Renowned children's songwriter Raffi shifted gears from singing to lecturing at the Askwith Educational Forum last night, urging listeners to preserve the environment for children--who make up his more typical audience.

Raffi's address, titled "Child-Honoring: The Next Ecological Paradigm" had a sober tone as he discussed the environmental message in his songs and the importance of respecting children.

"I would rather be singing with you than reporting what I'm saying," he said. "But I simply feel the need to speak."

In a soothing tone reminiscent of his songs, Raffi traced his development from folk singer to children's songwriter and environmental activist.

"The story of my life is one of adaptation and change," he said. "I grew from a city boy to one who loves nature, from one who was totally oblivious to children to one who appreciates and truly loves them."

Raffi's children's songs reflect the concern for nature and children that he highlighted yesterday.

One of his more enduring songs, "Baby Beluga," tackles "environmental issues in human terms."

But in 1989, at what he called the height of his musical career, he learned that beached beluga whales were so full of toxins that they were classified as hazardous waste.

"Can you imagine how that made me feel?" Raffi asked. "I was not sure how I would be able to sing again."

Raffi then shifted his songs to call for "a radical change of heart and mind" and tell listeners that "the world needs a stronger vision to carry into the year 2000."

As part of that vision, Raffi has become an environmental activist as well as a singer with a message.

He acknowledged there was a tension between his upbeat songs and his assessment of the world's problems.

At yesterday's speech, Raffi focused on "sustainability," or preserving the world so "future generations [can] live at least just as well [as this generation]."

"The scale of industrial pollutants has changed the chemical makeup of the world," he said. "All her children are born at risk. The persistent pollutants that are found even in breast milk present a challenge to children and therefore to all of humanity."

As another element of helping children, he encouraged the audience to pay attention to children's formative years, saying this could "help stem soul erosion among our youth."

"Not one social revolution has recognized that doing right by the child can benefit all of society," he said.

Raffi asked the audience to "imagine the benefits of a child-honoring society," one without "dysfunction that can be passed on and magnified from one generation to the next."

Despite his recent environmental activism, Raffi is known more as a children's singer and songwriter. Tickets to his concert at Sanders Theatre on Saturday sold out in two hours, but only about 60 people attended last night's address.