Ent Army

"Who you are on the inside is defined by your goals. Who you demonstrate yourself to be is defined by your choices.  How others see you is defined by their own interpretations of your actions. I am Aqua. I am here to save the world."
Ent Related Inspiration:
Here is a website describing ents:
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ents
Here is a video of the March of the Ents for The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers:

My name is Helix Nebula, and one of my favorite activities is climbing trees. I'd like to share a few of the many reasons I like trees. I will also show you how you can appreciate all that trees do for us. Trees are important to the Earth, not just for climbing, but also for life. Have you considered how much plants help our planet?

Let me begin with a short scene about an experience in nature. Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine that, instead of a room, you are in a forest. Above you, the sunlight is filtered through a green canopy. A small river flows past on one side. Some birds are chirping, and a squirrel runs by. A calm breeze blows between the trees, rustling the dry leaves at your feet. If everyone saw nature in this way, many more people would work to save the environment. Why don't they? Nature is many things, but it can hardly be described as all good or all bad. The challenge every person must face is deciding which parts to see. For some people, like me, the benefits of working with nature far outweigh the losses. For others, a forest may seem like a dark place filled with hungry insects. You must choose what your view on nature will be.

Of course, simply enjoying nature won't help the trees. If we want to save the forests, we must act. Even a simple thing, like spreading awareness about the danger trees are in, can count. For example, in middle school, a friend and I created a website about deforestation. It was comprised of photos, statistics, articles, and even a fun survey. Another example of helping nature is when students from the SCH lower and middle schools travel to the Wissahickon to plant small trees. Small, everyday actions like recycling can keep trees from being turned into paper. Whether you are hanging up posters, planting trees, or putting your lunch remains in the right bin, every little bit helps. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." If you help the forests, they will give you strength.

Why should we care about trees? Plants in general convert harmful greenhouse gases into oxygen, a gas necessary for our survival. Because of their size compared to other plant life, trees are some of the main providers of the oxygen we breathe. In addition, they shelter hundreds of forms of animal life, provide food for us, absorb harmful chemicals, and give us a safe haven from technology. Imagine a world without trees! Of course, we wouldn't be able to breathe the air. Unfiltered pollution and lack of oxygen would cause severe health problems in various areas, while most animals and plants would die due to lack of food or shelter. Without natural forests to keep the land intact, the planet would quickly turn into barren wastelands and deserts. After realizing what a future without trees would be like, most people would agree that the world needs natural forests to survive.

That being said, I encourage you to pay attention to nature. Everything has positive and negative aspects; we must decide which of these to focus on. See the good parts of nature, and remember: every action counts… every plant matters. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." One person can make a huge difference. 

Here is the link to a great speech by a twelve year old girl in 1992 at the UN Earth Summit. Her name is Severn Suzuki and she is amazing. You have to watch this.
http://criticaldocs.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/twelve-year-old-severn-suzuki-speaking-at-the-un-earth-summit-1992/

Poems:
Here is a beautiful, haunting poem by Red Wolf:

Resent

The world is trembling

from being carelessly beaten over the years

And people—the same people who have been hurting it

see this wavering as a weakness

And so they feel the need to replace all that is natural,

all that is homely

with a stronger foundation

But it is not as strong

It will never be as strong

And just as it started

it will quickly fall

The real world will be all that is left

if it hasn't already been destroyed

in the building process of the new structure

that sits atop it

blocking it from all sunlight

making it weaker and weaker.

All of those long eras it took to form

reduced to nothing.

A powerful void

weakening the newer structure.

Those who are building it do not care about the world.

They think that any part of the old foundation

that sways

can be replaced

with a new part.

They will never be able to manufacture a part

nearly as strong

as the one that used to be there.
They don't even care enough

to even think about it.

The whole world swallowed by a heartlessness,

the power of which is horrifying.

If only humans had never been.

Here is a poem by Ernest about what the world would be like if we were not here:

The World without Us

Here is the place,

the place of my dreams.

The place where the woods are alive, and free.

Where the vines climb forever upward

reaching, reaching toward the light.

Here is the place where the sky is clear,

free of choking, gagging, gasping pollution.

A place where hawks rule the air, as its rightful kings before the

airplane conquerors.

I can breathe, really breathe, not just to live, but for the delicate scents carried like mail in the air, parcels from far away lands.

I can see the stars.

High above me, their path stretches across the sky, lighting up the universe.

I can hear the silent sounds,

sounds that are never heard unless you truly listen. The mountains call to me across the gaping silence. A wolf howls.

The woody smell of pinesap, the blood of the trees, fills my nose.

