MiniMonos Members Changing The World

From the beginning, MiniMonos was designed to have a purpose beyond profit. That purpose is to show unconditional love to children and the planet; to be a place that is fun first while embodying powerful core values; to be a virtual world that both affects and is affected by the physical one.

We'd like to give you an update on how well we're living up to that vision.

By way of context, MiniMonos has just passed 250,000 registered members! This is a huge milestone and we're honored and humbled by the kids who choose to play on our site.

Each of those 250,000 kids has helped change the world. Here's how:

Clean water for kids in India

Every time someone buys a Gold membership or virtual good on MiniMonos, a child in India gets clean water through our partnership with Buy1Give1 and the Bird India charity. Our partnership with renewable power company Meridian Energy also provided a year of clean water for 20 kids! So far MiniMonos kids have helped provide 18,492 days of clean water to children in India.

Adopting Orangutans

We adopted our first orangutan, Monti, to celebrate our first 50 Gold members, and our second, Kesi, when we reached 250. We welcomed Pingky and Neng to the MiniMonos Orangutan Family when we officially launched out of Beta. Our "adoptions" go to support the work of the extraordinary Orangutan Outreach organization.

But that's not all! Two of our extraordinary MiniMonos members, Viper and Calypso were so moved by the plight of the orangutans that they adopted their own orangutans! Last September they adopted Mimi and Momo, seen here. Viper and Calypso have been a part of the MiniMonos community since the beginning, and have shown themselves to be such incredible leaders that they have officially joined the staff!

Contributed to the WWF Tiger Initiative

Just because "MiniMonos" means "Little Monkeys" doesn't mean we only support primates! Another project we got behind was the WWF Tiger Initiative. We partnered with WWF-NZ to sell virtual tiger suits -- and every time a MiniMonos member buys a tiger suit for their online monkey to wear, a donation gets made to the WWF TX2 project to double the wild tiger population by 2022. 

MiniMonos EcoMonkeys completing real-world projects

Of all the ways MiniMonos members have made the world a better place, the MiniMonos EcoMonkey program is probably the one we're most proud of -- because it's driven by the kids themselves, making an extraordinary difference, every day, in their own communities. 

The recently launched MiniMonos EcoMonkey program supports kids to tackle a real-world environmental project and earn virtual rewards on MiniMonos Island. They publish their ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, explain why they chose their eco-project, and describe how they feel when they have completed it.

One determined US player, MiniJghRocks, campaigned to have a paper recycling program implemented at his school. Although his principals agreed, the superintendent reversed the decision, saying that similar programs in near-by schools had failed due to lack of support from the students. As MiniJghRocks explained: “Since it costs money to recycle (at least where I live) they decided it wasn’t worth the extra funds to put in something that wouldn’t be used. It makes sense right? Well, we then decided to start a petition, to prove that kids would actually use the recycling system!” The result was over 500 student signatures.

MiniJghRocks also enlisted the help of his math teacher to calculate that the amount of paper his school throws away, translated to 1,540 trees cut down per year. He wrote: “Next, we presented to our superintendent, showing him the facts, signatures, and a bit of the EcoMonkey Blog. He sat listening for a while, and [when] we finished, he, in response, also signed our petition!”

On successful implementation of the recycling program at his school, MiniJghRocks described it as: “Awesome! It’s soooo awesome. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot and have truly changed the world, even if it’s just a little. I’m very happy. It’s just so cool :D” You can read all about MiniJghRocks' EcoMonkey Project here.

Other MiniMonos players have created eco-projects such as switching to eco-light bulbs, up-cycling old clothes to make toys, planting gardens, making useful items out of recycled materials and cleaning rivers and lakes. In all, 34 kids have completed eco-projects so far!

Our aim with the MiniMonos EcoMonkey program is simple: One million kids taking real-world eco-action as a result of playing on MiniMonos.

We're in awe of the way MiniMonos kids are making the world a better place every day, and we hope you are, too. Thanks for supporting us, and them, on this extraordinary journey!

The Worth of Our Oceans

Our planet owes its beautiful blueness to oceans - 70 percent of the world is covered by sea. At a time when the tragedy of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues its relentless pace, marking World Oceans Day on June 8th provides all of us with the opportunity to reflect upon the worth of our oceans.

