12 Apr

Environmental Awareness App for Kids

Posted April 12, 2013 by Dee P. in Product Recommendations. Tagged: App Store, apps for kids, clown fish, dugong, ecosystem, environment, environmental awareness, Environmentalism, environmentally friendly, Fish, game apps, games for kids, lessons, Marine biology, marine life, Philippines, sea life, sea turtles, teaching, Whale shark, World Wide Fund for Nature. 3 Comments

I recently learned about an environmentally friendly app just for kids, EnviroPop. The cute characters are based on real life sea animals, some of which are in danger of becoming extinct. You can use this app on your iPhone or iPad as a great tool to teach kids about protecting the environment and our sea life. The game is not difficult and is loaded with information, making it great for any age.

EnviroPop: An App That Saves Marine Animals (GUEST POST)

Humans always like fascinating things that are unreachable to them. This might be one of the reasons why when a certain facility or region offers theme parks and recreational activities with sea animals (like diving), people are up for the idea. As much as possible, we want to see the natural wonders that are existing here on Earth, while they are still existing.

Some of the sea creatures that are still enchanting human beings are whale sharks. There are regions in some countries which possess a good breeding facility for whale sharks. Their unique pattern and spots often leave humans reeling from their beauty. Whale sharks, despite their sturdy weight and ship-like sizes, don’t pose any threats to human beings. Actually, it’s the other way around. Humans are the ones imposing danger on whale sharks.

Whale sharks are considered vulnerable to extinction now. People, greedy for money, target whale sharks because their meat, oil, and fins hold a high demand on international trade. When they have to capture whale sharks, they resort to harpoon fishing and commercial fishing in areas where planktons are abundant. Whale sharks feed on planktons and this makes them easier to catch. Also, when people are commercial fishing, some of the boats and fishing equipment that they use unexpectedly collide with whale sharks which leave them injured.

Shark finning and overfishing aren’t the only reasons why whale sharks have become susceptible to extinction. Man’s volatile misdeeds such as dynamite and cyanide fishing result to habitat degradation which greatly affects whale sharks’ feeding and breeding habits. A blooming ecosystem is important for whale sharks to live. When one role player in that ecosystem goes down, the rest of the cycle is affected.

Aside from whale shark tourism, there are other easy ways that orgs can collect money to fund different environmental programs for endangered sea animals. World Wide Fund for Nature collaborated with app development company AppLabs Digital Studios Inc. (ADSI) to create an app that will aid the slumping marine biodiversity in the Philippines.

EnviroPop app is the result of WWF-Philippines and ADSI’s good-natured partnership to save sea animals that are vulnerable to extinction. Each download of the environmental app will benefit the marine conservation program of WWF-Philippines. At only $0.99 to download, players will be treated to a fun puzzle game packed with boatloads of information about the environment.

Featured on EnviroPop is this article’s main subject, Bobby the whale shark, along with other underwater friends such as Pattie the green sea turtle, Clara the clown fish, Doogie the dugong, and more! Players will get to know the roles of these featured marine species in the ecosystem on the app’s Enviropedia feature. The game is easy as players will only need to tap at least three marine hazards and swipe them off the screen in one minute. Players can get the highest score possible and share it on Facebook.

EnviroPop app is both entertaining and philanthropic. Start participating in this goodwill by downloading EnviroPop on the App Store now and be the change!