5 o wobrau i fyfyrwyr a ddaeth yn agos at y brig

THE JOURNEY

 

I was useful once. I have to tell myself that. Once I was loved. Once I was special. Now, I am sitting in this drawer, this old, dusty drawer with nothing to do except remember…

When I was young, I was given to someone- a child - as a present. I remember her face when she tore off the wrapping paper, when she opened the box. I remember her hugging Mum and Dad and telling them that I was the best present, the best present in the world. I was carried around everywhere (at the time) - to her friends’ houses, to school and, later on, to work. She cared about me so much. She would talk to me - I remember that - she would say that I was the best phone in the world, and she was right. I was the best, the newest phone (at the time).

I remember her growing, getting older and older. And I was getting older and older too. I didn’t work as well as I used to. I was slow - I could feel her - the girl that I had been with for all my life - getting more and more annoyed with me. I wasn’t the best phone in the world anymore. I was just a stupid old thing that no one wanted, no one cared about.

And then the day came. She had left me at home and went somewhere - I didn’t know where. When she came back, she had a new phone, one that was much better than me. She picked me up, took me to her room, opened a desk drawer and threw me into it. And there I’ve been, ever since, alone…

All of a sudden, the drawer fills with light. What on earth is happening? A hand reaches down and picks me up. A familiar voice comes from above me, ‘What’s this?’

It’s the girl - the one who I used to belong to. Another voice answers, one I don’t recognise, ‘Just an old phone. Chuck it away.’

The girl takes me over to the bin. I am anxious that I will be thrown out and forgotten about yet again, and this time for good but the other voice interrupts, ‘Hang on, don’t they make coins out of old phones?’

I can’t believe my luck! The girl sits down at the table and starts writing on an envelope. She grabs me and stuffs me inside.

It’s quite hot and stuffy inside the envelope but for once I don’t mind. I’m getting another life and this time as a coin!

It takes quite a while for me to get to… wherever they make coins. When I finally arrive someone rips open my envelope and peers down at me. And then I hear the words that fill me with joy: ‘Amazing, the parts from this phone will be perfect for making a coin!’

The feeling of happiness shoots through me. I’m finally perfect again.

Sophie Harris, 10 

 

BERTIE AND BEATRIX

 

One day, there was a little girl called Florence. Florence loved to play in the garden and would spend hours talking to the butterflies, birds and bees she came across. She wished they could talk back to her, and sometimes she thought they could really understand her. She also loved flowers and she would make sure the flowers she planted with her mummy were watered and looked after.

One Saturday afternoon, she got her £1 coin for her pocket money as usual, but she noticed a difference on the shiny new coin. It had the King’s face on one side and two bees on the other! She had never seen bees on her pocket money before, and she thought it must be special in some way.

The next morning, Florence took her pocket money out of her money box and looked down at her new £1 coin. The King’s face was still there, but the bees had disappeared! She heard a buzzing noise and looked back down at her money box. She couldn’t believe her eyes when the two bees from the coin flew out, and flew around her bedroom. They seemed to be looking around at all her stuffed animals and posters of wildlife on her walls. Florence was shocked! She wondered aloud what their names were and why they were buzzing round her room instead of staying on the coin. She couldn’t believe her ears when one of them said to her, “We’re Bertie and Beatrix, the bees from the new £1 coins, and we’re here to remind people to how important we are!”

Florence was so excited. She asked the bees why they were so important and Beatrix replied, “We’re important because we pollinate flowers and help trees and plants grow. Without us, farmers wouldn’t be able to grow fruits and vegetables, or crops to feed animals. We also make honey and beeswax! But there are fewer of us around than before, so we need humans to make sure our habitats are protected, so we can keep helping them.”

Florence promised that if Bertie and Beatrix got back on their coin, she would spend it on seeds to sow in her garden. Florence hopes you will do this too.