Our oceans sustain us in many ways. Oceans are a source of food, livelihood, recreation, health, trade and transportation, and a place of awe-inspiring study. Even more importantly, oceans have their own intrinsic value, and they provide homes to over 80 percent of the world’s life from fish to mammals, a multitude of which we’re yet to discover. Oceans connect us through time – much of human history relates to ocean crossings by daring humans in search of new places. And oceans continue to connect us today, being the source of transporting us and our endless manufactured goods, and are often a cause for multi-nation gatherings to hold highly politicized negotiations over the protection of such marine species such as whales, sea turtles, dolphins, or toothfish.

The machinery of our ocean systems is simply amazing. When 29,000 plastic yellow ducks, red beavers, blue turtles, and green frogs fell from a cargo ship back in 1992, they turned up all over the world, even a decade later. Oceanographers tracking the ducks were able to use this information to better understand currents and to demonstrate how easy it is for anything, pollution and junk included, to float around the world in our ocean systems. Our oceans also impact our climate – oceans play a critical role in storing heat and carbon and the balance is easily tipped by changes in salinity and temperatures.

Unfortunately, we don’t value our oceans as we should. We’ve been using our oceans for pillaging and dumping, as if their vast extent is a bottomless larder and endlessly capable of absorbing whatever we throw at it. It simply isn’t so. The oceans are stretched by our many ceaseless activities, to the point where we have created some rather large problems. A small snapshot of some of the challenges our oceans now face:

• Great Pacific Garbage Patch, aka Pacific Trash Vortex – sadly, there are actually five ocean garbage vortexes, covering 40 percent of our oceans… chilling stuff.
• Oil spills – we have a terrible history of oil spills in our oceans prior to the present day’s Gulf of Mexico spill, the latter spill of such magnitude that it has now surpassed previous spills.
• Pollution from agricultural and factory run-offs – 80 percent of marine pollution is caused by land-based activities, from farming to driving cars.
• Over-fishing – we decimate one fishing ground, just to move to another. Which part of “have we learned a lesson yet” do we not understand still?
• Ocean acidification – acidic oceans caused by a build-up of CO2 from our activities prevents many sea creatures from being able to build their shell or skeletal structures.
• Marine species are reacting faster to climate change than land species -  coral is bleaching, jellyfish are dying, many species are forced to move from their original locations to less favorable ones.

The challenges for our oceans are real and pressing. As individuals, we can do more. The children on MiniMonos have already shown us how important it is to go down to the beach and collect garbage so that it's one less impact on sea birds, sea life, and won't become part of the ocean's trash vortexes. Perhaps this sort of action seems small--but it’s not. For it’s about our mindset, about acknowledging that every thing we do does matter, and that our connection to our oceans is just as real deep in the heart of the city as it is for those living by the sea.

This World Oceans Day, we can recognize the worth of our oceans through our actions. We can start by questioning our consumption habits, reducing our purchases of plastic and other items that will only end up as waste, and aiming to reuse and recycle as much as possible. We can all become more involved – by joining a local group that’s taking action to protect a marine species, joining a regular beach or riverside clean up, helping with waterside revegetation projects, talking to our family and friends about the importance of our oceans, and supporting local restaurants that use sustainable seafood. Most useful of all, we must all keep learning about our oceans—we still know very little. And last but not least, take a moment to reflect on the worth of our oceans, a worth that is unfathomable.

You can find out more about World Oceans Day celebrations at The Ocean Project’s website.

Small wonders

"I know I am not seeing things as they are,
I'm seeing things as I am." ~ Laurel Lee

I was staring out the window of the train today and wondering about life in general, pondering about my penchant for seeing things in an overly-complicated way. In the corner of my eye I espied a screwed-up train ticket on the windowsill. More garbage left strewn without a care, I thought.

The train meandered along through the hills, wending around corners, through tunnels, into stations. I’m not sure what made me look more closely but I did. And what I thought was carelessly tossed garbage turned out to be the most intricate little origami bird fashioned from a train ticket.

Gone in an instant was my indignant, self-righteous irritation at the apparent littering -- replaced by instant wonder at the ingenuity, imagination, and creativity of the human being who took a moment or so to craft this ticket bird. That such a commonplace object could be turned into a small marvel was completely striking.

