A Place Under the Sun

the greenie patch

by Jeneen R. Garcia

to be published on June 11, 2006

 

 

Have you ever been told that you’re too young to do anything important? Have you ever thought that you’re too little to make a difference in this world?

 

Kids, just look at nature and you’ll see that God made everyone and everything for SOMETHING.

 

Tiny animals that most people would call icky usually have the most important jobs in nature. Earthworms burrow into the soil, bringing in air and nutrients from the surface down to the roots of plants deep below the earth.

 

Ants, worms, fungi (mushrooms), and microorganisms are nature’s janitors or “decomposers”. Whenever plants, animals, or insects die, the little creatures get to work by breaking down dead things into microscopic bits. These bits become nutrients in the soil and air. Without decomposers, plants and other organisms would not get their nutrients. Plus, we would have lots of dead bodies to clean up--eww.

 

Many people are scared of bats. They don’t know that just like birds, bats are our secret gardeners. As they go from tree to tree looking for food, they scatter the seeds of the fruits they pick up. That’s why you see trees growing where nobody planted them. Every year, bats plant more trees than humans do!

 

The same thing is true with plants that we think are ugly. Weeds help soften the earth so that bigger plants like shrubs and hardwood trees can take root. Imagine, there could be no forests without weeds.

 

In the sea, algae or lumot may seem yucky. Yet without them, all the fish in the world would disappear! Algae are eaten by small fish, which in turn are eaten by big fish. If the algae die out, then the small fish die. Then it won’t be long before the big fish die from hunger, too.

 

What about you? When you grow up, you can become a scientist who will invent a car that won’t need fuel. Or an architect who designs houses that save energy. That’s why when you study hard now, you are doing a very important job.

 

The next time someone tells you you’re not big enough to do anything significant, remember: no matter how small, everyone was created to have a place under the sun.