1st June World Reef Awareness Day

World Reef Awareness Day is a time to reflect on the fragile ecosystem of our ocean's coral reefs.

Coral reefs are living communities of colonial organisms made of individual polyps that excrete a bone-like skeleton. This skeleton forms large rock-like structures that are homes for thousands of organisms. The reef ecosystem is a significant life support system for plankton to algae to the enormous sea creatures.

The students I teach are very aware of The Great Barrier Reef because it is in Australia, it is in trouble and many of them have visited it. They marvel over books that show the life on the reef.

Look for these books in the library:

It might also be a good time to revisit Kim Michelle Toft's books. Her exquisite illustrations of North Queensland marine life are created by hand painting on silk.

1st June National Olive Day; 26th November World Olive Tree Day and World Olive Day

When I was writing about Plant a Lemon Tree Day, I thought of other trees we should plant and wondered if olive trees had a day for themselves. There is. World Olive Tree Day is celebrated annually on 26th November. This day is dedicated to recognising the cultural, economic, and environmental significance of the olive tree, a plant that has a rich history and a global impact. But, November is a long way off and it is National Olive Day on the 1st June!

The olive odyssey began over six millennia ago when olive trees first took root in the Mediterranean basin. From the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Egyptians and Phoenicians, olives quickly became a symbol of peace, prosperity, and divine flavour. 

Olives were revered in religious rituals and lauded for their medicinal properties. As maritime trade routes expanded, so did the reach of olives. These hardy trees adapted to diverse climates, flourishing in regions far beyond their Mediterranean birthplace. From the sun-soaked groves of Spain to the terraced hillsides of Italy,  olives became a global sensation, leaving an indelible mark on the world’s culinary heritage.

The iconic olive branch, a universal symbol of peace, traces its roots back to ancient Greece. Legend has it that the goddess Athena gifted the olive tree to the city of Athens, and from its branches emerged the first olive oil. This liquid gold not only enriched their cuisine but also fuelled lamps that illuminated their nights. The Renaissance era witnessed a resurgence of interest in the culinary arts, and olives played a pivotal role. Olive oil became a staple in the kitchens of Europe’s elite, adding a touch of sophistication to the gastronomic landscape. Today, olive oil stands as a testament to the enduring allure of these remarkable fruits.

So are there picture books about olives? Of course, but you will need to search.

• Athena and the Olive Tree  by Geraldine McCaughrean

Athena and the Olive Tree is one story in this collection of stories about Greek gods and goddesses.

• Olive  by Edwina Wyatt 

Lilah’s beloved cat, Olive dies and all she’s left with is an olive tree to remember her by. Seasons pass and the tree grows but Lilah is too grief stricken to see its beauty and connection to Olive.

• My Olive Tree  by Hazar Elbayya

A powerful story about the beauty of the olive tree and the importance of community in the face of hardship.

• These Olive Trees  by Aya Ghanameh

Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she and her mama pick the small fruits and she eagerly stomp stomp stomps on them to release their golden oil. Olives have always tied her family to the land, as Oraib learns from the stories Mama tells of a home before war. 

• Sitti's Olive Trees  by Ndaa Hassan

This is a story about the olive harvesting season in Palestine. Sitti shares memories of her ancestors planting and caring for their precious olive trees with Reema, her grand daughter. Reema is captivated by the beautiful story and learns the value of each drop of olive oil. A celebration of culture, family and storytelling with an aim to preserve values and traditions. 

 

• Hilwa's Gifts  by Sara Suleiman

A heartwarming picture-book  brings a tradition many thousands of years old—harvesting and pressing olives into oil—vividly to life, showing how customs unite us across time and space.

• Oli Olive's Oily Adventure  by Amanda Bailey

This is the first book in Australia to educate our younger consumers about olive oil. This book uses Oli's character to show children the ins and outs of olive oil in a fun, friendly adventure from grove to pantry.

• Olive's Plate Dream  by Tansy Boggon

Olive has a dream - she does not want to be pressed into olive oil, even if it is health-promoting. She wants to be savoured whole.

• The Olive Tree  by Elsa Marston

The house next door to Sameer’s had been empty for as long as he could remember. The family had gone away when the war began. But now they were back, and he was ready to have fun with his new playmate. Together they could climb the big olive tree that overlooked both their gardens, and eat the delicious olives it produced. The only problem was that Muna, the little girl next door, didn’t want to play and she didn’t want to share the olives. 

