Hey Green Junkie,

Sometimes the biggest impact we can have is by teaching children the importance of taking care of the planet in small and simple ways. Ingraining these habits into the next generation will go a long way in combating climate change.

That’s why I brought on Tulani Thomas to talk about the children’s book she authored and how it is helping kids understand the importance of green living.

In this episode I will touch on the following:

Tulani’s journey from law school to sustainability
The story behind her children’s book
Why it’s important to teach our children about sustainability
Tips to be more green from Tulani’s book

If you love this podcast be sure to leave a review and share a screenshot of this episode to your IG stories. Tag @thisisstephaniemoram so I can shout you out and publicly say thanks.

Thanks for listening and being here.

Your green bestie,
Xoxo Stephanie

Hang With Tulani
Tu Tu Green World Website
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Resources
Tu Tu Goes Green Book https://tutusgreenworld.com/collections/all

Previous Episodes Mentioned
#41. Slow and Easy Living With Emily Padan
#40. Teaching Kids How to Adopt a Green Lifestyle With Kayla Powell
#57. The Powerful Impact of Reducing With Anhely Millan
#61. The 80/20 Rule with Amity Hook-Sopko

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Wanna go the extra green mile? Binge (and download) my complimentary audio series to reduce your waste and learn how to consume less in just five days!

Produced by: Alecia Harris
Music By: Liz Fohle

LISTEN BELOW

TRANSCRIPT FOR EPISODE 64

Stephanie Moram 0:08
Hi Green Junkie It's Stephanie Moram and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Tulani Thomas the creator of the children's book series TuTu goes green. She's a Duke University, law school and business school alumni, former corporate attorney and ballerina that created TuTus Green World because of the difficulty in finding certain books for her children's library. She wanted to find books with diverse characters and books that reinforced the principles that she held in high regard at home. She was motivated to start a children's book series, an online green resource to assist other parents with teaching their little ones green habits as well. The next book in the series is set to be released in 2022. You can head over to my Instagram and TikTok app @thisisstephaniemoram to follow along on my green journey. If you want to reduce waste and learn to consume less and just buy less you can binge my complimentary audio series, the links are all in the description. And don't forget to subscribe to the Green Junkie podcast on whatever platform you get your podcasts. That way you'll never miss another green living episode. Tulani, thank you for being here today.

Tulani Thomas 1:24
Thanks for having me.

Stephanie Moram 1:26
You're very, very welcome. Seems like we've been following each other on social media for a long time. And we've been trying to connect to record this podcast episode. So I'm super grateful that we were able to make this happen. Absolutely thing here. So when I introduced you, we talked, I mentioned that you were an attorney. So how did you go from being an attorney to a green advocate?

Tulani Thomas 1:53
Well, um, I have to say, I probably have been a green advocate since I was 10. I mean, back then they didn't have that word green, it was more like healthy health, nut, that kind of thing. So I think all my life, I've been a green advocate, I was raised in a home where we heard we held certain certain ethos is in high regard, right? So we were very respectful of Mother Nature, were respectful of what we ingested, were respectful of of our environment, more so inside the home, but as I you know, became an adult, I'm practicing laws, very much not a sustainable type of industry. You start to have those things come back to you, in your childhood once you start your own family. So I had my son, and then I had my daughter. And that was really when I kind of took the plunge. And I decided to start writing a children's book, and much to what you mentioned in my intro, I saw we're you know, those those those principles that I was going to raise my children within a time that I was already raising my son with, I just didn't see reflected in the children's books. And I said, why not? Why not try? Why not do one Why not write one? Myself. And once I started that process, I just decided, you know, I was fortunate to do it full time, I stopped practicing law. I was a full time caregiver. And I guess a full time author. And I, I say author, but I was also really championing championing living green, right, teaching that to our children. So showing my you know, showing other mothers showing other teachers showing other caregivers that listen, these green habits can start right now with our kids by just incorporating it into their daily routine. So that's how I got stuff. I went from law to green mom or green advocate.

Stephanie Moram 4:05
Right, I often feel like and I hear this from a lot of parents, like this is what was true for me as well is that the shift really started like I was in to green living before I had kids, but not to the point that I am now. I'm like really dark green now or I was very, like lime green before. And I feel like that shift happens once we have kids because now we're not just, you know, taking care of ourselves. We're taking care of like little people, you know what I mean? Like little humans, that we're shaping and we're trying to, you know, make sure they're not exposed to certain, you know, maybe toxic chemicals and we want to educate them on recycling and composting and all these things. And I feel like, right, and I feel like this shift and I've heard it from so many specifically moms more so that the shift really happens like I have kids and it's not just about me anymore. Yeah, right.

