“There's a mother in PICU(儿童重症监护病房)who wants to talk about a kit she received,” the nurse told me. “Something about it made her cry.”

    I've been a child-1ife specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital since 2000. I help families understand diagnoses and treatment plans and manage the ups and downs that come with caring for a sick child. Tough talks with parents are part of the job, which still makes me feel nervous.

    The kits the nurse was talking about were something I had recently introduced to the hospital: Comfort Kits from Guideposts. They were supposed to make a child's experience here easier, not upsetting.

    When I came across the kits at a conference. I fell in love with them. A treasure box of items designed not only to entertain kids, but to comfort and inspire them. There's a coloring book, a stress ball, a CD of relaxing music, a hairy star named Sparkle, a journal and much more. I really believed these kits would help kids. I wished I hadn't been mistaken.

    At the patient's room in PICU I saw a little girl, sleeping soundly, surrounded by tubes and machines. My eyes met her mother's. The kit was open on her lap and tears were running down her cheeks.

    “I'm Shannon. I manage the Child Life Department.” I said. “I'm sorry if the kit upset you .It's a new item…”

    The mother shook her head. “This has been one of the worst days of my life .I felt so scared and alone. Then I was handed this box. I know it's for my daughter, but it's just the comfort I needed. I wanted to say thank you.”

    With that I knew Comfort Kits belonged here. We've been using them for almost three years now. Each child who's admitted to the hospital receives one. Every day I see kids coloring, journaling, playing with Sparkle.

    But as this mom showed me Comfort Kits aren't just for kids. The hope they bring, which can be in short supply in hospitals sometimes, is felt by the whole family.

    In most parts of the world, many students help their schools make less pollution. They join “environment clubs”. In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.

    Here are some things students often do.

    No-garbage lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school.

    No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car. Not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember: walk, jump, bike and run. Use your legs! It's lots of fun.

    Turn off the water! Did you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic (立方) meters of water an hour? In a year, it would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets. We love our environment. Let's work together to make it clean.

    Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Perhaps they were busy talking, testing or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new "species" of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name — phubbers (低头族).

    Recently, a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities bury themselves in their phones. A doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes selfie(自拍照) in front of a car accident site and a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events eventually leads to the destruction of the world.

    Although the ending sounds overstated, the damage phubbing can bring is real. Your health is the first to bear the effect and result of it. "Constantly bending your head to check your cell phone could damage your neck," Guangming Daily quoted doctors as saying. "The neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching." Also, staring at cell phones for long periods of time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.

    But that's not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. At reunions with family or friends, many people tend to stick to their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.

    It can also cost you your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cell phones in broad daylight.

    I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in "Section L". I found out later that everyone called Section L "Loserville". It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

    I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that.

    Ana's texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, I had to try to make things better.

    The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

    I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn't. I was still stuck in "Loserville", and some people were still mean to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

    But what did change was me—I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

    I still miss Illinois sometimes  but life in New Jersey isn't so hard anymore. Even though I couldn't change my situation, I could change my attitude—and that made all the difference.

    Cao Zhawa has been planting trees for most of his life. He lives and works in the heart of Mu Us Sandyland, an area in the southwest part of Inner Mongolia.

    In 1958, when he was just 16 years old, Cao started planting trees. Cao's trees now cover an area of more than 1.3 million square meters. Cao's forest is worth an estimated 10 million yuan and can produce 100,000 kilograms oxygen, enough to sustain a full-grown adult for nearly a year.

    Mu Us Sandyland is one of the places in China most affected by erosion(侵蚀) and desertification. The amount of annual rainfall ranges from 150 to 300 millimeters, while evaporation(蒸发) between 2,000 and 3,000 millimeters. Cao recalls that his growing-up was troubled by sandstorms. This was one of the factors that motivated Cao to join and stay on the tree-planting program.

    Popularly known as the "Green Great Wall", the project, which is set for completion in 2050, would be a 4, 800-kilometer greenbelt of trees and shrubs(灌木) protecting the area from strong winds and preventing soil erosion. Since the start of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, millions of people have joined in and become a vital part of the plan.

    However, the tree-planters face a host of challenges, with watering the most difficult among them. "When I was young, the level of groundwater was high," said Cao, "But with less rain, the trees are hard to plant and keep alive."

    Planting trees has also become harder for Cao as he ages. However, he doesn't want to leave the forest in the care of his children, and he insists the land belongs to the government. "When I die, I just want to be buried under the trees," Cao said. "Then I will be with them forever."

Family Day 2024

Here are some exciting happenings at Ontario Parks this Family Day Weekend: Family Day—Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

February 19

Join park staff at Sleeping Giant this Family Day to enjoy some outdoor activities including ice skating with neighbor campfire, winter hiking or walking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. The visitor centre will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The park gate will be closed and locked at 4:40 p.m. Don't forget to reserve your vehicle permit in advance!

Family Day—Bronte Creek Provincial Park

February 17

Spend an enjoyable day exploring the park trails, barns (仓棚), and outdoor play equipment. The play barn (for children 10 years and under) will be open from 9100 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visit the children's farm with a variety of animals, search for the park's Gnome Road, or climb to the top of the hill and enjoy the views from the canyon scenic observation deck!

Fire and Stars Hikes—Sibbald Point Provincial Park

February 16&17

Visit Sibbald Point this winter for an evening journey along the Maidenhair Fern Trail, lit only by fire and the stars.

Hike between the hours of 6:30—9:30 p.m. on your own or join in a guided hike led by Discovery staff beginning at 6:30 p.m. This journey takes 1-1.5 hours to complete dependent on your hiking pace.

Staff recommend bringing your own snowshoes, but they are optional depending on amount of snow fall. Be sure to check the Snow Report before you arrive!

Family Fishing Weekend

February 17—19

Do you know Canadians can fish licence-free from February 17 to February 19? What a great time to introduce your family to ice fishing! Find an event near you.

Safety should always be number one. Remember: Ice does not freeze at a uniform thickness. Always dress for the weather and layer up. Make sure you obey the rules and regulations of the body of water you're fishing on too!