Small Finch Fries Please

In 1987, the Associated Press reported that as many as 100,000 marine mammals were killed every year by six-pack rings: those plastic loops used to hold together a six-pack of Coke. The following year, volunteers at a beach clean-up in Oregon picked up 1,500 six-pack rings in the course of a few hours. Truth be told, I don’t remember if my sister and I heard about this on a commercial during Are You Afraid Of The Dark or in school, but it stuck with us. In the mid-90s, we were cutting every single six-pack ring in sight before recycling it. Religiously. I don’t think I realized it then, but our parents started doing it too.

The most underrated climate lever: kids.

Most climate communication is built for adults, and it is daaaark. Forests on fire. Island communities losing their homes. Asthma rates climbing. It’s designed to create urgency, and instead it tends to create paralysis.

Kids operate differently. They bring home simple, actionable ideas with an optimism that lands in a way a whitepaper never will. And a growing body of research suggests this isn’t just cute — it’s measurably effective.

When children participate in environmental education:•   Parents’ environmental knowledge increases — not just awareness, but retention•   Household behaviors shift: water use, waste habits, purchasing decisions•   Kids function as what researchers call “intergenerational learning agents” — a formal term for a very ancient idea: children teaching adults A 2019 study published in Nature Climate Change found that children who received climate education not only adopted more sustainable behaviors themselves, but meaningfully shifted the attitudes of their parents — particularly their fathers. The effect was strongest in households where kids were the primary messengers. Not a campaign. Not a documentary. A kid at the dinner table, who honestly might still need help tying her shoes.

So, Finch is leaning into it.

We were thinking about this for awhile. If the research is right, then one of the most useful things we can make isn’t another adult-facing study….but activities for their littles.

So here’s what we created:

Finch Futuremakers: Earth Day Kit for K-1st Grade

A classroom-ready kit timed to Earth Day, designed for the earliest readers, and the adults they’ll go home and tell everything to.

PURCHASE

The ABC’s of Caring For Our Earth: A Coloring Book (Ages 1-4)

Simple, visual and joyful. The kind of thing that ends up on the fridge.

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Caring for Our Earth: A Sustainability Activity Book (Ages 5-7)

For kids ready to do more than color, activities that connect everyday choices to the world outside their window.

If you have a kid in your life who needs one of these, or if you are the kid in your life who needs one of these, pre-order now. If you have thoughts or suggestions, we’re here! As always, please forward this on to anyone who may be interested.

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