A lovely Christmas gift for the ecologically minded child. Mythologically, Santa Claus has been giving gifts to children every Christmas for many many years. We all like to say 'thank-you' in some way for gifts. It's not just about being polite. It opens our hearts and is part of the feel-good package. A drink and a mince pie left by the chimney is kind. But how much kinder it is to reciprocate by giving something tangible. This is why Ecologisers, the Young People's International Anti-litter Charity, came up with the idea of promoting, publicising and popularising the idea of EcoSanta. 'Once his sack is empty, EcoSanta is asking children, worldwide to help him fill it with rubbish the rest of the year as a Gift to the Earth.' When I first 'floated' this idea to young mums I know, a slow smile spread across their faces, accompanied by the words 'That's a lovely idea'. Ecologisers have many different projects, all of which are headed up by EcoSanta, and his philosophy of life. Which is very simple. Anyone can litter-pick. It needs no qualifications or special skills. In a Humorously Captioned Photography Competition Ecologisers ran locally for two years, one of the winning photographs was of a year old baby with a piece of litter. It's very easy to stay in a positive state of mind while litter-picking. Either make up humorous captions for the items you pick up. Or, better still, let the task be accompanied by the intention that what you are doing is saving an animal's life, or preventing its suffering. It is in the small acts of caring that great change can be achieved. How Santa became EcoSanta is a simple story in the classic tradition of having an animal helper to assist the Key character in his quest. Rudolf fills this role naturally. Like many animals, Rudolf is sensitive to the environment in a way that humans rarely are. So it becomes Rudolf's task to persuade Santa to embrace a new identity as EcoSanta. Historically, this is no big deal. Since his first incarnation as St Francis of Assisi, Father Christmas has morphed and shape-shifted his identity many times. He was definitely 'green' to start with. Coca-cola dressed him in his red outfit, and that's the one most of us know and instantly recognise today. His character-change to EcoSanta is rather like coming full circle. Yet with an intention it will develop into a spiral where EcoSanta will be the new persona of the most famous gift-giver of the Western world in our secular age. Consummerism is a fact of our era, and it takes time to change perceptions and ideas to fit a new ecological reality. This is why a children's story in the classic style offers a good vehicle to introduce the very young to the 'facts of the world they are entering' in the nicest way possible. We all like to help if we can. To give young people responsibility has been proven, many times, to be the right thing to do. To help the child grow, feel important, feel he or she is contributing meaningfully, and on a par with adults. They are ready and willing to do this long before they leave secondary school or university. Our world oceans are a very precious resource. My hope, in writing this book, is that the phrase 'We're all in this together' can be extended to include the natural world. So that we all feel, quite naturally, the need to look after and protect the whole planet. In some countries, there is no litter. Equally, one day we could have a litter-free planet. It is those little acts of caring by thousands of individuals, and individual children, who will make the difference. This way of thinking is already well-seeded in the world today. The children's book, 'How Santa became EcoSanta' with its gorgeous illustrations, offers the young child instant access to a new zeitgeist, the upcoming way to see our place on the fragile planet we all share.
