Playhouse Disney’s inaugural Playing for The Planet Awards were launched today by campaign ambassador Tana Ramsay. The Awards mark the one year anniversary of Playhouse Disney’s Playing for The Planet campaign, the first of its kind to bring environmentalism to life in a fun way for preschoolers, families and nurseries around the UK.

To help preschoolers secure the future of the planet they will inherit, Playhouse Disney has teamed up with leading environmentalist Professor Bill McGuire to devise a set of recommendations to get them on the right track from an early age. Each idea highlights something that preschoolers can do everyday to help save the planet and reveals the positive impact that even the country’s youngest residents can make. The Playing for The Planet Guide also offers ideas on making these planet saving changes fun by turning them into games and activities to engage young children.

If the estimated 1.1 million (1) preschoolers and their families in the UK make just one of the tiny changes to their daily lives outlined below, the collective improvements to the planet are enormous.

Tip 1 – How preschoolers can help cut pollution:

Ask your parents to walk to nursery once a week instead of driving. Much more fun and better for the environment too! If all preschoolers walked to nursery just once a week instead of driving, we’d save 28,270 tonnes of carbon dioxide (2)

Tip 2 – How preschoolers can help save electricity

Make sure that all your gadgets such as TVs, videos, DVD players and computers are not left on stand-by mode when not in use. If the 1.1 million preschoolers across the UK got involved to save energy by turning off gadgets, 41,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year could be saved (3)

Tip 3 – How preschoolers can recycle!

Make sure you throw all your empty cans, bottles and plastic containers into the recycling bin and not the rubbish. Tell mummy and daddy to do this too! If all preschoolers pitch in to help increase recycling at home, and recycling increases by just 10 per cent, this would help to reduce carbon emissions by 108,900 tonnes(4)

Tip 4 – How preschoolers can help save water

Fill your water bottles / glasses with water from the tap instead of using bottled water

If all preschoolers filled their water bottles from the tap, this would save 12,650 tonnes of carbon dioxide, plus saving more than one billion litres of water – or the equivalent of 1000 Olympic sized swimming pools!(5)

Tip 5 – How preschoolers can spread the climate change message

Tell five friends today what you are doing to help the planet and how they can play for the planet too!

The message is simple, if kids all around the country join together to care for the environment, they will have a huge impact.

The total carbon dioxide emissions saved through these easy steps would result in a saving of 191,620 tonnes (6) – the equivalent to taking 87,100 cars off the road – a hugely positive impact by any measure.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Bill McGuire said: “It may seem straight forward, but by teaching our children from an early age to take these small steps towards a better world, they can make big changes as a generation. If every family with preschoolers across the UK takes these simple steps, it will stand our children in good stead for a brighter future.”

The Playing for The Planet campaign launched in May 2007. One year on, The Playing for The Planet Awards aim to celebrate the planet-saving achievements of Playhouse Disney’s young viewers, their families and nurseries across seven categories: Disney Eco Hero, The Big Idea, Greenest Family, Greenest Nursery, Planet Saver, Local Eco-Warrior, and Greenest Star. Supported across Playhouse Disney and its website www.playhousedisney.co.uk/playingfortheplanet, the Awards will tie in with bespoke, green-themed segments on the Channel, which will help to educate and encourage families to lead eco-friendly lives.

Awards ambassador and mother of four, Tana Ramsay adds, “Like many parents throughout the UK, I am committed to encouraging my children to explore our natural environment and take steps to look after it. These awards will celebrate the achievements of families, individuals and nurseries that are forging ahead with green initiatives that are easy to adopt but make a really important contribution to protecting our planet.”

Playhouse Disney launched Playing for The Planet to help pave the way for a whole new generation of preschoolers to grow up green. It was created following new research, which found that UK parents are crying out for ways to teach their preschoolers about the environment but didn’t know how to access information to help.

The campaign takes Playhouse Disney’s vision of helping kids learn and develop through play and applies it to simple environmental lessons around recycling, water conservation and planting. In January 2008, Playhouse Disney joined forces with the Preschool Learning Alliance to issue 8000 free educational Playing for The Planet packs to nurseries across the UK, receiving fantastic feedback received from both preschoolers and carers.

Michael Cairns, VP and General Manager, Disney Channel UK says, “Playing for the Planet is about helping preschoolers, and their families take positive steps to protect our planet by providing them with easy to access to practical information on what they can do to help. Our award scheme will build on this to help celebrate the achievements of all Playhouse Disney’s eco heroes big and small.”

A supporter since the campaign’s launch, much-loved TV presenter and Chief Scout Peter Duncan commented, “Protecting our planet can’t be an optional extra, however busy we are. Instigating small changes at home can make a big difference if we all take part. Children are our future and they need to get involved from an early age to enable them to develop those all important habits that can help to reduce waste and create a sustainable world.”