Tulani Thomas 4:58
Absolutely. That I I completely agree with that. Like them and they watch every move. It's so they have these questions, and they're they're copying everything we do. So it's like almost putting a mirror up to yourself. And you're like, Okay, what do I want to show them?

Stephanie Moram 5:17
Exactly. And so you, you wrote this children's book, right? Because you wanted to get the message out you wanted to share with children and parents, like how people can live more green. So what were the main talking points in your book? Like, what messages Did you absolutely want to come through in your book?

Tulani Thomas 5:36
I mean, I definitely don't feel like I recreated the wheel. I definitely started with the baseline, the three R's. It's something that and keep in mind, this book was written about 10 years ago. Back then, I mean, green and sustainability, I don't even know if it was really being talked about as much, definitely not as much as today. So I didn't recreate the wheel, I just made it a lot more digestible, I thought, for children, and also for caregivers, because that's who children are looking to be taught, right. So my book really breaks down the three R's and how these how the three R's are recycled. I mean, we recycle use we do is and how they can be incorporated in daily lives of children very easily. And I'm talking about brushing your teeth, taking out the trash. When you're at school, recycling your notebooks, just very practical, tangible ways that children can incorporate green living every day.

Stephanie Moram 6:46
And was this book did you create also, so that schools could have access to this book, let's say in their libraries at school, so other children could bring this book home and read it and, you know, maybe even expose their parents to green living that maybe their parents aren't even right into it? Right?

Tulani Thomas 7:06
That's exactly right. I found that when I was doing when I was visiting the schools when I was visiting libraries, when I was visiting different mommy groups that would have me different nonprofit organizations, even corporations, like BP was one a major supporter, if you can believe it, of my book, early on, I found that many parents would share with me how their children were almost becoming green advocates in their home, telling their parents turn off the water, you know, to to says turn the water off when we brush our teeth. And they themselves didn't realize how how small habits make such great impacts. And honestly, that's, I mean, that's like one of the best things, you know, I was I was receiving it was just so validating, and rewarding. And I saw where, you know, this, this, this crisis that we're in, it absolutely can be changed and turned around one child at a time, one person at a time. And instead of looking at it as this great, great, great big problem, which can be overwhelming, just looking at our small acts, the small, small things that we can do that, that do cumulative, cumulatively make a great impact.

Stephanie Moram 8:28
Yeah, man, it's, you know, when my son even comes home, sometimes he'll be like, Hey, we did this at school with green living. And, you know, I told the class that we already do this at home, or, we already do this, or I explained to them that this is what we do at home to be more green. So it's fun when you have like, a parent that's already green. So it's like they've passed it down to their kids, but then there are some families and that just, it's not on their radar to live green be more sustainable. So it's, it's nice to see like kids going home, you know, saying to their parents, like, Hey, did you know you can like, turn off your water when you brush your teeth, and we can save some water or, you know, XYZ, so just, you know, might not change the whole family and all of a sudden, it's like a sustainable family, but it just brings awareness to the topic, right?

Tulani Thomas 9:18
Absolutely. I think you said it, right. Like certain, you know, a lot of times people weren't especially like I said back then no one was really thinking about it. I mean, thankfully now today, it is a part of daily conversation, whether you know, you walk into the store and you see reusable water bottles, you know, we didn't really see that as much back then. But that, I don't know maybe it's a cliche, but I just feel like change always comes from the children. You know, I learned so much from my children. Now. Sometimes, you know, not so great. Sometimes really good helps me with my technology usage. They are definitely pushing for change in their little way. without them even knowing it, and exposing the children to the green ideas indirectly also exposes the older generation. So that's been a good byproduct of, of the green theories.

Stephanie Moram 10:14
And without giving away like, the whole story of your book, what are a couple of tips that you offer? You know, children that are reading your book? Or parents? Like, what are a couple of tips? Like you mentioned? No, turn the water off when you're brushing their teeth. When you're brushing your teeth. Is there any, like a couple more tips that you could maybe share that is in your book?

Tulani Thomas 10:33
Yeah, sure. I mean, totally, like I said, not really recreating the wheel, just showing how little things make big impacts, you know, reusable water bottles, and making it kind of fun, like personalizing them. I also show how trees, you know, something as small as planting a tree in the backyard can be wonderful green, you know, act, as well as with notebooks, you know, children, I don't know about your children, but my children do not ever finish their notebooks by the end of the year. And, you know, what do you do with those things? So did the notebook so you know, just like very small habits that make great impacts are shared with Tu Tu, Tu Tu goes green?