Interesting olive facts:

The oldest olive tree in the world is around 4,000 years old and can still be found producing fruit in its location on the island of Crete.

• • The darker the olive, the riper it was when it was picked. Black olives are just olives that used to be green but got darker as they stayed on the tree longer.

• • Spain is the largest producer of olives in the world, followed by Italy, Turkey, Greece and Morocco.

• • Olive trees are normally pruned and kept fairly short to make it easy for them to bear fruit but, if left to themselves, they can actually grow as large as 26-49 feet in height.

• • Olive trees live way longer than humans. In fact, the average lifespan of an olive tree is between 300 and 600 years.

29th May Learn About Composting Day

Did you know that food scraps ending up in landfills produce greenhouse gases emissions? If food waste was a country, it has been estimated that it would be the third-highest emitter of greenhouses gases after the US and China. Starting to make your own compost can help tackle this global issue by conserving natural resources, reducing your carbon footprint, and more.

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry. It is celebrated during the first full week of May, so it is interesting to see that Learn About Compost Day also exists.

At school we collect food scraps separately and there are Year 2 students who ensure that they get to the compost. When this process started and the school got a worm farm, I made sure that the library had books about compost, what it was, what not to put into it, what to do with it so that all the students' questions could be answered.

Preschools, including our school are big advocates of composting and publishers have worked this out. There are three big books specifically for schools

• Find Out About Composting  by Em Bruce (MTA)

• Compost  by Melissa Reve (Enlighten Press)

• Let's Learn About Compost  by Matthew Inaran (Oz Publishing)

Picture books available in the library:

There will also be books on soil, dirt, worm farms and gardening... things to further explore.

28th May World Dhole Day

What is a dhole, I hear you say. I'd never heard of one when I read about this day. 

A dhole is a medium-sized canine that lives in most of southern Asia. This species is more endangered than tigers, leopards, or Asian elephants. Yet, this elusive canine is unheard of! At present, there are less than fifty zoos that house dholes in the world. These animals are misunderstood and often seen as a pest. The occurrence aims to make people care about these creatures for their intelligence, uniqueness, and their own language as they whine, whoop, and whistle! The Dhole is listed as CITES II, meaning their trade is banned worldwide.

Dholes are only about the size of a border collie. Depending on their habitat, these wild dogs vary in colour from charcoal grey to rust red to sandy beige. They have a long, brushy, fox-like tail that often has a black tip. They usually have a white belly, chest, and feet. Adults have rounded ears and a pointed snout.

And as you can guess this is not a topic to read about in books. Books about them are hard to find. Here's two that might be in your library.

A fun activity might be to give students books about animals, mammals or wild dogs and get them to see if 'dhole' appears in the index.

Seeing how similar they are to other members of the canid family, I began to wonder, do the other canines have days of their own. Although commonly referred to as a "wild dog," the dhole is not a true dog. Its closest relatives are the painted dogs of Africa and the bush dogs of South America.The different types of wild dogs are generally divided into  coyotes, foxes, wolves, jackals, dingoes, and other canids. 

Coyote Day is on the 23rd March.

Fox Day is on the 17th September.

International Wolf Day is on 13th August.

World Jackal Day is 19th April.

And, the poor dingo doesn't have an 'official' day. What a shame!

25th May International Plastic Free Day

It is International Plastic Free Day, introduced by Free The Ocean (FTO). The goal? Avoid using single plastic use for one day (at least). Don't buy it. Refuse it. Don't use it. As explained on the website, "If every person in the world stopped using one single-use piece of plastic for one day, we’d avoid over 7.6 BILLION items of plastic on that single day." The occurrence aims to make people aware of how much plastic they usually use and how much it is omnipresent in our lives. And hopefully, it will show them that not using plastic is doable!

This is different from International Plastic Bag Free Day which is observed every year on 3rd July or Skip the Straw Day which is held on the fourth Friday in February or Plastic Free July, all of which are days to remember the impact of single-use plastics and efforts to stem the tide of litter and waste.

At school we have Plastic Free days for lunches and students are encouraged to use lunch containers again and again, even the school canteen lunches come in non plastic containers that are returned to the canteen and washed. So the students at school are very aware of 'the concept of one-use plastic'. When they read books about ocean pollution they are horrified and come to talk to you about what they have read.

If you put the word 'plastic' in my blog Search bar, lots of entries will come up with suggestions of books to read. Here's just a selection of books you'll find in the library.