Welcome to the Earth Hour global community!

Every person, big or small, can make a difference.  Like in the late, great, Whitney Houston’s song “The Greatest Love of All”, we at Earth Hour believe that the children are our future.

Five-year-old Panagiotis from Athens is a shining example of this. He is our youngest ever I Will If You Will participant, and he plans on giving up chocolate (and he really really loves chocolate) if 50 people green their balconies. We think he is definitely IWIYW hero material!

Balcony ‘gardens’ not only beautify urban cities, but also help absorb CO2. And if you have the space, try growing your own little sustainable garden!

Panagiotis is just one of the kids involved who really want to save the planet. In 2012, Sheryl (a seven year old from Singapore) was an Earth Hour superstar! She showed the world how much she cared for the environment by promising to spread the word about Earth Hour to 1,000 children in her school, if she got 100 people to switch off their lights for one hour.

It is not just individual children who are taking part in the Earth Hour action, schools are stepping up with eco-education, equipping the next generation with the knowledge they need to protect the environments and lead more sustainable lifestyles.

The students at the Green School in Bali, Indonesia are taking environmental action into their own hands with I Will If You Will challenges, aiming of keeping their island home clean, green and beautiful.

In order to preserve forests, the Grade 8 class will go paperless for the rest of the school year if 1000 people accept their challenge and plant a tree each. While the Grade 7 class is combining raising awareness on waste management issues with a message on healthy living, and are planning on organizing a Green School community beach clean up if 1000 people promise to give up fast food for a month.

WWF Australia has an annual Earth Hour Education Award for schools that involve their students in creative projects or activities which tackle environmental issues. Gordonvale State School, Queensland, took home last year’s prize for their sustainable veggie garden which is cared for by students.

Popular animated TV character Pocoyo (together with his friends) is also teaching children about their responsibilities to the environment through his fun Earth Hour recycling game and activity book. In addition, Pocoyo has promised plant 50,000 trees if 100,000 kids played the game! Check out Pocoyo’s game at our Fun Stuff page.

We are so proud of our young friends that have taken on Earth Hour challenges and we hope they inspire you do your bit for the planet. Accept the challenge of Panagiotis and the Green School at our YouTube channel or create your very own IWIYW.

Be the change you want to see in the world. It’s never too early to start!