A Sense of Wonder

"It's hard to elicit a sense of wonder from adults," a video game creator was recently quoted as saying in Fast Company magazine. That got me thinking. Do I have a sense of wonderment? What creates wonder in me?

The answer came quickly--the rain forest is where I find wonderment. It's why we moved to Costa Rica, in fact. I wanted to live a life of wonderment and do it with my kids, who happen to find endless wonder in the same place as I.

Several months ago Steve and I were leading a retreat group on an exploration of Arenal Volcano. Our guide spotted an enormous toucan in a treetop, which resulted in 16 pairs of binoculars being plastered to faces, including my own. I've seen dozens of toucans, but I never tire of their magnificence. One woman in the group, however, simply kept walking, impatient to get to wherever she thought we were going. "I've seen a toucan," she muttered, annoyed that everyone was taking the time to admire this creature. Right then I thought to myself: "I hope I NEVER loose the thrill of seeing a toucan in the wild!" While I was incredulous at this woman's indfference to the literal wonders of nature, I also came to understand that one person's wonderment is not another's.

What creates a sense of wonder in you?

How to Pack a Climate-Friendly Lunch

"Carbon neutrality" is the enviro-buzzword of the moment. Countries, corporations, institutions and individuals are discussing how to become carbon neutral.

What does that mean? Let's first talk about the first word-- carbon-- which actually refers to the toxic gas, carbon dioxide (CO2).

CO2 emission happens naturally through such processes as volcanic eruptions and animal respiration, among other things. CO2 is a necessary gas--plants use it for the process of photosynthesis, which gives off oxygen for humans to breathe.

The problem with carbon dioxide in the modern world is that we are producing too much of it unnaturally. Unnatural ways that CO2 is created are through the combustion of fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas and coal. In other words, through things like driving, heating/cooling our homes and heating our showers. It is also created through many manufacturing processes, most notably, the manufacture of plastic.

And what's the problems with too much CO2? It concentrates in the atmosphere, creating a figurative "glass dome" around earth, through which heat from the sun's rays can enter, but can't exit, thus heating up the earth's surface like a greenhouse. This phenomenon is known as global warming.

And what's the problem with global warming? Just a few degrees warmer results in cataclysmic climate changes: melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, floods, droughts. These changes result in such problems as food and water shortages and loss of habitat, not just for polar bears, but for people as well.

Carbon neutrality is not about getting rid of all CO2--that's not possible, and, as stated earlier, the environment actually needs CO2 in order for plants to create oxygen for us. The goal of carbon neutrality is to get the CO2 output back down to a level that is "neutral" in that it doesn't have a destructive effect. Scientists have identified the acceptable level of CO2 as 350 ppm (parts per million). Currently, we're at 387 ppm.

In order to accomplish this goal, which is critical to the very survival of the human species, everyone needs to do their part. Yes, that includes YOU.

Your action can be something as simple as revising the lunch you pack for your child.

Remember that the manufacture of plastic is a major producer of CO2? OK, so reduce the amount of plastic in your child's lunch and you've taken positive steps toward mitigating the negative impacts of climate change.

Here's how to pack a positive lunch:

--Buy in bulk. This avoids purchasing excessive, unneeded packaging such as that in individually wrapped or packaged items like yogurt, crackers, chips, puddings, etc. (Hey, I'm not advocating for chips or puddings, but this is an article about climate change, not nutrition...)

--Use re-usable containers (i.e., Tupperware) to pack the bulk items as individual lunch servings.

--Ditch the tinfoil or zip locks (these get thrown out) and put sandwiches in Tupperware as well. There are also some nifty cloth wraps that can be used for sandwiches.

--Do not buy individual drink boxes. Too much packaging, PLUS the hateful plastic straw. Instead, send a re-usable thermos containing your child's beverage. If your child is going to buy a beverage at school, suggest that he or she selects something in a glass bottle.

-- Stop packing plastic utensils! Send real utensils or tell your child to use the metal utensils at school.

--Pack the lunch in a lunch box.

