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Emma Shevah, author of How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg, stops by the blog to celebrate Earth Day ...

Earth Day is not as significant a day as it should be, seeing as we all live on the Earth and need it for our survival. Over the last fifty or so years, it’s become a global phenomenon but lots of people still haven’t heard of it. It’s time to change that.

Just looking at the Earth Day website is inspiring: much is being done to raise awareness of environmental matters and there are plenty of resources on its website to click on, read and watch. The Earth Day interactive map showcases what people are doing to try to make a difference.

On April 22nd, hundreds of events are happening across the world: you can hear talks in several languages, watch videos and films, and take part in virtual conferences from America to India. People are planting trees in Hawaii and doing a local litter clean-up in Killarney in Ireland. Children are raising money through a bake sale (and dressing in green and blue) in Thailand and doing a forest walk in Cambodia. And a teacher in Cameroon is trying to raise environmental awareness in a place where there is little knowledge or understanding of environmental matters.

It’s so encouraging to see what people are doing to promote change for the better. I wish I could spend the whole day journeying around the world and joining in, especially as my new book, How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg, is about two children who want to make a difference, even though they don’t really know how to go about it. It’s vital we teach the next generation about the environment, and educating children through storytelling is an entertaining way for them to learn about this crucially important topic.

My novel is packed with eco-facts but the story is warm and funny, and teaches other important lessons, too. I’ve also made some resources to go with it: on the Chicken House website in the Schools’ Hub section, you can find some fun tasks and creative writing questions, a discussion guide, and a classroom resource on why we should save water.

I’ve also made a short screen recording for Earth Day that’s available for schools, libraries and … well, anyone who’d like it! If these are useful, I will happily create more. Just choosing one discussion question and talking about it in class is already a step, but if you want to go further, you could register an activity on the Earth Day website and showcase how you and your school or town are making an effort to be part of the solution.

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