Here the coppery sun, silver moon and golden stars

share stories with frogs and cheetahs,

where the bark of a tree can be read like a book.

The sapphire sky does not sit like a blanket of smog over the world, but floats above, silently watching her brown earthy child.

The storms and the lightning are things to fear,

 not tinny, clinkyclanky metal guns and bombs.

Light streams down from the fiery orb of the sun, liquid and tangible,

far purer than the imitation lamps we call our own.

There is a dog in this forest. The wolf who, because of us, will become a dog,

will lose his wild spirit.

There is a monster in this forest, - a tremendous dinosaur, taller than we can imagine, his footstep shakes the earth.

There is a polar bear in this forest - the king of the ice; none can swim faster than he.

Today, he is dying, his kingdom shrinking.

What are we doing to our world?

My dream is the world, the world without us.

Here is a poem by Ernest in memory of the trees that were killed at school:

A Memoriam for the Trees

 

The rain comes sliding down, down the walls of the empty sky.

It patters in the dirt,

turning it to muck.

The shower carries life, but there is nothing to grow,

no seed to plant on the fake expanse.

 

The carpet of plastic green will not stifle the screams of the earth,

the cries of trees as they came crashing down,

the grind of wood.

They echo in the still air, water streaking for roots that no longer thirst.

 

The ancients, they are gone.

The fields, once strong with the hum of wind and flowing sap,

the air tangled in the chattering leaves,

Turned to dust. 

 

Wooden mountains, snowcapped by green and reaching deep into the earth, summits glistening in the setting sun;

Cut away.

The air is empty, robbed of the strength that was here, stripped of the reverberating music.

The sun streams weakly though the air, lighting on a different green: a plastic washed by rain.

If only rain could wash away the deeds done here.

But you cannot wash away what is gone.

The Greatest Mistake Ever Made

The world was in harmony.

It was the perfection of having no perfection

It wasn't always peaceful

Everything was unique

Everything was real, so incredibly real

Somehow, it all fit together

The world was pure.

Humans, one of the many species of animals to have lived on the world

have acquired a powerful longing for understanding

They have been driven to learn more and more

before understanding the power of knowledge.

Many have forgotten about how the world used to be

a breathtaking harmony

that can only be glimpsed through the forests

that are dwindling quickly.

After learning so much,

it is amazing that the humans do not see their mistake!

They have offset the balance of the world by taking it over,

destroying everything in their path

disrupting the harmony.

They have gotten all of this new power

but instead of using it to help all of nature

they have decided to use it to make their individual selves stronger

assuming that their insignificant desires

deserve priority the harmony of nature!

Sure we have evolved for our own survival

but with the power that we use to strengthen ourselves

we have the responsibility to use to strengthen the whole world.

The world is no longer in harmony

It is the imperfection of having no imperfections

It is barely ever peaceful anymore

Nothing is truly unique

Nothing is genuinely real

Nothing fits together

The world is no longer pure.

Here is a poem written by Red Wolf about why there is still hope to save the forest.

Rain

Long ago,

when the forest was alive

purely and completely,

rain brought life to the world.

Rain brought life to the plants

and they grew.

Some grew into small, fragile plants

while others grew into massive, powerful trees.

Rain brought life to the animals

and they grew.

Some grew into the tiny, delicate insects

while others grew into tremendous, forceful mammals

Now,

thanks to the humans of the past

the forest is weak.

Parts of it have been torn apart

with the remaining patches sickened by pollution.

It seems almost impossible to save

But there is still rain.

Here is a song that Ernest wrote a few years ago about the environment: 

The stars shine, still, though they grow dim

The trees grow, still, waving in the wind

The river still flows, though it’s choked with smog

The fireflies still glow, lighting up the stars

 

The earth still turns,

The continents still drift

While the forest burns

And tree roots are unknit

 

The lamps still shine, lighting up the streets

While gas spews and ships spill oil in the sea

The people watch and the earth cries

Smoke, smog, and ashes, spinning in the sky

 

But the plants grow, still, and animals still brave

The rising houses and the oily waves

Though the stars still shine, the future’s not there

It’s written in our car exhaust and the products in our hair

 

But there’s time, still, before the wonders fall,

More amazing than a TV screen and the products at the mall

While the trees still stand,

And the wind still blows

While the stars still shine,

And the fireflies still glow

 

Before nature’s chance has become a dream

And smoke smog and ashes make the earth like visions seem

There’s still time before it’s all gone

Before we’re left in a wasteland wondering what went wrong

 

It’s up to us,

Our choices still stand

If you think to give Earth a chance,

Give it what you can

Time stands, still

Time stands still