How many times have you vowed to get your kids involved in a cause, to teach them to give back, to be good citizens of the planet and appreciate all that they have?

Roots & Shoots can help.

This international service organization founded by famed chimpanzee researcher and United Nations peace ambassador Jane Goodall is all about facilitating kid activism.

“They can do something that empowers them to make the world a better place,” said Ellen Stone, who leads the club for members age 7-18 based at Sunflower Creative Arts in Boca Raton. “Their world is global.”

It can be difficult to find meaningful ways for kids to contribute to the community. Many established organizations don’t have the space, the resources  or the time to let children “help” – and some are prohibited by liability issues. At Roots & Shoots, the kids can follow their interests and see how their work makes a difference.

The Roots & Shoots Sunflower chapter meets once a month to make plans and do art and nature activities. One Saturday morning a month, the kids and teens work in the Pearl City Community Garden. They have already harvested a load of greens, which they delivered to Boca Helping Hands to feed those in need. They have rows of robust tomatoes soon to ripen on the vine. Broccoli has sprouted.

Under the eye and instruction of master gardener Betsy Pickup, a retired Saint Andrew’s environmental science teacher, the kids and teens have cleared plots of ground, planted seeds and built owl houses.

Roots & Shoots members have also helped a local church set up beds to house homeless families. And they are helping students at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School create a nature preserve.

Last fall, they marched to the ocean in Delray Beach in honor of the UN’s International Day of Peace.

Earlier this month, Roots & Shoots members visited the primate research facility at Lion Country Safari, where they made toys for the chimps. Stone said that was an important field trip to connect them to Goodall’s work. The famous scientist has visited the facility near West Palm Beach, where the chimps’ behavior, interaction and personalities are studied.

Goodall started Roots & Shoots in Africa in 1991 and it has since spread around the world. Stone started the Sunflower group about three years ago, after Goodall gave a speech at Florida Atlantic University. It is funded with a grant from the Marie Graber Martens Fund of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

The two Roots & Shoots groups – Re-cycos for kids 10-18 and Shooting Stars for kids 7-9 – meet once a month in Sunflower’s space, located at the rear of the Unitarian Universalist Church on St. Andrews Boulevard. Registration is free and there is plenty of room for new members.

Besides the Sunflower chapter, these Boca schools also have Roots & Shoots clubs for students: West Boca Raton High School, Claremont Montessori Center, Pine Crest and Sunrise Park Elementary.

TO LEARN MORE

• Visit Roots & Shoots online.
• Register and get the schedule at Sunflower Creative Arts.
• Read about Roots & Shoots’ peace march in Delray Beach.

Kids from the Boca Raton chapter of Roots & Shoots, a worldwide organization of young activists, marked  international Peace Day with a gathering and parade across the Intracoastal Waterway.

The kids made peace posters, clay peace signs, decorated bandannas and made their own instruments alongside a lively junk band at Veteran’s Park in Delray Beach on Sunday afternoon.

A local Raging Grannies group sang for an end to war.

Then the kids – from babies in strollers to teenagers and their parents – paraded across the Intracoastal carrying “Sunny,” a giant peace dove puppet, chanting, “Peace for all! Peace for all!”

The event helps kick off a new year for Roots & Shoots, started internationally by the noted chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall, to get kids involved in local activism.

Susan Caruso, director of Sunflower Creative Arts, brought the program to Boca to give kids an opportunity to do hands-on projects with tangible results.

“I wanted kids to be able to have an impact on their community”, she said. Kids are very concerned about homelessness, the environment and other issues.

Last year, Roots & Shoots planted a community garden in Pearl City. The harvest was given to Boca Helping Hands, which helps feed those in need. The kids will plant it again this year, as well as work with the primate center at Lion Country Safari and help FamilyPromise,  which serves homeless families in south Palm Beach County.

Register your kid for Roots & Shoots (two age groups: 6-9 and 10-18 – it’s free) or learn about Sunflower’s other programs at the organization’s website. See more photos on its Facebook page.

If you see a giant puppet flying over the Intracoastal Waterway bridge in Delray Beach on Sunday evening, that’s a Boca kids group marking international Peace Day.

The local chapter of Roots & Shoots will be joining children around the world in marking the United Nations International Day of Peace.

You can join them at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, at Veteran’s Park, on the Intracoastal at Atlantic Avenue, for music and crafts. At 5 p.m., kids and adults will parade over the bridge, flying a giant peace dove puppet.

Roots & Shoots is a global kids activist group founded by Jane Goodall, the famous chimpanzee researcher, to get kids involved in community projects. The local chapter was formed by the nonprofit Sunflower Creative Arts, supported by a grant from the Marie Graber Martens Fund of the Community
Foundation of Palm Beach & Martin Counties.

Last year, Roots & Shoots members planted a community garden and helped out with the animals at Tri-County Humane Society.

The program has two age groups – 9 and younger (Shooting Stars), meets the first Wednesday of the month; and 10-18 (Re-Cycos) meets first Fridays in Sunflower’s space at the back of the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2601 Saint Andrews Blvd.

Sunflower also offers a host of drama programs for children and adults, as well as a parents co-op alternative to preschool. Call 561-482-3412 for more information.