I want to make learning about the environment less daunting for children
FOR most people, being a member of a famous band would be more than enough to be getting on with. But not Dougie Poynter.
As well as being the bassist for McFly, the talented Essex boy is also a children’s book writer and committed environmentalist – two passions that he has woven together for his last book, Plastic Sucks! You Can Make a Difference, and his newest one, The Whale Watchers, in collaboration with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), who will receive some of the book’s profits.
Although he doesn’t have children himself yet, Dougie firmly believes that telling them engaging stories about the natural world and how to help save it is a crucial way of helping to improve the environment in the long-run.
“I want to make it less daunting for kids,” he explains. “I wrote a book about plastic pollution a few years ago and went to schools and did talks, and I did a school visit last week and the difference this year with the knowledge the kids have about the environment was amazing – I felt like I really wasn’t telling them anything new, and they had great ideas, and that gives me a lot of faith.
“In 20 years these kids are the next leaders of the country and businesses, and they’ll have that awareness instinctively.
He adds: “I’ve always loved animals and the environment myself, and felt that the younger generation are most important in terms of raising awareness, so with the awesome Whale and Dolphin Conservation, I took the opportunity to write the book.”
The Whale Watchers, which was commissioned by water filtration experts BRITA (brita.co.uk), tells the tale of a little boy called Finn, who finds a stranded whale with plastic wrapped round its mouth. And as well as the story, the book features easy-to-digest facts about whales, and how they’re actually crucial to the health of our climate.
Dougie explains, for example, that whale poo is packed with nutrients which help phytoplankton – tiny marine plants – grow. The phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide that’s dissolved into the ocean from the air, and releases oxygen, some of which escapes into the air. Dougie says this process has, over millions of years, provided up to half the oxygen we breathe.
There’s also a section on what kids can do to help the planet, such as reducing their use of single-use plastic, and choosing clothes made from natural fabric.
“I find the natural world fascinating – there’s always something new and often absolutely crazy and bizarre to find out about it,” says Dougie.
“I’m hoping that kids learn through the story, so it has a lasting impact, rather than just a list of facts. If it’s told in a story, then maybe they can digest it a bit more.
“I know that’s how I digest a lot of information – if it’s told in a story, I’m more likely to hang on to it.”
He admits the story’s main character, Finn, is “pretty similar” to himself. “He’s not very optimistic, he’s jaded and cynical – so that’s me, every now and then having these moments of ‘It’ll be OK’. I’m like that.”
The 34-year-old says his interest in the environment and nature began when he was about three and became a “huge fan” of dinosaurs.
“That was the beginning of me being interested in the natural world – I guess I became aware from an early age how fragile life is on this planet.
“Because of the dinosaurs, I’ve always known that nothing is permanent on this planet and you need to take care of it, because if something so huge that’s been around for millions of years can suddenly disappear, then sure as hell we can definitely do the same if we don’t take care of the planet.”
So has this engaging, eco-conscious man always wanted to use his fame for the greater good of the planet? “I wouldn’t call myself famous or a celebrity, that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, “he admits modestly, “but it feels good to be able
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