Rosa Rich, 8

 

HUMANWATCH

 

Series 1 – Episode 1

Michaela: Hi, I’m Michaela Salmon, and welcome to a new series – Humanwatch! I’m here with my friend Chris and we’re going to show you some amazing footage and share incredible stories of life among the humans.

Chris: Yes, I’m Chris Puffin and I can’t wait to show you the weird and wonderful world of humans. Trust me, fellow creatures, it’s going to be fascinating!

Michaela: Now, in this episode we’re going to look at how humans are planning for more sustainable futures. We start with Simon Kingfisher, who’s in Surrey to investigate how humans are using renewable energy. Simon.

Simon: Thanks, Michaela. Yes, I’m here in rural Surrey where we’ve been keeping a close eye on a cute family of humans building their new dwelling. Here it is now, and you might notice it has strange black panels on top. Well, these panels are called solar panels and they are one of the ways humans are using renewable energy – they soak up heat and light from the sun, then transform it into energy to be used inside human homes. It’s like our friend the adder, basking in the sun to gain the energy she needs to go hunting.

Chris: Wow, Simon, thanks for showing us that! Now we’re going to cross to Wales, where Megan McCapercaillie is looking at another way humans are being sustainable.

Megan: Thanks Chris, and “Croeso i Gymru,” everyone! I’m at the Royal Mint plant for recovering precious metals, where things like gold and silver can be saved from old equipment like laptops and phones. It can then be reused instead of thrown away. It’s even used to make the coins humans swap with each other!

Chris: Ooh, you know I love shiny things! If I weren’t a puffin, I think I’d be a magpie! And speaking of coins, Michaela has exciting news for us.

Michaela: That’s right, Chris, I’m thrilled to confirm that some new human coins have been designed – with some of us featured on them! There are coins with pictures of salmon, puffins, and the capercaillie – plus more of our amazing friends like the red squirrel and bees!

Putting rare British species like us on their coins shows how much humans care about preserving our species, and our planet. That’s why we can see humans making so much effort towards sustainable futures.

Chris: Quite right, Michaela. Although, we know not all of them get it right. Let’s take a quick look at this human – watch this clip from last night, this chap spends 10 minutes trying to decide which bin to put his plastic water bottle in; then puts it in the one for paper! Oh dear.

Michaela: Oh dear indeed. Well, that’s all we’ve got time for tonight. Join us tomorrow when we’ll be exploring wind turbines and broadcasting from the Lincolnshire home of Sir Isaac Newton, former Master of the Royal Mint. It promises to be a really wild show! Goodnight.

Edward Booth, 8 

 

PISTACHIO'S PROBLEM

 

In the depths of the harsh winter, in a cosy oak woodland full of life, stirred a hazel dormouse. It had a soft golden, brown coat of fur, vast jet-black eyes and feathery elongated tail. You see, it is odd for a mouse to suddenly wake up startled in the middle of their hibernation, and on this occasion, it was very odd. The mouse’s name was Pisatchio, and she wasn’t pleased.

“Being arisen from my snug bed at this time of night?!” she squeaked in annoyance. Pistachio glanced at a miniscule clock showing the time. “A quarter past winter!” she huffed.

THUD! A gargantuan plastic bottle rolled onto the forest floor, followed by a humongous crisp packet falling from the air. Several feet slammed down, peeling off some sticky gum onto some unfortunate animals’ houses. Humans were everywhere; dropping, chucking and littering their rubbish into the wood. Squirrels scampered, foxes fled, deer dashed and earthworms escaped.

“Oh dear!” bellowed Pistachio. She skedaddled back to her bed and started drawing some posters. They said, ‘Meeting. All woodland creatures please attend the meeting at the mighty oak tree tonight. It is critical.’ Pistachio grinned and stuck up all her posters before arriving early to prepare for her pow-wow.

That night, the woodland was bustling with life.