And I wondered - are we always ready to assume the worst about people’s motives? Are we always geared up to be proven right in our beliefs that people are going to make a mess over creating something incredible? Here I had assumed first that it was mere garbage but on closer inspection, it was a beautiful reminder that we’re just as capable of creative resourcefulness and exquisite creativity. A reminder that it’s this side of our talents that will tie us into a more fulfilling and proactive trajectory to ensure our planet’s well-being.

Small wonders are around us every day, and yet sometimes we’re too busy, too rushed, too self-assured to notice them. Yet, it is precisely when our picture of the world is already set in stone and we don’t want it rippled, that it makes sense to take time out to challenge our notions, to let in the small wonders. And then, to remind ourselves that we too, are a small wonder in all that we are and do.

P.S. That little origami ticket bird now sits on my desk, a reminder to keep things simple, to stop and notice life’s little moments.

Honoring World Heritage: A Source of Cultural and Natural Well Being

Old Town Lunenburg, World Heritage Site

World Heritage Day is celebrated on April 18, 2010. This post is a brief tour of some of the amazing facts about World Heritage, with a few suggestions of ways that you can play a part in helping to protect it.

Currently there are 890 World Heritage Sites located in 148 countries around the world, so it is possible that you know of at least one site, and perhaps you've even visited one. World Heritage Sites are special for a number of reasons. For example, these Sites get selected because they are considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. In addition, they are said to belong to all peoples in the world (the common heritage of humankind), irrespective of the country in which they are found. This collective ownership is an incredible feature of World Heritage, as it recognizes the inter-connectedness of human beings, and supports the reality that wherever we are in the world, there are cross-culturally meaningful places that fulfill our need for spiritual, cultural, and emotional well-being. Moreover, World Heritage Sites are not just designations – they tend to be living, active places for people, animals, and plants, making their preservation crucial to protecting not only the past legacy of our heritage but also to protecting and promoting current cultural practices, and to conserving biodiversity, and animal and plant species.

As with so much of our world, climate change is a pressing threat for at least 830 World Heritage Sites. In 2006, the World Heritage Committee listened to concerns raised by individuals, organizations, and countries about the potential impacts of climate change. The Committee made some decisions to encourage countries to protect World Heritage Sites from the possible effects of climate change. In 2007, a strategy was developed to help countries better focus on this urgent issue and this continues to guide countries in finding ways to mitigate climate change damage to World Heritage Sites. Mountain sites and marine sites are especially in peril, and other sites will be threatened by climate shifts such as increased precipitation and droughts. Just as World Heritage Sites are icons for cultural and natural wealth, they also serve as significant beacons of how much we stand to lose when the effects of changing climate patterns kick in. Moreover, there are World Heritage Sites, such as the Cerrado Protected Areas (Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks) in Brazil, that have served as refuges for species during prior periods of climate fluctuations, and will therefore be vital to sustaining biodiversity in the face of future climate change.

Many World Heritage Sites contain significant biodiversity, including wildlife territory and habitats supporting endangered species, both animal and plant. It is not surprising, therefore, that there has been an ongoing attempt to establish World Heritage Species, in recognition that conservation of species is an important part of safeguarding our world’s heritage. One major thrust has been to focus on the great ape species. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO have joined forces to develop the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP) because “drastic action is needed; [t]ime is not on our side” to ensure the long-term survival of great apes in the wild and to stop the rapid fragmentation of their habitat. Although not focused solely on World Heritage Sites, some of the great apes’ range is within World Heritage Sites, so the initiatives cross over and provide one another with potentially important mutual support.

Given MiniMonos' natural affinity for monkeys, we were curious to know the extent to which World Heritage Sites are important habitats for monkeys and apes, and we discovered many World Heritage Sites are home to many species of monkeys and apes. Here we share just a few to inspire your own research and deeper understanding of the intricate linkages between World Heritage and species survival:

