Comenius Project

Make a difference! Be a green entrepreneur!

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

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made of the information contained therein.

A SCREENPLAY

THE TREE HUGGERS

CHARACTERS

The Henning family :

•Walter Henning, the head of the family, a successful businessman in his late

thirties

•Martha Henning, the mother, a pretty housewife in her mid-thirties

•Luke Henning, fifteen year old teenager with a “don’t mess with me “

countenance and a cool look

•Billy Henning , a ten year old kid with a bright mind and a concern for a clean

and healthy planet, member of “The Tree Huggers“ club

The Cob family:

•Lisa Cob, a pretty fourteen year old girl, very energetic, determined and

concerned with ecological issues, head of “The Tree Huggers“ club

•Mrs. Smith, she is Luke’s teacher. She’s forty-five years old. She is

concerned with ecological issues.

•Mark – Luke’s best friend, fifteen year old teenager.

A SCREENPLAY

THE TREE HUGGERS

7 a.m. in the Hennings’ kitchen. Martha is preparing breakfast. Billy is standing

before a cactus watering it. The whole kitchen is full of plants.

Billy: ”Here you go, Spikey, you must be thirsty by now!”

Martha: ”Come on, Billy, eat your breakfast before Luke comes… and no more

fighting today, yes?!”

Billy (in a serious voice): ”Ok, mom, I promise.”

Stumping of feet coming down some stairs is heard. Luke enters the kitchen

and, while passing by some flower pots, he plucks a few leaves.

Billy: ”Hands off, you, killer!”

Luke: ”Morning to you, too, midget!”

Martha: ”Billy, you promised!”

Billy: ”But mom, he did it again!”

Luke (mockingly): ”Chill out, kid! They’re only leaves… and in MY way!”

Billy: ”Plants are alive! You should know!”

Luke: ”Yeah, yeah!”

Walter Henning makes his entrance. He is a tall, middle-aged man, dressed in

a fancy suit and clearly the authority of the family.

Walter (to his wife): ”Morning, dear, is breakfast ready?”

Luke: ”Yeah, dad, we’re grazing again!”

Martha: ”Luke!”

Walter: ”Seriously, dear, what’s wrong with meat?!”

Billy: ”And what’s wrong with plants?! And what’s wrong with you?!”

Luke: ”Hush up, midget, and keep on grazing!”

Martha: ”Watch your language, young man!”

Walter: ”Don’t you think we have enough plants around this house?”

Luke: ”Yeah, dad, you said it!”

Martha: ”Don’t encourage him! He’s already got an attitude!”

Walter (proudly): ”That’s my son!”

Billy (muttering): ”Really, dad, and how about me? Am I adopted?”

Luke: ”Talking about an attitude!”

Billy (snapping at Luke): ”And stop plucking my plants!”

Luke: ”Or else… what? They are mom’s plants and you surely you are her

son!”

Martha: ”Stop, you two! Eat your breakfast! You’re running late! (to her

husband) Are you driving them this morning, dear?”

Billy: ”I’d rather walk!”

Luke: ”Five miles?!”

Billy: ”Yeah, so what?”

Walter: ”You two stop fighting and get in the car!”

On the way to Eastway School, the two boys kept quiet.

Walter (breaking the silence): ”How about a barbecue with the Cobs this

Saturday?”

Luke: ”Great, dad!”

Billy: ”I’m afraid not! “The Tree Huggers” are organizing a march downtown

against pollution and for recycling and reusing materials.”

Walter: ”Tree…what?!”

Luke: ”Huggers… what a silly name!”

Billy: ”Yeah, you’d rather have Lisa hug YOU, huh?!”

Luke:” Shut your face!”

The car stops and the boys get out. Both of them go to the same school. Billy

is in the 4th grade while Luke is in the 8th grade.

Luke and Billy, entering the school yard, see two boys with T-shirts on saying

“Tree Huggers” planting a tree.

Billy: ”Hi, guys!”

The boys: ”Hi, Billy see you this weekend!”

Billy: ”Yeah, see you!”

Luke: ”Hey, losers, you’re late! Go to your class!”

Billy: ”They’re not losers! They’re my friends! Watch your tongue!”

Luke: ”Fine, fine! You should go to your class, it’s late!”

