Eco Lessons From Kijani The Green Gorilla

I loved Gorilla in the Greenhouse, so when I was offered a chance to review their show and website, I was thrilled. “Gorilla in the Greenhouse” is an action-packed animated show that inspires kids to take real-world steps towards a healthy planet. The show is set in a magical greenhouse in San Francisco. It features a visionary green gorilla and four kids who use their imagination, their network and their music to tackle the environmental challenges facing their generation.

The pilot episode, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which launched on Earth Day 2008, follows the kids as they face a demented plot by Dr. Morlon Huffelbot to create an island of plastic bags in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In the show, the kids travel to the island to observe the situation, go undercover into the plastic bag factory and then foil the plot though multiple actions. They spread their green message through their social networks, rally cities to ban plastic bags, design a new eco-friendly bag and create awareness through their original song “Bag the Bag”.

The website includes a number of interesting tidbits such as eco-friendly re-usable bags, downloads of the music and a DVD of the pilot episode. We’ve been listening to the music from this show for over a month and I now have it loaded onto my phone as a ringtone.

What I love about this show is that it is much more than a mere animation with an eco-message. It actually gets kids thinking and talking about the issues. My eight year old has even developed a dislike for plastic waste.

We’ve all learned a little something about plastics polluting the Pacific Ocean from Vir McCoy’s very catchy “Bag the Bag,” which I have downloaded onto my phone as ringtone. The music is something that every single member of your family will enjoy.

“Kids can change the World,” explains Gorilla director, Eli Noyes who has directed numerous other kids’ shows like Sesame Street. “Everything that our characters do on the shows is an example of what real kids can do in the real world.”

And certainly they can do it! Already three groups of kids in my neighborhood are embarking upon art and activism projects listed on the Green Gorilla website. Their plan is to document their projects and post them on the Green Gorilla website to show the world that they can really make the change.

Make sure you sign up for the next episode of Green Gorilla. I promise it will quickly become your kids’ favorite and maybe your’s too.

Written by Reenita, a San Francisco based freelance writer, mother of two and Green with EnVi (Environmental Vibe). She is a film junkie who loves to travel home to her native India to get her fix of things Indian. She blogs to maintain her sanity in an increasingly frenetic society. Check out her so-called words of wisdom at www.reenita.com.