Stephanie Moram 11:17
Yeah, and I love that I, I often, sometimes books are like overcomplicated, right. And then you know, you mentioned overwhelm. So parents get overwhelmed or kids don't understand it, when you make it as simple as like, Hey, you have a reusable water bottle, you know, make it your own. And when it comes to notebooks, what I personally do is, you know, since they've been in, you know, whatever, usually was around grade one or two that they needed, like specific notebooks. And they would use like five pages, like, yeah, I'm not, I'm not even recycling this, I'm just cutting the pages out, and you're using it next year. You know, so I'm just like, you know, the schools, again, kids need notebooks, and all that kind of stuff. But I think of all the notebooks because we're on the topic of notebooks that end up in the recycling or even the trash, because let's be honest, we could talk about recycling forever, it's not the answer to our problems. But if people recycled it would help a little bit. So there's so many notebooks that end up in the trash or, or end up in the recycling and it's perfectly great paper. That's why I told my kids I'm like, you're getting you're using the same notebook over and over again until like, it falls apart. Because you're only using a couple of pages.

Tulani Thomas 12:29
I would always have like a few of my, in my car for those times. And I have to like, you know, like they have to wait, whether it's a dentist's office, and I would just give them give it to them. But a box of crayons, like go at it, the same notebook that you were going to throw away, you know, go out, you know, something to doodle on. Or even they would become summer journals. You know, like, decorate the cover, and they would write in it during the summer. But yeah, you're right. Notebooks, don't get me started.

Stephanie Moram 12:57
Don't get me started on the notebook topic. Well, I love that you wrote a children's book, I love you know, it's great that there's so many books out there about, you know, living zero waste, or, you know, cookbooks about like reducing food waste. I love that those all those books exist. But I also love that more people are getting the message out in simple ways through a children's book. And let's be honest, parents, like adults can learn from a children's book to be you know, it doesn't have to be this like, high like mind blowing ideas that might be in like a more adult book. It can be as simple as you know, like you said, reduce, reuse, recycle, you know, the three R's and just showing simple ways that children can incorporate this into their life. And hopefully the parents latch on to that, and start as well.

Tulani Thomas 13:58
Yeah, absolutely. And that's been the feedback that I've received most, from parents that say, wow, you know, it's adjustable, my kids are getting it, and they're on me to get it as well.

Stephanie Moram 14:11
Right. And if anyone, if you'd like to buy Tony's book, I'm gonna link it in the description. So you can click on that, it'll send you to her website. And you can grab a copy of her book digitally, which super affordable or the hardcover. And then you can start reading it with your kids and maybe you will learn something as well along in the book, right. Right. And so if you know I mentioned where people can find your book, if people want to follow you on social media or anything like that, where can people find you? So they can get more like green living info from you?

Tulani Thomas 14:51
Well, I have a good social media presence where I definitely share, you know, cute green tips and that's at today. Use green world.com on Instagram, as well as Facebook to choose green world and Twitter to choose green worlds. See this? See the consistency. And the website is www.tutusgreenworld.com. Certain things that you can look forward to from tutus green world is we will we're going to go presale in December of 2020. To the to choose green crew series where? Yeah, her and her friends now they're they're a little older and they embark on different adventures in their town with sustainability solutions. So the first one will be on composting. Oh, nice. Yeah, so I'm looking forward to releasing that. And on my website weekly, I provide a free monthly newsletter, where I share green tips, mindful tips. We highlighted children environmentalist, every month. And yeah, just trying to continue the green messaging.

Stephanie Moram 16:13
I love that. You're like continuing this series, right? And that you have you know that it's coming in December. So that's really soon. That's great. And once your book comes out, I will fix the description. So if anyone is listening after December 2022, you can check the description and I will put her new book there. If you're listening before, you're gonna have to wait till December and follow Kalani on social media to get updated when her new book comes out. I can't wait to see your new book. My kids are a bit older. But I do love children's books. And I love you know, learning that way as well when it's super simple.

Tulani Thomas 16:53
Absolutely. You know, I appreciate it. Definitely. Thanks so much for spreading the green message. Thank you awesome job. That's how we connected all the you know, it's a global issue. But it's always great to find different ways to push the message, you know, bringing some levity and some relatability I think it's super important. So I appreciate being here.

Stephanie Moram 17:17
Well, thank you, and thank you for being on. I appreciate you as well and I and I'm super grateful that you were able to hop on with me today to talk about this. If you're looking for more sustainable living inspiration, you can check out a couple of other episodes, episode number 40, teaching kids how to adopt a green lifestyle. Episode 57 the powerful impact of reducing and episode 61 the 80/20 rule. Please share this episode with your friends, coworkers mom, dad, uncles, cousins? Seriously, anyone you can think of? I would, I would appreciate it. You can stay connected with me on Instagram and tick tock at this stuff anymore. And don't forget to subscribe to the Green Junkie podcast on your favorite platform. And you can always download my complimentary audio series. You will find everything mentioned in this episode in the description. Thank you for listening, and I'll see you next Tuesday Green Junkie.