• Thailand – Wat Gai, Ayutthaya - macaques
• Nepal - Swayambhunath Stupa (Monkey Temple) - holy monkeys
• Japan – Nikko - "The Three Wise Monkeys" icon, snow monkeys
• China – Mt Emei - monkeys
• Guatemala – Tikal, Mayan Pyramids - howler monkeys and spider monkeys
• Democratic Republic of the Congo - Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Salonga National Park - bonobos, Salonga monkeys, Tshuapa red colobus, dwarf chimpanzee
• Côte d’Ivoire – Taï National Park - chimpanzees and 11 species of monkeys
• Kenya – Mount Kenya National Park - Sykes' monkey
• Uganda – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park - chimpanzee, black and white colobus, L’Hoest’s monkey
• Borneo (Malaysia) – Kinabalu Park - orangutans, Borneon gibbons, leaf monkeys, slow loris, tarsier
• Vietnam – Halong Bay - monkeys on some of the islands
• Cambodia – Angkor - monkeys
• Brazil – Iguazu National Park, howler monkeys, black capuchin monkeys - there are also many other UNESCO sites in Brazil with monkeys
• Sri Lanka – Sinjaraja Forest - purple faced langur monkey

Our short journey finding monkeys and apes in World Heritage Sites has revealed that some of our interactions with them are not beneficial: Stories of overfed monkeys and overly familiarized monkeys attacking people are sadly too commonplace. When we visit World Heritage Sites, being mindful of the needs of the species found at these sites, as well as taking into account the fragility of many sites by traveling responsibly, are important approaches we can all take to help ensure the long-term sustainability of both World Heritage Sites and their species, as a legacy for current and future generations.

There are a number of activities you can do from home to learn more about World Heritage Sites. These include downloading the 2009-2010 World Heritage Map, to learn where all the sites are; reading more about World Heritage at UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, including information on responsible tourism; and thinking about what World Heritage means for you. You could even research what areas still need World Heritage protection near you, and lobby your local representative to take action. And why not take the opportunity of playing MiniMonos as a way to talk about World Heritage with your children? Ask them if they think any of those wonderful monuments and places on MiniMonos might make a good World Heritage Site! Enjoy your World Heritage - it's special.

Preserving a Precious Resource: Water

March 22 is World Water Day, and this year marks the middle of the United Nations Decade of Water for Life  (2005 – 2015). In honor of this occasion, our family decided to look into how important water is in our lives.

Water covers almost two thirds of our planet. Most water is found in the oceans (97.2%), with 2.1% in frozen ice caps and glaciers. A mere 0.7% of water is in the rivers, lakes and groundwater that we rely on as freshwater and that freshwater is not evenly distributed around the world: Some countries get more than enough water, other countries are parched, suffering from water scarcity and its resulting challenges, and some countries have an abundance of water at one time of the year but suffer from scarcity of water at other times of the year.

Photo courtesy: Pat Hawks

We rely on water for a wide range of human activities. Not only do we drink water but we use it for irrigating our crops, caring for our pets and livestock, transporting our goods, adding to our manufacturing processes, bathing and washing, providing energy and fuel (for example, hydroelectricity dams), fighting fires, beautifying our personal landscapes, and more. Water is a vital resource for human existence and yet, the availability of water and its cleanliness are compromised in many parts of the world.

Freshwater shortages are, unfortunately, commonplace. Drinking water supplies are threatened by increasing populations and many urban centers of the world are struggling to meet the infrastructure needs required to deliver clean water to the population. Drought (exacerbated by the impacts of climate change) is causing many parts of the world to suffer from severe water shortages; many cities are now rationing water supplies (for example, Mexico City had to cut off the water supply to hundreds of thousands of people five times during 2009 because rainfall levels were so low). It is a sobering fact that almost fifty percent of the developing world's population (2.5 billion people) do not have access to improved sanitation facilities; in addition, over 884 million people get their drinking water from unsafe water sources (UNICEF).  Polluted water is a problem in most parts of the world, from rivers filled with the tailings from mining operations to local lakes that have served as a dumping ground for toxic waste from local companies. Pollution of freshwater destroys the wildlife of rivers, lakes and streams, and compromises and threatens the health and spiritual well-being of people.

At home, saving water is, in the first place, a matter of recognizing that water is a precious resource despite it being “on tap”. As a family, we sat down and had a talk about how we save water and what more we can do. We already turn off the tap when we brush our teeth, we fix dripping appliances quickly, we don't use sprinklers or have a water-hungry lawn, and we wash the car using a bucket instead of a running hose. Could we do more? We thought yes, and we’d like to share the possibilities with you:

