One day, a little boy called Zach was busy drawing a very important poster.  The poster was for a school project about recycling and looking after the environment.

 

 

Zach had invited his friends, Tilly, Danny and Jessica over to see if they would like to make posters and take them to school.  He knows it’s important that everyone helps to protect the environment.

 

There was a knock at the door, “Zach, your friends are here” said Zach’s mom.

 

“Hi Zach,” said his friends as they came into the room.

 

“Hello,” said Zach smiling proudly.  He was so pleased to see them.  He hadn’t been sure if his friends would be interested in drawing posters and did wonder if they would actually come!

 

 Jessica, Tilly and Danny sat comfortably at the table.

 

“What are you drawing?” asked Tilly as she leaned forward to look at Zach’s poster.

 

“It’s a poster for school,” replied Zach.  “My school are working with WASUP which stands for World Against Single Use Plastic.” 

 

“WASUP has been set up by Professor Gatrad who is raising awareness of the importance of recycling and looking after the environment,” explained Zach.  “Professor Gatrad is a children’s specialist doctor and is worried about the environment in which we are growing up in.” 

 

“Looking after the environment is super important,” said Danny. 

 

“Yes,” added Jessica, “my mommy says it’s important to recycle things so that they can be re-used.”

 

“WASUP was set up in 2017 by Professor Gatrad,” said Zach reading from the papers in front of him.  “This is the WASUP logo,” he said excitedly as he showed his friends the green symbol.

 

 

 

Zach’s friends were really interested in knowing more about WASUP.

 

“A number of countries have WASUP amabass, ambas,” tried Zach, getting a bit confused.

 

“Ambassadors,” said Zach’s mom as she walked in with a plate of fruit for the children.  “That’s right Zach, countries have ambassadors who are people that represent and help promote the work of WASUP.”

 

Zach’s mom placed the plate of fruit on the table and sat next to Zach.  “Plastic is dangerous for sea life and affects marine animals.”

 

“What are marine animals?” asked Tilly eagerly.

 

“Marine animals rely on the ocean to survive,”  replied Zach’s mom, “they include seals, whales, sea otters and polar bears.”

 

“How interesting!” said Jessica.  “My mom told me that if plastic gets into the sea it can make sea animals very poorly.”

 

“Your mom is very clever,” replied Zach.  “My teacher says if plastic bags, bottles and straws end up in the sea they can harm the animals because swallowing plastic things will make them suffocate.”

 

“How sad!” said Danny.  “When I go to the beach I always put my rubbish in the bin because that’s what I do at home.  I like to keep my house clean and also keep the places I visit clean.”

 

“That is a very good attitude to have,” said Zach’s mom.

 

Danny smiled shyly and said, “I always look out for the recycling symbol when I put my rubbish in the bin.”

 

“Is it this logo?” asked Zach, showing Danny one of his papers.

 

 

“Yes!” replied Danny.  “I’m the Recycling Champion at home and understand why we have so many bins to put our rubbish in.”

 

“Wow, Danny you know so much!  I know we have 3 bins in our garden, but I didn’t realise that we had to put different types of rubbish in each one,” said Jessica.

 

“I think I want to be the Recycling Champion at home as it sounds like a very important job,” said Tilly thoughtfully.

 

“I’m going to ask my mommy if I can be the Recycling Champion too,” said Jessica enthusiastically.

 

Zach was amazed to see his friends showing so much interest in his school project.

 

“Look at this,” said Zach excitedly as he placed another piece of paper in front of his friends.  “This is one of the three bins most people have,  although some may be different colours.” 

 

 

“I am trying to work out which rubbish goes in this bin,” said Zach looking at the picture.  “I’m sure my teacher, Miss Bray, will tell me if I have got it right when she looks at my work.”

 

Danny took an apple from the plate on the table, “thank you,” he said smiling at Zach’s mom.  Tilly and Jessica had some grapes and Zach had a banana.

        

“I’m definitely going to make a poster about what I have learnt today,” said Tilly munching on some juicy grapes.  “It’s our responsibility to help keep marine animals safe.  I will ask my teacher if we can send my poster to the beach so lots of people can see it and help marine animals.”

 

“Me too!” said Jessica getting ready to start her poster.

 

“There is also a WASUP song which we all sing at school.  Maybe your teachers could help you learn it too because it’s really good and we enjoy singing it in assembly,” said Zach.

 

“I enjoy singing!” said Jessica. 

 

“Me too!” added Tilly.

 

Zach’s mom gave Tilly, Danny and Jessica a small card with some important details on. 

 

“Show this card to your parents and ask them to give it to your teachers.  Your teachers can then get in touch with WASUP to learn more about them.  They can also find out how your school can get involved,” said Zach’s mom encouragingly.

 

 

 www.wasupme.com

 

Tilly, Danny and Jessica took a card each and put it safely in their pockets.  It was clear from the excitement on their faces that they wanted to get their schools involved.

 

“Thank you Zach for inviting us today,” said Jessica with a smile.  “I have enjoyed learning so much about what I can do to help protect the environment.  I will ask my friends to tell their teachers about WASUP and maybe they can make posters too.”

 

“Zach also helps me with another important task,” said Zach’s mom with a grin.  “Before I go shopping, Zach reminds me to take bags from home because I always forget.”

 

“Maybe you could remind your parents if they are forgetful like my mom!” giggled Zach. 

 

Tilly couldn’t control her laughter and said, “Zach, looks like my mom and your mom are both very forgetful and need our help.  They both get to the shops and then remember that they have forgotten the bags.”

 

Danny and Jessica both looked at each other and started laughing!  They agreed that their parents forget to take bags with them too.

 

“I’m glad I’m not the only forgetful parent,” said Zach’s mom laughing as she left the room to get some drinks for the children.

 

After finishing their drinks, the children all agreed what a good time they’d had learning about recycling and were excited to go home so they could share the news about WASUP with their parents.