--Choose locally grown foods--this cuts down on trucking and air transport, which is a major emitter of CO2.

Explain to your child why you are packing their lunch like this and ask them to do their part, too, which is to not complain, not buy packaged foods at school and to bring home all the re-usable items you just invested in!

Get Batty on Halloween

Halloween and bats go together like trick and treat. Bats are a Halloween icon because they’re scary, creepy and dangerous, right? Wrong!

“It’s time people learned the facts about bats,” said Ryan Jacobus, age 14, who has studied bats extensively with scientists in his adopted homeland of Costa Rica. Jacobus moved from Wisconsin to the Central American country with his family four years ago to learn Spanish and spend extensive time exploring the natural world. “Bats are cool because they help the environment. People need to know how important these creatures are so they can help protect them.”

To raise the public’s “bat”ting average and help dispel fears and myths about this flying mammal, Jacobus created an entertaining, educational video segment based on his experiences studying bats in the Costa Rican rain forest. The video airs on the web show Super Natural Adventures, which Jacobus hosts with his two brothers, Michael, age 12, and Will, age 11. http://www.supernaturaladventures.com/ www.supernaturaladventures.com

Jacobus explains why bats are environmental heroes. “The main services bats provide include eating thousands of mosquitoes a night, per bat; pollinating many plants, such as avocados; and replanting forests by dispersing seeds,” he said.

Myths dispelled in the Super Natural Adventures bat webisode include:

--Myth: Bats suck blood. Fact: Only 1% of all bats drink blood and it’s livestock they are after, not humans.

--Myth: Bats will fly into your hair. Fact: Bats have a highly developed system of echolocation that helps them avoid large, dense objects, like humans.

--Myth: Bats are blind. Fact: Bats can see. But echolocation is much more precise and thus how bats most navigate.

--Myth: All bats carry rabies. Fact: While all mammals have the possibility of contracting rabies, the most common animals that carry it are skunks, raccoons, foxes, and coyotes.

Super Natural Adventures is the premier web show about nature and the environment. It airs at www.supernaturaladventures.com and features webisodes on such topics as “Where Chocolate Comes From,” “Making Recycled Paper” and “What is a Rain Forest?” A new webisode premieres each month.

350 Day!

Today is International Day of Climate Action, promoted by 350.org, whose mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.

Today people in 181 countries are coming together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world. people are gathering to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

We began our celebration today by joining about 30 students, teachers and parents who gathered this morning to clear land on school property to create a vegetable garden. Led by two dedicated permaculturists from the organization Huertas Donde Sea!! our group toiled hard for four hours under the tropical sun, swinging pick axes, working shovels to dig up grass, using the wheel barrel to cart it away.

Yes, it could have been done faster by a small group of adults using machinery (and some adults thought that might have been a good idea), but that would have missed the point. Creating a garden isn't something to get done quickly, with as little work as possible, so you can check it off your list.

Creating a garden is about communing with the Earth. Touching it is a good place to start! Planting a garden, in the manner of permaculture, is also about creating community. A small group of adults doing it all with machines would have totally missed the greater purpose. And moments of clarity like this one, from a seventh grade boy as he dug in the dirt:

"I am suddenly remembering that I used to garden with my grandmother when I was little. I loved that time with her and with the earth. Now I spend most of my free time watching TV or playing soccer. I'm glad I came today. Can I come next week?"

For more information on climate change and the international day of action, visit 350.org For a cool video on climate change check this out.

World Rain Forest Week

Next week (October 12-18) is World Rain Forest Week.

View the newest Super Natural Adventures webisode, "Rain Forest Exploration." www.supernaturaladventures.com and take a virtual trip to this precious world resource with SNA host Will Jacobus and his 4th grade classmates.

You'll learn what makes a rain forest and why they are important to the world, meet some rain forest animals and plants, and find out what is threatening our globe's rain forests. Entertaining, educational and fun, all in one. Enjoy!

Play Together

When's the last time you played with your kids? I'm not talking about driving them to practice, coaching them or training them. I mean, simply played, as in, no end goal other than enjoying each other's company, getting some exercise perhaps, doing something together.

