An interesting initiative before the big departure

Published on 05.11.2008 - Transantarctic Expedition

The Regan family has had the bright idea of reaching out to younger children via the Net and talking to them about the polar environment and global warming. Well played, lads...

While the various expeditions are finalising their preparations prior to heading for the Antarctic (the first flight is scheduled to depart between 20th and 30th November), the Moon Regan TransAntarctic expedition has come up with a great idea: to create a website aimed at younger children aged between 7 and 11.

Andrew Regan's three sons, Sam, Alex and Jojo are the driving force behind the content at the site. What they do is present the major problems and issues facing the polar regions by making young children understand what they can and must do to play a part in the fight against global warming. Examples include the day-to-day things that both youngsters and everyone else need to get into the habit of doing. These include: 1/ buying recycled goods whenever possible, 2/ talking openly about environmental problems with people around us, rather than just being an eco-warrior sitting in a bubble in front of a computer, 3/ using less paper to help preserve the forests, 4/ eating local produce as much as possible, rather than products that have to be flown in from the other side of the planet, 5/ not heating our homes or bedrooms too much, but wearing something warmer instead, 6/ using the car as little as possible (watch out for all that CO²!), 7/ recycling waste whenever possible, and finally, 8/ switching off appliances at the wall, rather than leaving them on standby, such as the television, computer monitors, external hard drives, heaters and domestic appliances.

The 'Junior Polar Traveller' website is also stuffed full of good ideas, with interesting items (a concise description of polar fauna, basic information about the Arctic and Antarctic, and a blog by the three Regan boys, etc.). The site tells the little ones that an adventure awaits them on every page. It's true, too Ãâ and better still, it's all very well done, with good graphics, fun animations and very pleasant overall presentation).