The New 7 Wonders of Nature - The next step!

 

On July 7, 2007, or 07.07.07, more than 100 million votes from around the world were counted and the New 7 Wonders of the World were announced during a huge celebration in Lisbon, Portugal that was the world's biggest event of 2007! More than 6,000 schools and even more individual kids from countries everywhere participated in the campaign, which was the world's first-ever election.

At the end of the announcement, the man who started the New 7Wonders Foundation and this campaign, Bernard Weber, launched the next campaign. One of the most important goals with these campaigns is to keep people from different countries talking and interacting with each other. This time, the New7Wonders campaign is choosing the New7Wonders of Nature. These Wonders know no borders, like those that we humans often draw in our heads. So everyone—every single person—can and should participate.

Why now the natural world?

We all appreciate the beauty of nature in our everyday life, whether it is the sun shining on your face and the birds singing as you walk to school, maybe the snow crunching under your boots or skis on a cold winter day, or swimming in the ocean waves. If we live in a part of the world that has strong seasons, we know to look for signs of change every few months, such as green buds and leaves in spring, or things turning brown in autumn. Some of us live by the water, so we know how the rhythm of the tides influences the local environment. But what do we really know about the amazing natural world around us?

The New7Wonders of Nature campaign encourages people of all ages, from kids to their grandparents, to look around the natural world with new eyes. If you live in a dry part of the world, you will be interested in how water, from thundering waterfalls to bays and salty reefs, plays an important part in the lives of many people. For people who live far from mountains, the beautiful peaks, deep canyons, high lakes and rock formations of the world's highest areas are fascinating. For islanders, vast deserts and moon-like landscapes with their beautiful colors seem so strange as to be from another world—even though sometimes huge lakes are hiding below their surfaces!

Preserve the gift of nature

The New7Wonders of Nature's motto is: "If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it!" That means that people can talk a lot about saving our planet, about helping endangered species of animals and plants, or about not using too much water so that it does not run out. But do they really care? Bernard Weber thinks that, if people find out more about the most beautiful and precious places on our planet, they will more likely act to preserve the gift of nature because of the risk of loosing something that has grown on them as something very special and precious. We may not think twice about stepping on a little patch of grass on our street right now, but when we have seen pictures of lush rainforests and dry deserts, that little bit of grass might be a bit more precious to us.

How can you and your friends get involved?

Of course, just like in the campaign to elect the New 7 Wonders of the World, children and young people all over the world are involved. YOU, who are going to inherit our planet, YOU are one of the most important groups in this campaign. YOU can do several things to help this campaign reach as many people as possible:

• See what natural places have been nominated. You'll be amazed, as we were, at the incredible places in our world! If a beautiful place is missing, nominate it!

• Vote for your favorite 7 nominees so that they make it into the first shortlist of 77.

• Spread the word! Send an email with the website to your friends, other classes and family!

 

Tell your science or geography teacher, or head of school, that you want to include New7Wonders in your schoolwork or create a theme day at your school. You can choose a project topic from the suggested ones online. You and your classmates can send us things that you create, and we will put them on the site to inspire other students!
Download this page as a PDF (Acrobat) file.

Send us your ideas or thoughts via email to kids@n7w.com, we look forward to hearing from you!