I recently took a tennis lesson with Will, our youngest. Will takes tennis lessons once a week not so he can grow up to compete at Wimbledon--or even compete right now. He takes tennis lessons from a local guy at the public community courts simply because he likes to play tennis. What a concept! I took a lesson with him a couple weeks ago and it was a blast. I learned as much from him as from the coach. Afterwards, Will and I hit the play together and played a few matches. We laughed and encouraged each other and generally had a fun afternoon together.

I appreciate the value of team sports, of playing competitively. What I don't understand is the parental obsession with training our little athletes as if they are going to be professional some day. How about kids playing a sport for the fun of it?

I know. I'm so old fashioned and square. It's why I moved to Costa Rica, so I could be old fashioned and square to my heart's content. And content it is!

More About the Jacobus Family Adventure!

Lots of new folks are finding the Super Natural Adventures site and then finding me via e-mail to ask questions like, "Why did you move?" "Was it scary?" "How did you do it?" "How can I do it?" I recommend you start by going to my personal blog which chronicles our first years here. Read it backwards, starting in the archives, to feel like you're on the adventure with us. You can also read about the process I went through to MAKE the decision to move in an article I wrote for Athleta Chi.

Many people want to talk with me directly about their own desire to have such an adventure, especially with their family. Many want to discuss their dream and vision of raising citizens of the world or even talk about how they can bring SNA into their children's schools. I invite any and all visitors to e-mail me directly at junglemama@snamail.com

Finally, many people say, "We'd like to experience a life like yours...but only for about a week." I say, "Come on down!" Our travel partners at Activated Life Experiences can plan an amazing family travel experience for you unlike any trip you've ever had before.

Another thing you could do is a family service project. Do a fund-raiser--garage sale, bake sale, lemonade stand, you name it--to raise funds to save the rain forest. Contact me and I'll put you in touch with Tirimbina Rainforest Center. The rain forest is here in Costa Rica (and we filmed many SNA segments there, including "bats", "chocolate" and "ants") but there's also a non-profit 501c3 Tirimbina Foundation in the U.S. Your family's raised funds will go directly there, in a fund specific to preserving the rain forest.

There are many ways to parent, to raise citizens of the world, to teach our kids what we feel is important. I invite you to share in the comment section of this blog what YOU are doing.

Getting Greener

This weekend our family is planting a fruit and vegetable garden in our yard. I'm slightly nervous, only because we haven't attempted to grow anything in the San Jose climate. In Nosara, we have fruit trees and wild cilantro. The plan here (based on what the kids want to grow) is to plant carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, watermelon and lots of herbs. Stay tuned to see what sticks! We' also starting a compost pile. These are two more "resolutions" we made as a family at the start of the school year.

Another resolution was to be sure we take advantage of every free moment to get outside and enjoy Costa Rica's incredible nature. Wednesday was a half day at school, so the boys and I took advantage of the open week-day afternoon and planned to head up the mountains behind our house to take a hike. The hike idea morphed into, "sledding" or "card boarding." Before leaving, the kids ran madly around the house searching for unused boxes to craft into "sleds."

After a precarious drive up the mountain to an ideal spot, the kids jumped eagerly out of the car, slipped under the barbed wire of the sloping cow pasture and hopped onto their boards. Weeeee! Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but it sure was hilarious either way. The scenery was so gorgeous, I felt like I was on the set of the movie, "Heidi."

In Super Natural Adventures news:

--Check out the latest SNA segment on paper (www.supernaturaladventures.com). In a variation on our SNA theme, this segment features several of Michael's classmates presenting the topic. They do an awesome job!

--Upcoming SNA segments include the interview Michael conducted with Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin and several other segments I shot with Michael and Will's classmates.

--The Jacobus brothers are currently featured in Kids LA Magazine and the tween magazine, Pixie. Boys' Life will feature an article on them in September.

Back to School!

It's the first day of the new school year for us here in Costa Rica. Given the fresh slate of things, it feels more like the time to make new resolutions than December 31st does.