Billy: ” And you? Hope you’re not going to pluck the leaves off this tree too!”

Luke: ”Why not?!”, and he goes straight to the freshly planted tree ready to

pluck some leaves.

Suddenly a girlish angry voice is heard.

Lisa: ”Luke, what do you think you’re doing? So, Billy was right!”

Luke (stuttering): ”No, Lisa! It’s not what you think! I was… just…“

Lisa: ”Luke, you’ve disappointed me! I thought you weren’t that immature, but I

was wrong!”

Luke: ”Lisa, come on, please!”

Luke starts running after Lisa who angrily heads towards her class.

Billy (shouting after Luke after going towards his own class): ”You blew it, bro!

Told you!”

(to be continued)

(Luke went towards his class. He was late but he didn’t realize it.)

Mrs. Smith: Luke where have you been? You are late! Sit down and get your

books ready!

Luke: I am sorry Mrs. Smith!

Mrs. Smith: Today we are going to study the environmental pollution and

global warming.

Luke: (Whispering to his best friend Mark) I am bored! I can’t wait to see Lisa

and try to convince her that I care about the trees! It’s the only way to be my

friend again!

Mrs. Smith: Stop whispering you two! So children what do you know about

environmental pollution?

Boy 1: (He was wearing a T Shirt saying “Tree Huggers”) Environmental

Pollution is a global issue that affects negatively all ecosystems on Earth. It is

caused by gases emitted from factories and cars, deforestation, rubbish etc.

Boy 2: (He was wearing a T Shirt saying “Tree Huggers”) Environmental

pollution affects the quality of our lives and contributes to global warming.

Mrs. Smith: Well done! Everything you said are very important! So Luke what

is your opinion about environmental pollution?

(to be continued)

Luke: I’m not really that interested in saving the planet. (He starts making

jokes and talks mockingly). What does it really matter if the weather gets

warmer and for example pine trees die off?

Mrs. Smith: Luke! It is really sad to hear that you think that. (Mrs. Smith is

offended and gets a bit angry.) If any species stops to exist it affects all of us,

including human beings, including you Luke.

Luke: (Luke doesn’t take Mrs. Smith seriously and continues mocking.) Yeah,

yeah…. (andlaughs)… I’ll try to be more serious though I think The Tree

Huggers (gazes the two boys wearing The Tree Hugger T-shirts) are a bunch

of hippies.

Mrs. Smith: Luke, I think you need a lesson about this matter. Maybe an

assignment will change your mind and you’ll start to care about environmental

issues. First you must collect trash from the schoolyard every day for a one

week. That way the schoolyard stays clean and you learn the appreciation of

nature and environment. Second you must take part in The Tree Huggers

march on Saturday. That way you’ll learn about taking action and participation

for the common cause.

Luke: Oh no! (He doesn't look happy.)

Mrs. Smith: Luke!

Luke: Yes Mrs. Smith. I'll do it. (He sounds disappointed.) At least I can fix

things with Lisa when she sees me doing all this hippie stuff. (He whispers to

his best friend Mark.)

Mark (Luke’s best friend): I’ll bet you can’t pull this off, Luke.

Luke: Hey, but I can try! It’s a bet!

(to be continued)

(The bell rings. Luke runs out of the classroom.)

Mrs Smith: You have a work to do, Luke!

Luke : (with his head bent): OK, Mrs Smith

(He takes the rubbish bag from Mrs Smith and storms out angrily)

At the school yard

(Luke collects the rubbish when a group of students who are passing by

begin to mock him)

Student 1: The new school janitor!

Student 2: Why don’t you come and clean my house, too?

Student 3: I have some laundry for you to do!

Altogether: Haha haha

(Billy who has heard what has happened approaches him)

Billy: You got your lesson for the stupid things you do to the plants

Luke: I don’t care, midget! In this way Lisa will be my friend again!

Billy: I’m gonna let her know that you have destroyed all of mum’s plants

She wouldn’t want to see you with her eyes again!

(Billy runs off to find Lisa and tell her everything)

Luke (muttering to himself while picking the rubbish): It’s not that bad to collect

rubbish, after all. It’s like taking some exercise without going to the gym... And

it’s nice to see our schoolyard clean.

