Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
CARING schoolboy Arthur Cogswell has become the first recipient of a special limited-edition community environment accolade for his beach-cleaning endeavours.
The six-year-old received a Baloo Eco-Buddy Badge which was presented by the adorable chocolate-brown therapy dog and star of a series of books, along with his owner ‘mum’, Sarah Clarke.
The environmental warrior and member of his school’s Eco Club, said: “I’m very happy and excited to be the first winner of Baloo’s Eco-Buddy Badge. It motivates me to keep helping the environment and will encourage others to do so as well. Together we can make the world a better place!”
Sarah is founder of the Baloo’s Buddies Programme at the RIA Institute that uses pet dogs to enhance the life skills of children with autism and related communication disorders. She also has an environmental background and a PhD in the sustainability field.
She spotted Arthur’s beach cleaning initiative on the social media Facebook page ‘Sustain Bahrain’ posted by his mother, Millie.
A limited number, just 25, Eco-Buddy Badges will be awarded by Baloo to children up to the age of 12 for acts of environmental kindness that are not directed by their school or an official organisation.
Millie, an architect, and her husband, Ben, a civil engineer, have lived in Bahrain more more than four years. They also have a daughter, Sofiya, 11, and three-month-old baby son, Phillip.
The clean-up took place at Budaiya. “The beach seemed tidy but while playing football with his dad, Arthur noticed straws and bottle caps in the sand,” explained Millie. “He started collecting and decided he didn’t want to play anymore, but continue gathering rubbish up and down the beach.
“He found a variety of waste from plastic bags to coffee cups, snack packaging, more plastic straws and bottle caps. We actually brought it all home to put it in recycling bins.
“My husband and I were very proud of Arthur and his initiative. We helped him out and, in the meantime, he started telling us all about turtles and what he has learned about the way we can help to protect them.
“He has watched videos and seen photos of turtles hurt by plastic waste products and has strong opinions on what can and should be done.”
Only days earlier, Arthur and Sofiya, who attend St Christopher’s, finished a project that they entered into a school up-cycling competition. It started as a simple bottle collection made into a turtle shape and turned into a large coin-collecting structure. “Arthur and his sister wanted to make something fun that would engage their peers while raising awareness and funds.”
All coins collected will be donated to the Marine Preservation Society.
Arthur said: “I think it’s important to clean the beach because that way we are helping the environment and animals, like turtles, survive. Turtles often get stuck in packaging or try to eat the thrown-away plastic bags thinking they are jellyfish. And, straws sometimes get stuck up their noses. The rest of the plastic waste can be swallowed by whales, birds and other animals and hurt them too.
“I think we should all stop using plastic straws and plastic bags and instead start using reusable things. That way we will be protecting the environment and animals from plastic that can hurt them. We can all do it if we just all do whatever we can.”
Impressive words and action.
“We need to encourage more people to follow Arthur’s example,” said Sarah, who would like to hear about other child-led initiatives, such as those cleaning up the streets near their homes, up-cycling something found on the beach, or mending broken toys. “Anything really that shows practical, creative or innovative application of what they have learned about the environment and that has a positive impact on Bahrain,” she explained.
She has also up-cycled a Baloo’s Buddies promotional T-shirt into an Eco-Buddy shirt to demonstrate that ‘we don’t need to make new all the time’.
Parents are urged to take a photograph of their child’s initiative, write an explanation and then post the image on Instagram with the hashtag #baloosecobuddy or send to Baloo’s Buddies Bahrain Facebook page or email balooandduba@gmail.com. Each week the Baloo team will select a winner.
