Author | Lightnews

Esti Pienaar

@estipienaar.bsky.social

180 followers 180 following 180 posts

🌿 Author, Illustrator & Educator | Plant-Based 🌱 | Environmental Enthusiast 🐾| Inspiring young minds through creativity and care for our planet 🌍

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Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Jun 3

Now available! 📚 Southern African Tales: Simplified Stories for ESL Learners.

11 folktales from 10 different Southern African cultures, rewritten for ESL / EAL learners with vocabulary lists and reading tips. A fun way to improve English!

eduphund.com
amazon.com/dp/B0DVL34LD2?…

Southern African Tales, a book by the author Esti Pienaar

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Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 29m

First draft done of my new book: “Lantern Tales: Simplified Chinese Tales for ESL Learners” and I can’t wait!

It’s book 3 in the “Language Learning Short Stories Series.” The books can be read in any order.

#booksky #languagelearning

First two available on:
www.amazon.com/Language-Lea...

Language Learning Short Stories Series

Visit Amazon's Language Learning Short Stories Series Page and shop for all Language Learning Short Stories Series books. Check out pictures, author information, and reviews of Language Learning Short Stories Series

www.amazon.com

1 4

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 2d

How much do you know about the gentle giants of the forest? Watch this video:
#gorillas #conservation

youtu.be/bjs1hYLcPV4?...

Meet the gentle giants of the forest: Gorillas!

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 3d

Conservation efforts in Australia
#conservation #wetlands
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

From dry farmland to thriving wetland, swamp revival provides hope

The Mount Burr Swamp in South Australia is brimming with water, giving conservationists hope its success can be a blueprint for the future.

www.abc.net.au

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 4d

Kate Marvel spends her days playing with climate models, which she says are “like a very expensive version of The Sims.” She gets asked to weigh in on economics, geopolitics, and despair. She still defends the right of scientists to have strong feelings about the planet.

youtu.be/wsaicE0F_A8

162. Will We Solve the Climate Problem? | People I (Mostly) Admire

YouTube video by Freakonomics Radio Network

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 5d

Have you seen those frogs that look like they are always smiling? They are called white-lipped tree frogs and they change colour with their moods! Find out more with Monkey Banana

#frogs #animalfacts

youtu.be/SWOobwmwKqg?...

Meet the White-Lipped Tree Frog! 🐸

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 6d

Desert lions living on the beach

#animals
#lions

bbc.com/future/artic...

'Their resilience is a lesson to us all': The maritime lions hunting seals on the beach

In Namibia, a group of desert lions have left their traditional hunting grounds for the Atlantic coast and are now thriving as the world's only maritime lions.

bbc.com

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 7d

Curiosity leads to the most magical discoveries! Monkey Banana Beginnings is the first in a series and tells the story of how a curious little monkey finds a magical banana suit in the jungle that gives him special powers!
#kidsliterature #picturebook

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 10d

Meet the amazing Asian Elephant and learn how different they are from their African cousins with Monkey Banana!

#animalfacts #elephants

youtu.be/sfhEfd99rhY?...

Meet the Amazing Asian Elephant!

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 11d

Do you know what is a biphonic call? Learn more about this fascinating way of communicating and how dholes employ this in their lives.

#animals #animalfacts
youtu.be/uAVd6Lzp17s?si

Discover the dhole - the forest's secret team player!

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 18d

Poor old Stick Man! Life is hard if you are constantly being mistaken for something else other than a family man! Fantastic story to read over Christmas time with a great twist. Axel Sheffler and Julia Donaldson produced another classic!
#picturebooks #reading #kidslit

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 20d

It is Mid-Autumn Festival and time for a round-up of the best mooncakes 🥮 in Hong Kong!
eco-esti.blogspot.com/2025/10/moon...
#mooncakes #midautumnfestival

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 21d

Title: The Secret Life of Groceries
Author: Benjamin Lorr
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A compelling expose delving into the grocery industry. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Lorr uncovers the complex supply chains, labour practices, and economic forces that shape the way we shop for #food.

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 23d

Monkey Banana loves Jane Goodall. A sad day indeed. #janegoodall

youtu.be/zuH_gTFkjzg?...

Let me introduce you to one of my favourite people: Jane Goodall.

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 23d

Rest in Power Jane Goodall, you were a giant and your legacy will live on until the end of our time on earth.
#janegoodall #environment

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 24d

Capybaras deserve all the love they get! Check out why Monkey Banana likes them so much! youtu.be/MgZKKKfPbA8
They are also featured in Monkey Banana's book: "Monkey Banana Beginnings" available online at any good bookstore!
#picturebooks #capybaras #animals #animalfacts

Come and meet the one of the coolest animals!

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 26d

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life.

#climate

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

www.theguardian.com

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Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 27d

Looming disasters everywhere we look

youtu.be/IgSN8mM6IJM?...

#environment

The Looming Disaster Under America’s Biggest Oil Field

YouTube video by Bloomberg Originals

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · 29d

A fantastic book if you want the kids to join in. There are actions and words easy enough for young kids and ESL primary school students love it too! All around fun for everyone reading it! This special edition cover is something else, I just had to add it to my bookshelf.
#picturebook #kidslit

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 25

Title: The Pivotal Generation
Author: Henry Shue
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The book is quite hard to read, but the rhetorical technique is effective. Placed in the shoes of those who might not have moral obligations to fight climate change, Shue systematically dismantles arguments.
eco-esti.blogspot.com/2024/09/book...

Book Review: The Pivotal Generation

The Pivotal Generation: Why we have a Moral Responsibility to Slow Climate Change Right Now by Henry Shue is a compelling and ethically char...

eco-esti.blogspot.com

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 24

Monkey Banana made a new friend in Thailand! Check it out here:

#binturong #bearcat #animalfacts

youtu.be/wT1paVNYRlw?...

Monkey Banana made a new friend in Thailand!

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 23

I will never tire of this book. Every time I read it to my students they burst into song. Melodic, fun and teaching a lesson about resilience is Pete the Cat's game. Highly recommend this for ESL students!
#picturebooks #kidslit #esl

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 21

Protect Monkey Banana and Jane Goodall at all costs
#janegoodall #monkeybanana #environment

youtu.be/zuH_gTFkjzg?...

Let me introduce you to one of my favourite people: Jane Goodall.

YouTube video by Monkey Banana™

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 18

youtu.be/VFTLegb4HT4?...

Southern Africa is making us proud in Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships! Go 🇧🇼& 🇿🇦!!!!!
Want to know more about this incredible region? Check out this video:

#southernafrica

Southern Africa: Landscapes, Wildlife & Folktales

YouTube video by EduPhund

youtu.be

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 17

The new Netflix documentary about hurricane Katrina is a must watch. Talking about the levees: “You can’t build it and forget about it. Because the changing climate, intensifies the risk.” I feel like this is true of so much of our infrastructure in the world right now. #naturaldisasters

Esti Pienaar @estipienaar.bsky.social · Sep 15

Title: Cheaper Faster Better
Author: Tom Steyer
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I have some strong opinions about the author and some questions:
How do you separate the author from his work? Should you separate the author from his work? Can people change?
#books
Read more here: eco-esti.blogspot.com/2025/07/revi...