The Adventures of Scout by The3engineers

A few weeks ago I wrote about the book Saving Planet Earthly by our friends at ClimateScience.  Saving Planet Earthly introduced the important topic of climate change to children.  It explained what climate change is, what causes it, and how we can minimize its effects.  

Like ClimateScience, the3engineers is another nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate children about environmental issues and to encourage them to make small changes that will add up to make a huge difference.  The3engineers have written a series of audiobooks called The Adventures of Scout, the first three of which... Plastic On Our Beaches,  The Bees Are Missing, and Endangered Animals... are currently available on their website.   Keep reading to learn more about the3engineers, their mission, and how they came up with the idea for Scout!

The3engineers: Inspiring Our Next Generation to Look After the Natural World! (Guest Post by The3enginners)

What do you get when you have a planet addicted to plastic, mix in rising sea levels, and a pinch of deforestation? A pretty big problem. But add in 3 engineers who want to make a change and the outcome isn’t a spaceship, or a time machine, but rather a project to engage children around the globe to help protect our natural world.

That’s the mission of the3engineers (Nick Parker, Matt Baron, and Jon Lakin) who back in 2018 realized they had a collective passion for sustainability when working together as engineers. Using their combined skills, they set out in their own way to better the planet, by starting a side project with the aim to spread awareness and to take action towards improving the environment.

So at the start, all we knew was that we wanted to do something different and to inspire people to play their small part. Collectively we can bring about change. We wanted to use our systems engineering tools and knowledge to map out a project based on our talents. So with our shared passions being the environment, health and wellbeing, and technology, we decided to embark on the most obvious project choice, to write a set of fun rhyming children’s books……. with absolutely no previous experience whatsoever!  -Matt Baron

We did what engineers do best and researched extensively, spending months in bookshops doing data and rhyming pattern analysis to help form the structure for the books. Through our market research, we soon recognized there were gaps, with very few books out there that really promoted taking action, to make a positive contribution to the environment, or even instill good values for children to follow.

From this spawned the idea for Scout who loves nothing more than to figure things out as the main character in our book series.  -Nick Parker

Scout, a small child with a passion for sustainability and the environment, is the lead protagonist in a series of fun rhyming stories (The Adventures of Scout) which the3engineers have created, designed, and written to inspire parents and children to take positive action away from the books. From simply picking up litter to planting seeds, to feeding bees or upcycling household waste, Scout leads readers through practical actions that can help them make a positive impact on the environment.

The seagull was sorry and felt very ashamed.

“The waste comes from town,” he later explained.

So, Scout sat on a rock, and collected her thoughts,

then concocted a plan using things she had brought.

“I’ve got it! I’ll ask my new friends to help me clean up,

and cover that pipe to cheer everyone up.

Then, I’ll tell people in town to STOP DROPPING LITTER,

Which gets to the sea through these pipes from the river.”

-from the audiobook Plastic On Our Beaches by the3engineers

Furthermore, inspired by their company endorsed STEM days in schools, the3engineers team have volunteer teachers working on the project helping to create free school lesson plans and fun activity sheets that can be used in conjunction with their books and audiobooks. 

We want teachers and schools around the globe to use our free material and spread Scout’s message to help better the planet.  -Jon Lakin

We went into a school just before the first lockdown to give a presentation to children about sustainability and had several more booked in around the Bristol area.  The following school visits we had planned were canceled which is a massive shame. The visit was extremely fulfilling and we will certainly be picking up on this aspect of encouraging children to embrace sustainability when circumstances permit. In the meantime, we are working with the British Council in France and have a series of Zoom calls set up with schools across the channel, to help with teaching students about the environment, sharing our story, whilst they learn English at the same time.  -Nick Parker

With a professional illustrator now on board and their new website launched, the production of Scout’s first interactive sustainability mission is in full swing. The team is also forming partnerships with organizations/charities to help promote sustainable products, and have recently partnered with Helping Hand Environmental, the world’s largest manufacturer of sustainable litter pickers; helping make joining Scout’s team even more accessible.

The3engineers are based in Bristol, England and regularly visit classrooms in their area to talk about environmental issues and how children can make a difference.  For classrooms outside of the Bristol area... including classrooms in other countries... they can visit virtually through Skype or Zoom.  If you are interested in scheduling a visit with the3engineers, send them an email at contact@the3engineers.com.

Did you enjoy this blog post by Nick from the3engineers? If so, check out these other blog posts about the environment and climate:

• Book + Craft: One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul
• Books: Saving Planet Earthly by ClimateScience
• Book: Planet Power! Explore the World's Renewable Energy
• Book: We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
• Book + Free Printable: Watch Over Our Water by Lisa Bullard