1. Research more about the water cycle, the uses of water and the importance of water. Understanding the bigger picture is often a great motivator for children. Jen Green’s book Why Should I Save Water? (ISBN 0-7641-3157-5) is great to read with kids ages 3-10, and Trevor Day’s book Water is a fantastic overview of all things water, suitable for kids aged 8 to teens (it’s also great for adults!) (ISBN 978-0-7566-2562-7).
2. Avoid purchasing bottled water. Municipalities have an important role in ensuring the provision of clean, healthy water to all of us as a basic right. We try to remember to take our durable, long-lasting water bottle with us on trips and ask for tap water refills wherever we go. It's always a good excuse for a yarn about local water quality with the residents! (See also Richard Metzger’s great post on The Story of Bottled Water.)
3. Monitor water usage as a family. This is a fun exercise you can do at home, courtesy of Jen Green’s book Why Should I Save Water?.  Create a chart for: Shower/bath; Dishwashing; Washing Clothes; Car Washing; Toilet Flushing; Gardening; Other Water Usage. One bucket is about 3 gallons or 10 liters of water, a shower or hand washing dishes uses about 4 gallons or 15 liters of water, using the dishwasher uses about 8 gallons or 30 liters, a bath uses about 16–26.5 gallons or 60–30 liters and a washing machine uses about 32 gallons or 120 liters. Knowing all this, ask children to record daily water usage by bucket in the home for one week. At the end of the week, tally up the buckets and see what your overall water usage is. Think about how your family can start to reduce this usage through these water saving ideas:

• Wash fuller loads of washing and dishes using energy efficient appliances
• Turn off the tap or faucet when brushing your teeth
• Avoid rinsing or washing dishes under running water
• Water plants only when they need watering; don’t over-water (this is also important for the health of the plants!)
• Wash your car with a bucket and sponge rather than with a hose; wash the car over lawn (the lawn gets watered)
• Limit shower length and use water-saving nozzles, reduce the frequency of baths and have young children share bathwater rather than filling the tub several times
• Consider having a gray water system installed in your home; while it’s a big investment, it has many water-saving benefits
• Fix leaking faucets and pipes quickly
• Pour cooled down vegetable cooking water on your plants; it's full of nutrients
• Ask your children to come up with their own suggestions.

MiniMonos is helping to ensure that clean, healthy water reaches those who most need it. Through its membership of Buy1Give1, MiniMonos provides clean drinking water to children in India through Bird India. But it doesn’t stop there: MiniMonos helps you and your child contribute a week’s worth of clean drinking water for a child in India through the purchase of every six month Top Banana Gold membership too! It is a terrific way to be involved directly in making a difference. And finally, let us know about your water-saving efforts; we're keen to learn about what you're doing to reduce the buckets of water your household uses!

MiniMonos Meatless Meal: Cheater's fajitas

Yes, I cheated with the MiniMonos Meatless Meal this week.  I didn't cook this lovely looking dinner.

Last night instead of our usual vegetarian low carbon-impact Thursday meal, we were invited out to a restaurant for a friend's birthday.  So instead of constructing dinner at our family table, we built fajitas with our friends instead. Our poor friends had to put up with me taking way too many pictures of their rapidly cooling meals, while I apologised and my husband gave them a long-suffering-she-does-this-every-Thursday eye-roll. 

I begged the restaurant to share their recipe but they weren't wrapped with that idea, so here is the closest vegetarian fajita recipe I could find to share with you, from Heatherreneehopkins at Group Recipes

Tortillas

For the Fajita Mix:
bell peppers
onions
tofu (optional)
olive oil
hot sauce
lemon juice
cayenne pepper (optional)

Optional Extra Toppings:
Shredded Cheese
Cilantro
Chopped Green Onions
Tomatoes
Salsa
Avocado

In a wok (or some other pan if you don’t have a wok) grill some sliced bell peppers (either ones you slice yourself, or you can buy a bag of sliced bell peppers in the frozen section at the store) and chopped onions, (Optional: tofu cut into small squares or meat, if you want to). Grill in some olive oil (Pam has a new olive oil spray that’s cool) and a dash of hot sauce like cholula or tapatio.
After it is grilled, toss on a dash of lemon juice and some cayenne pepper if you want it a bit spicier.
place mixture in a tortilla.
Top with whatever you want....I like shredded cheese, cilantro, green onions, and chopped tomatoes or salsa and bits of avocado or guacamole, and pour your favorite hot sauce (my fave is cholula) on top.
Wrap the tortilla and enjoy.....and you WILL enjoy it because it’s YUMMY
(For a simple guacamole, mash ripe avocados with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salsa, and a dash of hot sauce)

The verdict

Quite frankly, if you're enjoying good food with great people you can't go wrong. Fajitas are a great meal to share and we all really enjoyed them.  I hope this recipe is as good as the ones we had -- if you make them before I do, let me know!