(Lisa turns up after having talked to Bill)

Lisa: Bill has told me everything but I hope you will change your mind, now

and try to help the environment.

Luke (not saying that it was part of his punishment): Yes it’s not that bad to

help the environment. Listen, if you like, we can go together to the march on

Saturday. What to you think?

Lisa smiles.........The bell rings......

(to be continued)

Luke: Hey Lisa, just another thing. What about a picnic in the park with Mark

and other two friends after the march?

Lisa: Ok Luke. It’s a good idea! It’s very nice to walk in the park, listen to birds

singing and breathe fresh air.

Luke is happy that Lisa isn’t angry with him.

The day after all the members of “The Tree Huggers” are ready for the march.

There are lots of schoolmates and citizens coming from all over the city. They

pass along the main street showing posters and encouraging people to join

them.

Lisa (shouting): Less pollution is the best solution!

Billy: Destroy the environment, destroy your future!

Mark: Respect the environment: take only what you need!

Luke (shouting too loud): Save your city. Keep it clean.

Lisa looks at him and smiles.

After the parade they go to the park for the picnic. Luke has got a big

rucksack: they sit under a big oak and he starts to pull out a blanket,

sandwiches and cans.

Lisa: Mmmm, what delicious things to eat. Thank you Luke!

They start to eat.

Friend 1: Hey mates! Listen to this music. I’ve downloaded it yesterday!

… Breaks! … (switches on the radio very loud)

Friend 2 and Luke: Very cool!

Lisa: Luke please! Take the volume down. It’s too loud; all the birds in the park

will fly away!

Friend 1: Why don’t we play football?

Friend 2: But we don’t have a ball.

Luke: Don’t worry, let’s use this empty can of coke.

And they start to play and cry.

Lisa is very angry, almost furious with Luke.

(to be continued)

Friend 1 tries to impress the rest of his fell as and starts to juggle the can. First

try wasn’t too good, because the can hit the nearest car. Lisa realizing, that

she doesn’t have any effect on Luke, starts to go away from the guys. Then

Friend 1 tries again to do some tricks with a can, but this time, when he kicked

the rest from the coke, he hits Luke in his nose.

Luke: You cut my nose you idiot. Blood for blood!!!

Luke tries to hit Friend 1, but he avoids the punch and throws Luke to the

ground. Lisa saw that situation and quickly started running to the boys.

Friend 1: Take it easy, don’t you realize, that was only a stupid accident! I

didn’t want to.

Luke: Damn, you know some jujitsu, or something?

Friend 1: My father lived for about 10 years in Japan and showed me some

moves – Friend 1showed really nice smile.

Luke: I think that I’ve overreacted. I’m going to throw that can to the thrash.

He was stopped by Lisa.

Lisa: Not that container!

Luke: What now?

Lisa: Throw the can to the container with metal!

Luke: Ehhhh, OK

(to be continued)

Luke: No i won’t, i’ll throw the can in whichever container i want to!

Friend 1: Yeah, there’s no point in separating trash, it just gets all jumbled up

again in the truck!

Lisa: No it doesn’t, everybody knows different trucks come by to collect the

trash from the different containers and each kind of trash is treated differently

according to it’s origin.

Luke: Ahah! Yeah, right! That’s just a bunch of lies they tell you to keep you

„Tree Huggers” entertained. I’ll just throw the can wherever I want to and

consider yourself lucky I even throw it in a container.

Luke stomps it’s way over to the containers on the other side of the lane

turning his back on Lisa and his friends. When he starts to get close to the

containers he kicks the trash can over to the containers and misses the

opening. Even more angrily he keeps going towards the containers to pick up

the can again but before he has a chance to pick it up the three containers

jump up, screaming and running at him. Luke falls down on his bottom and

just stands dumbfounded and afraid at the containers charging at him.

Luke: NOOOO!! This has to be a bad dream! I’m being attacked by angry

garbage containers!

His friends start mocking him because they realize it’s the „Tree Huggers” that

were hiding in carton made containers and they’re the ones scaring Luke.

Billy: See, now you’re being mocked just like you were doing to us before.

Maybe now you can understand it’s not a good feeling and you’ll stop doing it

to others too.

Luke’s friends keep laughing at him and making fun of his expression.