So we had a family discussion about our goals and resolutions for the coming year and, as a whole, decided we'd like to go a darker shade of green in our lifestyle this year. That includes challenging ourselves to re-use everything.

It started today, with Steve packing the kids lunches in...the clear plastic zipper cases that their new sheets came in yesterday. Michael, starting middle school, decided that "re-use" to him meant sticking with his old beat-up lunch box rather than potentially enduring quizzical stares from his new classmates about his see-through lunch tote. Will climbed out on the limb with Ryan and opted for the sheet packaging.

Sandwiches were wrapped in these nifty napkin-like contraptions that Steve and I picked up at the Go Green Expo in Atlanta this past June. It reminded me of when I lived in Japan nearly 20 years ago and people--women AND men--would bring their bento lunch box to work wrapped in what looked like a woman's hanky. They also wrapped presents with the same type of cloth. It gave me an idea of what to do with the kids' old sheets...

What are YOUR resolutions for the new school year?

Travel Creates Strong Family Ties

Anyone who has read this blog or my personal account of our Costa Rican escapades at www.gypsyjournalist.com knows that this whole adventure is all about us being together as a family--traveling together, learning together, growing together.

Nature For Kids, a great website, recently interviewed me about the impact of our lifestyle on our family. Here's a link to the article. Check it out!

"The Best Earth Day Ever!"

Earth Day 2009 in the Jacobus household was declared "the best Earth Day ever" by the kids.

The day kicked off with Steve and I heading off into the rain forest with an additional cameraman and Will's 4th grade class to shoot video for an upcoming Super Natural Adventures segment on the eco-system of the rain forest. What a fulfilling way to recognize Earth Day!

Late in the afternoon, Michael called from school to say his teacher was offering extra credit to kids who went to see Earth, the "new" movie from DisneyNature (who knew Disney had a nature division?? Everyone's getting in on the act!). The movie in fact is the massive documentary Planet Earth re-edited into a kid-friendly, movie-length feature. Those Disney people are SMART.

Normally, a movie on a school night wouldn't be remotely in the cards. But the kids had little homework and we all decided it would indeed be a great way to cap off Earth Day together (after playing outside for while first, of course!). The movie, like the original documentary, was gorgeous, concerning and inspiring. As we watched, each of us was thinking of our own Super Natural Adventures filming and the role we are trying to play to, like Planet Earth/Earth, get kids concerned about the state of the environment but also encourage them to positive action, not despair.

As we walked out of the theater, a massive lighting storm was lighting up the mountains. "Who wants to head up the mountain to check it out?" Steve asked. We were all in!

We drove and drove and drove--higher, darker night, brighter lightning--until we were at an amazing look out point, where we felt closer to the sky than the city far below. The lightning show was a spectacular, wondrous display by Mother Earth of her natural beauty and power. The fact that this was happening on Earth Day wasn't lost on any of us.

As we got back in the car, one of the kids starting singing, "Happy Earth Day to you..." to the tune of happy birthday. We all joined in and the lyrics sounded most poignant as we added the "...and many more!' line at the end of the first verse. We all then had a big laugh as Will started in on Verse 2: "How old are you?"

As we wound our way in the darkness back down the mountain, the conversation turned melancholy, with the kids stating they felt human beings had really messed things up for nature. "Would you be willing to radically--radically!--change your lives to make a difference?" I asked them. Without hesitation, they all chimed, "Yes."

This is how these seeds get planted with the Jacobus Family. Don't be surprised if in a year or so we REALLY have fallen off the grid...

Earth Day 2009!

One way to celebrate Earth Day is to gather the family together to watch The Story of Stuff.

Your life will never be the same!

Don't Forget to Turn Out the Lights

One of the most serious global challenges the planet is facing right now is climate change. What are we doing about it? Well, for starters, on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30 pm millions of people are expected to participate in the WWF's Earth Hour, a movement dedicated to the global concern for climate change.

From the US to Dubai, from Paris to Sydney, people all over the globe will turn out their lights in order to send a clear message about the urgent need for action. Earth Hour is expected to be four times as successful as last year with some 2,500 cities in 82 countries participating in the record breaking event by turning off the lights for one hour. A call for action this loud simply cannot go unheard.

