Sansome Street, Room 605 San Francisco, CA 94104-3814" Don McKenzie Had an idea which is close to home for my goddaughter. "How 'bout a gift certificate at Phoenix botanical garden (via mom or dad), if she lives in or near Phoenix. They do a good job of preserving native desert plant species." As for me, I am currently looking into the "Adopt-A-" programs. I think that these would be the most fun at this time. Plus, it is new to me. Thanks again!!!!! Laura .