Green kids: Growing 'em up green

When I was 10 years old, my school sent my class to an environment camp. We had to hand over their wristwatches at orientation and take on nature names -- I was Squirrel. Activities included chasing a man dressed as a television, hugging trees (not kidding) and playing “find the garbage” (wish I were kidding.)

Mercifully, environmental education has come a long way since my dippy-hippie days. From paper planes to anime, Asian youth programs are finding ways to make eco-lessons entertaining.

1. Malaysia: A camp for budding River Rangers

The girls squeal as they search for tadpoles in the stream; a young man proudly holds up a haruan (snakehead fish.) But it’s not all play -- the teens pause to test the water and jot notes about the local ecology. The activity is part of a three-day eco-camp organized by Penang’s Department of Environment, which pairs 80 secondary students with River Rangers.

2. Taiwan: Work, play and do something good for nature

“Eco-holiday” is the new buzzword for Taiwanese company getaways. Employees work together on a preservation project, with plenty of breaks for hiking and bird-watching. Many teens tag along, cleaning up beaches and wetlands next to their proud parents.

3. India: Paper planes raise environmental awareness

Most teachers confiscate paper planes, but at Purijia Public School in New Delhi, students are encouraged to fold gliders. Hundreds of them. The sixth-graders collect waste paper to build models, which piques their interest in environmental protection.

4. Japan: Cute characters encourage sustainable action

If your child loves Hello Kitty, she won’t be able to resist the big-eyed, smiley-faced animals on Japan’s Kids for Future website. The characters illustrate English-language articles, such as “Ways to Create an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle” and “How to Support Earth-Friendly Companies. The highlight of the site is a manga, “The Story of a Mysterious Land," about a boy who learns what life could be like if we took care of our environment.

5. China: Animation films with environmental messages

China’s Green Library Project supplies eco-themed books and audio-visual materials to schools -- sounds like yawnsville? Not when the films are 3D animated blockbusters such as The King of Milu Deer, which teaches “co-existence between humanity and the natural world.”

6. Hong Kong: WWF’s Panda Post magazine

I joined the World Wildlife Fund as a child and looked forward to finding the Panda Club Post in my mailbox. The bilingual (Chinese/English) magazine is still up and running. Each full-color issue has a “Teen’s Diary” and activity ideas, such as how to set up a garden in a cramped Hong Kong flat.