Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 057

"What kind of animals do you see there?" I asked them.

Suzi peeled the stickers off the page, calling them by name. "Fish. Whale. Seal. Hippo-lota-mess." I couldn't help giggling. "I think you mean, hippo-pot-a-mus.'' Suzi nodded solemnly. "That's what I said." "Dawn." Buddy held up a sticker. "What kind of fish is this?" "It's a dolphin. They're one of the smartest creatures in the ocean." "You mean, they can do tricks?" Suzi asked.

"Yes, but they also communicate with each other and with us. In dolphin language, of course." "I want one," Buddy declared.

"Where would you keep it?" I asked.

"In the bathtub," Suzi suggested.

"Oh, a dolphin's much bigger than that," I replied. "And it needs lots of room to swim in. Here's something sad about dolphins. Did you know that a lot of them die just because we like to eat tuna fish?" Buddy looked at me skeptically. "What's tuna fish got to do with dolphins?" "Well, some fishing fleets use nets that accidentally trap millions of dolphins every year. And the sad thing is that the fishermen could catch the tuna without using nets, but they don't want to." "How come?" Buddy demanded.

"They say it's too expensive that way." "That's not fair," he protested.

"How do you know all of this?" Suzi asked, cupping the sticker gently in her hand.

"I've been studying our planet and the animals that live on it in school." I pointed to the Marine World sticker book. "That's why I bought this book. Half of the money I spent on it will go to the Save the Dolphins fund." Buddy leapt to his feet. "I want to save the dolphins." "So do I," Suzi said, joining him.

"Me, too!" Marnie sprang to her feet and grabbed Suzi's hand. The three kids hopped up and down chanting, "Save the dolphins." (It sounded a lot like, "Save the doll's fins.") "You can save them," I said, excitedly.

They quieted down and Suzi asked, "We can? How?" "Well, first of all, we can write the tuna companies and tell them we won't buy their tuna if they keep hurting the dolphins," I explained. "Look, I'll write the letters and you guys can sign them." "Yea!" Suzi squealed so loudly that Pow started barking. The baby bonnet had fallen over his eyes and, as he barked, he struggled to knock it off his nose with one of his big paws.

I pulled the bonnet off Pow's face and held up my hands to quiet Suzi. "There are a lot of other things we can do, too - things that will help all of the animals in the sea." "Like what?" Buddy asked.

I'd checked out several books from the library about ecology and our planet and had looked through them during lunch, so the ideas were still fresh in my mind. "Well, we can start by making sure the garbage we dump in the ocean doesn't hurt the fish and animals." "I never throw my garbage in the ocean," Suzi said, putting her fists on her hips and looking indignant. "That's littering." I couldn't resist giving her a hug. "I know you don't, but some big companies do. Come on." I took her hand. "Let's go in the kitchen and I'll show you what gets thrown in the water." Buddy, Marnie, and Suzi trotted obediently after me. Our first stop was the kitchen counter. A six-pack of soda sat by the telephone. I pointed to the plastic rings holding the cans together. "These are really dangerous to fish and sea animals. When they float in the water, they look like food. Then sea turtles swallow them, which is harmful to their in-sides. Seals and birds, like pelicans and seagulls, get them caught around their necks. Even fish can get tangled in them." "But what can we do about it?" Buddy asked earnestly.

I opened the top drawer by the sink and pulled out a pair of scissors. "Clip the rings so there are no circles for animals to get caught on." "I want to do it!" Suzi cried, reaching for the scissors.

"No, I do," Buddy said stubbornly.

I realized I had to think fast and find Suzi another chore. I looked around the room for an idea and spied the garbage can.

"Suzi, why don't you look in the garbage and pull out every can you find?" I unfolded a paper bag that had been tucked between the refrigerator and the wall. "Put them in here and we'll recycle the aluminum." "We're going to take it for a tricycle ride?" Suzi asked, squinting one eye shut.

I couldn't help laughing. "No. Recycle means to use things over and over again." I pulled an empty can of juice out of the trash. "If we don't throw this away, it can go back to the factory and be used again and again. But if we toss it out, then it floats around our oceans, hurting all those innocent sea creatures." Suzi dove for the trash basket. "I'm going to make sure every single can is re-tricycled." "Good for you!" I couldn't believe how much fun it was to teach the Barretts about ecology. We spent the remainder of the afternoon talking about ways we could save our planet, and the animals on it.

"Turn off dripping faucets," I said, pointing to the leaky kitchen faucet. "That will save water." Mrs. Barrett had made some cream cheese-and-nut sandwiches and put them in plastic bags.

"Don't throw away these bags," I said. "Re-27 cycle them. We'll wash them out and let them dry. Then your mom can use them again." Buddy and Suzi and even Marnie were such eager students that suddenly I got this idea. If the Barrett kids were this anxious to learn about ecology, maybe other kids in the neighborhood would be, too. What if I taught an after-school ecology class to the kids I babysat for? It would be the perfect project for Mrs. Gonzalez's class and, best of all, it would be fun! After I left the Barretts that afternoon, I couldn't stop thinking about my project. I knew that getting all the kids to one location and teaching the class would be a lot of work. I also realized I would need help. After dinner that night, I dialed Stacey and told her about my great idea.

"Kids, of all people, should know how to save the planet," I said to Stacey on the phone. "After all, it's going to be theirs the longest." "Dawn, it's a terrific idea," Stacey agreed. "And I found the perfect book that will be just right for this class. It's called 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth." "I think I've seen that at the library," I said, making a note of the title on the pad of paper by the phone. "Great! So we have our textbook and our project, and it's only Tuesday. We're way ahead of the rest of the class." "There's only one problem," Stacey said. "Do you think Mrs. Gonzalez will let us work on the project together? I mean, we're not even in the same class." That thought had occurred to me but I figured, since it was such a great idea, Mrs. Gonzalez would go for it. She'd just have to.

"I'll talk to her first thing tomorrow morning," I said, trying to sound confident. "Just bring the book and start thinking of how we're going to put this project together." Chapter 4.

"She said yes!" My voice echoed down the hallway at Stoneybrook Middle School as I shouted to Stacey across the crowd of students milling around their lockers. Several of them turned to stare at me. Normally I might have been embarrassed but not today. Today I didn't care.

Mrs. Gonzalez had taken the afternoon to think about the project. After school she had called me into her classroom for a talk. "I think it's a wonderful idea," she'd said. "You and Stacey just need to keep clear records of who contributes what to the project." Stacey, who had been more worried than me, let out a squeal of delight at my news.

"All right!" Then she gave me a big hug.

I caught Brent Jensen nudging his friend Todd Long and pointing at us, a smirk on his face. Stacey stuck her tongue out at him and I said, "Take a picture, it'll last longer." Then we raced out of the big glass doors of SMS into the open air.

"We have to get started right away," I said as we hurried down the sidewalk. "We have to make lists, and decide on what day of the week we should hold our classes." Stacey nodded. "That means a ton of phone calls. Why don't you come to my house? We can use the phone in my room." Stacey isn't like Claud, who actually has her own telephone number, but she does have her own extension, which I think is very cool.