Luke: Why you little monster, because of you my friends are now laughing at

me!

Lisa: NO!! Not because of Billy, because of yourself, because if you were not

such a bad person you would have realized that every little gesture counts

and we all have to do our part to make our planet a better planet. It’s about

time you learn something from your little brother.

Luke looks repeatedly between his brother and his friends (who keep mocking

him...)

Luke: Maybe i could do some things differently... after all it’s not so difficult to

choose the right container for the right kind of trash. As long as the containers

don’t run after me...

Luke and Billy share a knowing smile between the brothers and start going

away together with Lisa leaving Luke’s friends behind looking at them and

throwing garbage to the floor.

Luke, Billy and Lisa start plotting their revenge against Luke’s friends.

(to be continued...)

They went to Luke’s to ask for his mother’s help.

Luke: Mom, you will be surprised but I’ll join Bill’s team. I’ve changed my mind

about environmental protection.

Mom: Wow, I’m really surprised and very happy. What has happened?

Luke: Lisa and me had a long and illuminating talk and now I’m sure you are

right. Today I was ashamed because of my friends’ actions in the park. We

have decided to act and play a trick on them.

Mom: What are you up to?

Bill: We’re going to collect all the litter they have throw no way today and put a

dump of the rubbish in front of their door, so they’ll fall into it in the morning.

Mom: I see. Then I’ll give you some disposable rubbish bags and rubber

gloves.

Luke: And Mom. We need the car to take the rubbish to the right place.

Mom: All right. But I will drive…

In the morning…

(to be continued)

In the morning 6 a.m.

After breakfast Martha, Luke, Billy and Lisa collect lots of trash and put them

in front of their doors and they hide themselves behind a tree in order to watch

the results of their revenge.

At 7 a.m. Mark opens his door suddenly and angrily.

Mark: Oh my Gosh! What a mess?

Because his dog brings lots of trash into the house by entering from dog hole.

According to his dog it’s just a game.

In the same day Friend 1 has an important presentation in the school. He

wears his best suit, new shoes and perfume. When he opens the door of his

house, he also gets shocked. He sees lots of thrash and says: I hate rubbish!

Where do they come from? Who put them here? Cleaners don't work regularly

these days.

While he is talking himself, he steps on a banana peel and fells down into the

trash with his new suit and his new suit and he cries: What an awful day it is !

Friend 2 goes out. He wants to swim in his pool but he can't. Because all the

cats around the house throw away the rubbish into swimming pool. He gets

angry and he is also shocked and says:

Friend 2: I don't believe my eyes, it must be joke. What will I do now?

Meanwhile Martha, Luke, Billy and Lisa appear from hiding place that are

hidden with disposal bags and rubbish gloves.

( To be continued )

They were making fun of Luke’s friends.

LISA: So…did you like our gift?

LUKE: Ha ha, now I’m the one who’s laughing!

BILLY: Do you guys understand the importance of recycling?

FRIEND 1 / 2: Why did you do it to us? This is awful! (almost crying)

LUKE: This is for you to learn that everyone has a task to do, which

is: separating the garbage to recycle it, reusing the things that can

be used over and over and reducing the consumption. I’ve learnt my

lesson and I’ll follow the rule of the three R’s, what about you?

FRIEND 1 / 2: We will start to love nature! We promise!

MARTHA: It’s better you do that, because next time the pranks will

be worst.

ALL: We will preserve the environment!

The End

The screenplay was written

together by students from the

partner schools:

1. Școala Gimnazială „Anișoara Odeanu” Lugoj- Romania - coordinating

school

2. Fundação Escola Profissional de Setúbal- Portugal

3. ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO "LORENZO LOTTO" DI JESI- Italy

4. Baptista Szeretetszolgálat EJSZ Kölcsey Ferenc Általános Iskolája-

Hungary

5. Suodenniemen koulu- Finland

6. INSTITUTO DE ENSEÑANZA SECUNDARIA SAN JUAN DE LA RAMBLA-

Spain

7. Tece İlkokulu/Ortaokulu - Turkey

8. A DHMOTIKO SXOLEIO LATSION- Cyprus

9. ZASADNICZA SZKOŁA ZAWODOWA NR 3- Poland

10. PRIMARY SCHOOL OF KOUNAVOI- Greece