 

MiniMonos Meatless Meal: Build-your-own pasta dish

This week our son is staying with his Grandmother.  Husband and I are really enjoying our week as a couple, but can’t help our frequent missing-our-boy pangs.  So tonight for our MiniMonos Meatless Meal, which we’ve adopted every Thursday to reduce our household carbon footprint, I’m going to cook us a big comfort pasta.  I want to make it fresh and healthy with herbs and stacks of greens (no child to fussily pick them out) but warm it up with roasted bell pepper, parmesan and toasted pine-nuts.  As per our Thursday night tradition, even though it’s just the two of us, the plan is to assemble our meatless meal at the table.

The building materials:
Pasta - I used spaghetti
2 tsp olive oil

1 clove fresh garlic
½ cup fresh mixed herbs - I used italian parsley, thyme, basil and a touch of mint
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

1 red bell pepper
2 zucchini
1 bunch of spinach
1 avocado
¼ cup chopped scallions
¼ cup pine-nuts
Shaved parmesan to sprinkle on top

The construction:

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Drain and swirl with 2 tsp olive oil to keep the strands separated. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the following:

    •    De-seed the bell pepper, cut into flat slices, coat with a little olive oil and grill in the oven
    •    Rinse herbs and put into a food processor with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper
    •    Brown the pine-nuts gently in a fry pan
    •    Stir-fry the zucchini
    •    Steam spinach until wilted
    •    Cut avocado into ½ inch chunks   

The verdict:

We folded. With our son absent, we took liberties with our normal Thursday tradition. Instead of taking time to create construction masterpieces at the table, I threw both our meals together quickly at the bench. We didn't discuss the best or most fun assembly process or compare meals to decide which one to photograph. And we slobbed it, eating them on our laps watching TV. Naughty. Bliss.

Despite the fact that halfway during the meal I realised that I had completely forgotten the avocado, the pasta was good.  I have in the past often made this dish with smoked chicken, but we agreed that it tastes fresher without the meat.

Next week we're back to best behaviour at the table -- do you have any ideas of a MiniMonos Meatless Meal I can cook? I'd love to try it out!

MiniMonos Monthly Mission for January

Each month at MiniMonos we'll be creating a mission to acheive a monthly sign-up goal and help a child somewhere in the world.  Our aim is to assist a child who ordinarily would find it really difficult to help the planet, or his or her family, or to learn at school.

This month, if, together, we get 300 new people signing up to MiniMonos and creating a monkey avatar, a child in India will receive an education program for several months about planting trees and global warming. 

This amazing program is made available through our worthy cause partner, Buy1Give1 and Bird India, whose aim is to plant 1 billion trees in India over the next 10 years.  Bird India also run initiatives to help feed, clothe and provide clean drinking water for disadvantaged Indian school children.  We love what these guys do -- it's completely aligned with our values of making the world a better place for, and with our kids.

If you haven't already done so, here's how to sign up to MiniMonos - It's fast to do, and free:

1. Go to the MiniMonos home page here

2. Click on  the Create a Monkey tab

3. Have fun creating your monkey avatar!

You're now ready to explore and play on MiniMonos Island and help good, green kids to look after our earth.

Vote MiniMonos for Best Virtual World for Kids!

Christy Matte from About.com: Family Computing is a kids' virtual worlds guru -- she's calling for nominations for the Best Virtual World for Kids which takes kids' online safety seriously, has appropriate content, is open to everyone and preferably has no ads.

If you think MiniMonos fits (we totally do -- MiniMonos is safe, fully moderated, promotes green values, we don't like ads to kids AND we're big on monkey-fun!) then we'd really appreciate you clicking here and taking a quick minute to vote.

Thanks and Best Bananas!

 

Show your Copenhagen vote -- and know you're not alone

Our buddy Justin Baird from Google Australia, who trained with us at The Climate Project Asia Pacific Summit, is clearly a little bit clever... he's made this awesome online platform to show world leaders the extent of global support for climate change action. Show your support and see just how many millions of us there are!

Please also feel free to embed this on your own website -- and spread the word.