Together we can…for Climate Change
Event Location: Cocoa-FL
Competition: Energy Inspired Art
Division: 6-8
School: Arbor Ridge K-8 Magnet Middle
Team Name: Soaring Eagles
Project Name: Together we can... for Climate Change
Team Size: 1
By
Anay M. (grade 6)
Photo & Basic Info
Team or art project name: Poem “Together we can… for Climate Change” written and recited by Anay M.
Name of the School: Arbor Ridge K-8 Magnet Middle School
First name(s) and last initials of students on the team (no last names on the public page): Anay M.
Grade level of each team member: Grade 6
A photo of the completed art project or team (use this as the Featured Image on your page): Please see Artifact 1 below for full image of my poem.
About Me :
Hello Everyone!
My name is Anay M. and I attend 6th grade at Arbor Ridge Magnet Middle School. I love STEM (specially math). I also love my planet (my mom’s name means “The Earth”!) , words, music and martial arts. I am in the gifted program since elementary school and have been volunteering in green initiatives since 4th grade to make our local communities clean and keep our lives just a little bit better. Being a black belt in martial arts, I have learnt that nothing can be achieved without perseverance. We need a plan and the work to execute the plan to see any results in anything we do. When I am not doing anything, I love to play chess and to read!
My Energy Inspired Project:
For this Energy Inspired Art Project, I wrote a poem on Climate Change. I gave it the title “Together we can…for Climate Change.” This poem was inspired by a recent observation I made where a small educational company called Earthbound Journal (from the West coast of our country) that created quarterly publications for children like me to express our thoughts and share our ideas and efforts of the work we do in our local communities, went out of business due to lack of funding . It bothered me that little steps like Earthbound Journal could not sustain themselves. This poem is a plea to the grown-ups (former generation) to join hands to inspire others and engage everyone including children to make small changes with amplified effects and make our world a better place, a safe space!
I hope you find my poem edutaining, that’s right-educational and entertaining! 🙂
thank you,
Anay M.
I didn’t just start typing my poem one fine day. I went through a step-wise process.
Step1: I had an observation that I doodled on my iPad (Artifact 2a and 2b),
Step2: I then researched information. Education and learning around important planet issues are important. For example, did you know that in 2021 only 6% of plastic was recycled (Greenpeace report)? If you consider a takeout dinner on a Friday evening. The plastic bag, pizza box, utensils, paper napkins, drink cup/can might feel like consumables for a recycling factory, however, not all those items are recyclable, and it is important for all to know it, and practice it to make the ongoing efforts more effective. You might wonder how is plastic related to climate change? Well, plastics don’t decay easily and stay around for eons! They simple break down into microplastics and pollute the environment and even human bodies leading to some diseases as well. Extraction of materials to make or refine plastics lead to large amounts of green house gases being sent to the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. This is where ideas like sorting, re-purposing and reusing become important.
Step3: Next, I wrote a version of it to talk about the both the issues and simple things everyone can do in their homes but in a rhyming scheme (Artifact 3).
The Finished Art Piece: Together we can ….for Climate Change
Climate change -the advent of gloom
Some say it’s all over; some say it’s the day of doom.
The ice in Antarctica, sure is melting,
Summers are hotter, coasts are flooding.
And then there is acid rain,
That poisons the soil faster than a bullet train.
Plants and animals can’t survive,
Their corpses prove a barren land that doesn’t thrive.
Our world is turning upside down,
Our once happy souls are putting on a frown.
What can we possibly do?
To save planet Earth, our great Big Blue!
Big problems like climate change
Can have solutions small, new or even strange.
Once put into action tall,
There are positive effects in it for all.
E-waste, plastics choke the ocean,
Deforestation causes massive erosion.
Recycle plastics, they take long to decay,
Plant three new trees, if you take one away.
Pick up, clean!
and stop littering.
Reuse, repurpose and recycle,
make the world clean and glittering.
Pollution is a big factor,
Left unchecked it’ll be a disaster.
It’s a core idea, not a frill,
Sort your waste, minimize the landfill
When you are ready to recycle,
Think Repurpose or Reuse
Resources are limited,
This is worthy of our muse.
The United Nations has proposed,
Seventeen sustainable development goals unopposed,
To Protect life and build resilience,
Unite for action, quit sitting on the fence!
Save me my home, my planet, my Earth,
Make my environment clean.
Help me save my home, my Earth!
Please make my surroundings green!
Say “I am game”, no questions asked.
No breaks, no delays, no agenda masked.
Quick, now! or it will be too late,
We already are in a dire state.
I am your child,
You owe it to me …….
Clean water, fresh air,
give me life, set me free!
The finished art piece : my poem (Please see artifact 1 or play Artifact 4-video, where I have recited the poem)
The intended message of the art piece: As described above, the purpose of writing the poem was ‘edutainment’ , to educate through entertainment and continue to raise awareness towards climate change which I strongly believe will be number 1 problem for my generation.
Why this medium was selected: I chose to write a poem instead of an essay (prose) because its more entertaining. I feel it might reach more number of people. May be when they are throwing their plastics in the trash, they will stop and think about the aftermath of their actions. If thousand such people act differently, or talk about it to others, then the eventually we will see the ripple effect. I also like music. I play clarinet. I can make a song out of the poem ! I recorded myself reciting it so you all can enjoy and hear the emotion in my thoughts.
Each team member’s contribution to the project: I am the only member of this team. I did the research, brain-storming, and writing.
Additional details: I have described my journey on this project above. I want to take a moment to share in this space, a big shout out to all my teachers at Timber Lakes Elementary and Arbor Ridge who have provided opportunities to students to think about these issues. I also want to thank Energy Whiz for providing this platform to students to share our thoughts in multiple ways. Finally, I want to thank my family for their continuous support to me.
Very well written, Anay! It’s reassuring to see young minds like yours addressing such a real and pressing issue like climate change. You are making a difference and we are so proud of you.
Anay – you have done an awesome job with this – yes Climate Change is very real and very one of us had to do our little effort to save the Earth for our future generations
Inspiring! I really like the poem and also how you were very thorough and described the whole process. Simple things that everyone can change in everyday life can make a big difference and you pointed it out, how we all can make a small change by just being aware and thoughtful of how we do take outs . Well done!
Anay – you have done an awesome job with this – yes Climate Change is very real and very one of us had to do our little effort to save the Earth for our future generations
Wonderfully written Anay! Brilliant & very maturedly expressed. Great job! Proud of you!!
Loved it. Well done Anay. So proud.
Beautiful and thoughtful Poem….wow a poem !!
Well done! Climate change is indeed real and it is our responsibility to preserve this beautiful planet.
What a wonderful poem and and an inspiring article!
So proud of you Anay !!! The poem is beautifully written and your thoughts are amazing ! Great job
The poem is well structured and offers the reader an engaging methodical reasoning of the benefits and importance of why and how each and every one can and should contribute their part in preserving the planet we live on.
Congratulations Anay..this is superb!