Before long the butterflies will appear. The orange and black Viceroy, the yellow and black Tiger Swallow Tail, and blue black Spicebush provide a colorful feast for our eyes and joy to our hearts.

All through winter, the four little boys next door might have anticipated spring butterflies, for they had an ongoing project with their dad. Lots of sawing and pounding sounds came from their carport workshop. One early spring day I answered a knock at my front door. All four boys with smiling faces stood on my front porch. They handed me four little wooden boxes. I was puzzled. As I accepted each box, I examined it. These could not be birdhouses — there was no evidence of a bird entry. Each wooden box had long, narrow openings on all four sides.

“Oh my,” I said. “I can see that each of you has put in a lot of time making these boxes.” I had to play it safe as I was not quite sure what to call these colorfully decorated structures that were wired for hanging. My tact was rewarded.

“Miss Heidi, it’s not a box! It’s a butterfly box!” The 5-year-old was about to pop with the information.

“Yeah ... bubba-fly box,” echoed the 3-year-old.

Then came the serious 7- and 9-year-olds. “Butterflies are dying because of pollution,” the 9-year-old leaned forward and said in a confidential tone.

“Our yard doesn’t have bad chemicals and yours doesn’t either, so we want you to have these houses for the butterflies. Then they will stay safe in our yards,” the 7-year-old said.

Bless their hearts, they went on and on about pollution and how worried they were about “toxic stuff” that we drink and breathe.

As I listened, I thought back to an incident last summer during our family gathering at the beach. One of my ocean-loving grandkids was suddenly afraid to go in the water. After some discussion I found he thought he would drown because of pictures he had seen of marine life caught up in the plastic rings from beverage six-packs. Of course it was an irrational fear because he would not go into the water alone and without a lifejacket. Yet, it was a real fear to him.

A couple of months ago I made a birthday call to the grandson who was turning 6. He told me he was really worried about bears, especially polar bears. He said, “Granny, where do you bury a dead polar bear?” He had taken in snippets of global warming information and had deduced that if the ice was melting then surely the polar bears were dead.

Whether we realize or not, kids really do take to heart what they see and hear.

I have concluded that in the great movement to help our children become aware of their environment and to become better citizens of the planet, we are scaring the bejeepers out of them with the big picture. I am sure there are ways to inform and to encourage without frightening our children — especially the empathetic ones.
It seems to me that if children are empowered and can take action with an idea or task, they feel less like victims.

It might be a positive move to kick off a subtle family environment campaign on Earth Day which falls on April 22 every year.

Earth Day was initiated decades ago as a day for environmental education across America. Although it is not a day that makes big money for merchants, it is a day for us to increase our knowledge about environmental issues. The topics are limited only by the imagination. There are such activities as learning more about endangered species, conserving natural resources, creating a backyard habitat and learning to reuse and recycle more efficiently.

On Earth Day, the other fourth grade class at the school where my daughter teaches plans to dig up a carved jack-o’-lantern, an apple, a potato, a newspaper section, a brown paper lunch bag and plastic items such as a plastic bag, cup and plate, that they buried in November. They marked the items to see what broke down and what did not in six months.

Not to be outdone, my daughter’s fourth grade class puzzled over other ways to make Earth Day important. They came up with what they called an “energy alert.” Her students developed a list of ways they could use less energy. They listed traditional ideas such as turning off the light when I leave a room, turn off the TV when I am finished, and turn off the water while I am brushing my teeth. Then there were the creative thinkers: Be on time for the bus so the bus does not sit there with the motor running. Don’t stand there looking with the refrigerator door open. To locate a draft, lie down on the floor and look for light under the door.

The kids began to understand that if they, a class of 22, could make a difference, then why not think larger. Their idea was to create an Earth Day pledge using their energy alert ideas for students, teachers and parents to sign.

Have you have thought of some positive ways your family can address an environmental issue? Maybe you will have a house full of energy detectives, create a family energy alert list to pass out, or design an Earth Day petition for neighbors to sign. Somebody might write a verse or compose an Earth Day song. Your family could plant a butterfly bush, construct butterfly boxes, make bird feeders or plant flowers to attract bees and hummingbirds.

Positive change can begin right there in your home. On April 22, celebrate! Wish everyone you see a “Happy Earth Day!”

‹ Heidi Maness Hartwiger, a Wheeling native, is a writer, teacher and storyteller. She is the author of two books, “All Join Hands: The Forgotten Art of Playing With Children” and “A Gift of Herbs.” She is a mother of four and a grandmother of five.