• Emyr

Emyr

Wordsmith and train master

It is a food chain thing

Our youngest Junior Ambassador, Emyr, is very proud to be the originator of the name Funbook. It happened when the grownups at MAINTENANT were having an online conference call, and were brainstorming for a good name for the new books. Emyr, whose mum was on the call, overheard the conversation and chipped in. He exclaimed, “Funbooks!” and the rest, as they say, is history.

Two unrelated things that has to be said when talking about Emyr is that he loves the color orange, and that he is an expert on all things train-related. “I love trains,” says Emyr emphatically. “My favorite DIVERSITY DECK® card game is the Magnetosphere, because it has a picture of a train I like: The Maglev train. It is one of the fastest monorails. There’s also another type that flies. You know when you put two trains together and it pushes away? The Maglev does the same, it has magnets on the bottom, then it pushes up and that is how it flies. The third type is the bullet train.” This very passionate train-driver-to-be knows all about the different types of high-speed trains, and he is no stranger to riding them. He would probably be able to recite the exact train route all the way to his grandma’s house in his sleep.

Sustainable Cities

Another important task Emyr has carried out for the DIVERSITY DECK® Biosphere Funbook is designing a maze based on the new trade routes in the Arctic Sea. The new trade routes have appeared in the wake of the melting ice, opening up for big ships to navigate the waters. Readers trying to find their way out of the maze will find a different polar bear at the dead ends of each route.

Emyr also likes science and technology, and he knows just how he would keep our cities sustainable. “Trains should be electric. Diesel is not good for the atmosphere,” he says. But his ideas do not stop there, he knows how important trees are for clean air. “New York City has a big, big park in the middle. If it didn’t have that park, the whole city would be smoggy.” But trees could come in handy for other things as well. “Apple trees are good, because if someone’s hungry, they can just get an apple off the tree. But they have to clean it first.”

For electricity, Emyr has it all figured out. “Solar panels make electricity from sunlight,” he says. He also knows how to dispose of rubbish in a way that helps the planet. “Recycling bins are important. If we put all the rubbish in the normal bins, they would then go to the landfill - that’s a really big hole, much bigger than a house - then they put all the plastic in there and cover it. The worms in the soil are good, but they can’t eat the plastic, so it is bad for the animals.”

Humans and animals exist in symbiosis

Emyr also knows that a lot of the plastic ends up in our oceans. “The fish eat it,” Emyr explains. “It is also bad for us, the fish might have eaten the plastic, then we will eat it and then we will eat the plastic. It is a food chain thing.”

Any city worth its name knows how to take care of its inhabitants. “Cycling and playing is good for being healthy,” says Emyr, who, leaving no stone unturned, also touches upon public transport, a subject which, as mentioned, is close to Emyr’s heart. “The future is electric,” he says convincingly.

Reality hits

Emyr’s interest in the environment was sparked one day by a sight he will never forget. “The story started in Shoreham Woods,” says Emyr. “I was walking on the pathway with my mum and daddy, and I saw a bottle in a tree. The lid was off and it was stuck to a branch. I thought, ‘Oh no, there’s a bottle in the tree, what can we do?’”. Emyr was not very happy at all, as it was his first realisation that plastic was really bad for the environment. He took the bottle and lid and recycled it. “I was five,” Emyr recalls. “I was really upset.”

There was no going back for Emyr who is now an Eco Warrior in the Eco Club at his primary school. When he is not in school, Emyr likes to watch science experiments on YouTube, as well as riding his bike and playing in the garden. He also confesses he loves playing Nintendo. He has recently started to learn how to play the keyboard, and he is a true talent: Without skipping a beat, he improvises on the spot, both lyrics and music to his own tribute to the Transport for Wales. The classes have clearly paid off. The color of the keyboard? Orange, of course.

Emyr’s favourites

Favourite sphere “Not the shape, but the sphere. Magnetosphere, because I like technology. I know how to use a laptop.”
Favourite card game “The Magnetosphere card game, because it has a picture of the Maglev train. I have told you about the three different Maglev trains. Can you remember what they were?”
Favourite animal “The tiger, because it’s orange. I also like lizards and chameleons.”
Favourite hobbies “Riding my bike and playing in the garden”
Favourite school subject “Science.”

Goal 1 - No Poverty Goal 2 - Zero Hunger Goal 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Goal 4 - Quality Education Goal 5 - Gender Equality Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation Goal 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth Goal 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Goal 10 - Reduced Inequalities Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production Goal 13 - Climate Action Goal 14 - Life Below Water Goal 15 - Life on Land Goal 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Goal 17 - Partnerships

Tags: Emyr, Junior Ambassador

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