“Hello, fellow animals. I have gathered you here because of the humans,” Pistachio stated clearly. “All day, they have been dropping their litter in our home. Has anyone got any ideas on how to stop this?”

Several paws shot up. “Maybe we could store loads of rotten eggs in their gardens,” suggested a sly fox, named Felix. For a while, more and more unhelpful brainstorms were remarked.

But then it came...A slender, slimy frog put up his hand. “If they clutter our homes, then we shall clutter theirs,” he announced. Every creature admired his work, so they began his plot.

The next day, humans came again and littered some more, but the animals could not take it. They took Pistachio’s orders and carried a stash of rubbish with them, as other creatures bounded across roaring roads and winding valleys.

Finally, after finding a bustling city, Pistachio gazed up a street filled with litter and no sign of nature. “Go!” she bellowed. The tribe of animals scuttled up onto the rooftops of houses. They started squashing all the rubbish from the street and the wood, down the chimneys. Even if the humans threw it back out, they continued. Felix threw eggs and the frog coated the bricks of the house in slime. Pistachio was overjoyed seeing everyone infuriated.

By the end of the day, the people had given up and Pistachio headed home to finish her hibernation. She pulled up her blanket of leaves, and fell into a deep sleep, happy in the knowledge that the humans would not come back to litter their habitat tomorrow.

Edward Perry, 10

 

JIMMY'S MELTING IGLOO

 

Jimmy, an 80-year-old penguin, lived in a tidy little igloo he built all by himself using snow from the mountains of Antarctica. Inside his igloo, Jimmy had a cosy kitchen where he cooked his favourite fish and chips, a bathroom where he showered with his rubber dinosaur, and a living room where he read books. Every day, Jimmy would sit outside his igloo with a book, sipping on a cold glass of apple juice, enjoying the peaceful beauty of his frozen home.

One Monday morning, while reading his favourite book, Jimmy noticed something strange, a cold drip landed on his furry forehead. Plop! A drop of ice landed on his glasses. Plop! Another drop fell on his flippers. Plop! A third drop fell right on his nose. Jimmy looked up and saw that his ceiling was dripping. Buckets filled up with water, and gradually, a hole started to form in the centre of the ceiling.

One day, as he cried over his melting home, Jimmy heard a sizzle coming from next door. It was his neighbour, Raj the tiger, heating his home with a coal-powered fireplace and cooking sausages over the open fire. The chimney began to cough out thick, black smoke. Jimmy wiped his eyes and continued crying, but Raj just laughed at him.

The next day, Jimmy tried to rebuild his home by gathering more snow and ice, but when he was finished, the ice melted again. This time, he saw Raj throwing plastic shopping bags into the ocean nearby.

The following day, Jimmy tried to rebuild his igloo once more, only for the ceiling to melt again. This time, Raj was blasting music from his electric-powered speakers, making it even harder for Jimmy to concentrate.

Jimmy and Raj never got along. Every day was filled with fights, sneaky looks, and sniggering laughs. And every day, puddles filled up his delicate home sometimes in the kitchen, while other times in the bathroom.

One day, while on his way to find more ice, Jimmy noticed there was no longer any ice left, instead just a pool of water. Jimmy decided he had enough. He packed his bags and decided to move away. Raj noticed and ran after him.

“Wait, wait!” Raj called. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. You can stay with me in my house!”

But Jimmy missed his igloo. He didn’t want to move into Raj’s house, he wanted his own home back. Raj could see how sad Jimmy was, and for the first time, he didn’t want to see his neighbour leave. “Okay, okay,” Raj said. “I’ll change my ways. I’ll build solar panels for my house. I’ll stop using coal and switch to eco-friendly logs for my fireplace. I’ll also start using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones. How about that?”

Jimmy’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Raj nodded. “Really! I don’t want to lose you as a neighbour. I’ll do better.”

From that day on, Jimmy’s igloo stayed safe, and Raj kept his promises.

Jeevan Singh Sheri, 8