Some of the high-profile landmarks around the globe committed to Earth Hour include:
Empire State Building (New York City, USA)
Eiffel Tower (Paris, France)
Stockholm Castle (Stockholm, Sweden)
The Egyptian Pyramids (Egypt)
Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia)
Christ the Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
The Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas, Nevada)
And many, many more...

Global warming is effecting the environment as well as human life more seriously than ever before. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and extreme weather all over the world are just a few of the consequences caused by climate change. And it's only expected to get worse unless serious actions are taken to reduce carbon footprints around the globe.

In Dan Forman's article "From Sea to Shining Sea," WWF CEO Carter Roberts says that "Turning off the lights is just the beginning. We're asking everyone to also make commitments to reduce their energy use during the rest of the year and to ask their elected representatives to do the right thing because we need climate legislation now." (Click here for the whole article)

And he's right; we can't just turn out our lights for one hour, one night and expect change to happen on its own...but it can happen with our continued efforts and education. The first step is a willingness to adhere to new, eco-friendly behavior, such as using fluorescent light bulbs and unplugging appliances when they aren't being used.

Let's work together to fight global warming, reduce the effects of climate change and improve the prognosis for the future of our planet, even if it means turning off one light switch at a time!

For more information about Earth Hour and ways to get involved visit www.EarthHourUs.org

Super Natural Adventures in the Classroom

Now that 2009 is in full swing we can truly appreciate what little free time we have, both as parents and teachers. I know I have my work cut out for me this spring if I want to keep all my proverbial balls in the air. One exciting new project I’m working on is getting Super Natural Adventures into the classrooms of my two youngest sons (or more accurately, getting those children out of the classroom!) Both Michael and Will are going on class field trips this spring and SNA is hopping on board to film their adventures and turn them into segments to post on the website.

Each field trip will be different in the content (and characters) but they will both get the children out of the deductive, structured style of learning they’re all too accustomed to and out into the wild world of inductive education. With inductive learning, children become co-teachers of their lessons as they are able to experience the world first hand and draw their own conclusions.

What ‘s interesting about inductive learning is that teachers don’t need to give the children information in the form of answers, but rather questions that allow them to process and interpret that information for themselves. In short, the teacher is helping the students learn on their own. In the article, “The Many Faces of Inductive Teaching and Learning” by Michael Prince and Richard Felder, it is stressed that internalization of information occurs when children are able to connect what they’re learning in the classroom to the outside world. (Cue SNA video clip…)

Super Natural Adventures is a perfect example of inductive learning and can be used in any classroom for any age group. Simply determine which unit of your lesson fits in with the SNA content (i.e. environmental issues, ecosystems, animals, and the list goes on…) and plan a field trip with your students to explore and learn first hand. The kids will be in charge of researching the content, developing a story line and ultimately shooting the video. And the real bonus is that once they post the video online, they’re able to share their experience with the rest of the world, which gets them more than a little enthusiastic about doing the project!

Let me know what video ideas your class comes up with!

Good Habits for 2009

Happy New Year!

I hope 2009 is finding you and your family happy, healthy and heading outdoors. I've been having fun brainstorming with my boys about what we can do this year to be more environmentally friendly, more connected with nature and more in touch with the needs of the world around us. Hers's a few of the ideas we came up with:

• Bring a water bottle to school to keep from buying those plastic bottles.
• Turn off the lights whenever you leave a room.
• Use both sides of the paper for homework.
• Start a compost pile in the corner of your backyard.
• Volunteer more. In Costa Rica there are plenty of indigenous peoples, like the Bri Bri, who really appreciate any help we can offer. Who needs help in your area?

Click here to check out the National Wildlife Federation 2009 Priorities and see what you can come up with to help them with their world-changing goals for 2009! And remember, even the little things can make a difference. Even if you can’t reverse global warming in one afternoon, the planet appreciates any help it can get. Let me know what you are doing this year to be more environmentally conscious.