Biographies

I have always loved animals, especially pandas and sea turtles. After
seeing Green and Hawksbill turtles in Hawaii, I got books to learn more
about sea turtles and found out that all 7 species are endangered. The
Leatherback Turtle became my favorite because that species is so graceful,
but mostly because they needed my help the most. I held my own
fundraising event (selling handmade turtle necklaces) and donated the
proceeds to turtle groups. I made a 5 minute documentary on Leatherbacks
and was invited to Costa Rica to tag Leatherbacks, which is one of the
highlights of my life. To read more about my work with Leatherbacks, click
here.

I realized that the Leatherbacks would be fine if humans didn't get in their
way. We accidentally kill them with the longline fishing technique used for
catching tuna and we take over their nesting beaches for hotels and homes.
The thin plastic bags we get when shopping can easily find their way out of
garbage cans or landfills and get blown into rivers that lead to our oceans.
This is terrible for turtles (and other sea animals) that mistake the bags for
jellyfish and eat them as food, sometimes resulting in death. It occured to
me that if we took better care of our environment and corrected our actions,
the turtles would be fine.

I thought about this some more and realized that taking care of our
environment is good for all animals and all people. Learning about different
environmental issues made me want to save paper, use less electricity,
produce less garbage and ask other people do the same. There is a lot we
can do right here in our town. And if it starts here in my town and my
school, it can spread to other towns, states and countries and we will all
have a better life on a healthier and prettier planet!!

We started GREEN! so that we can be a resource for kids to learn what
kinds of changes they need to make because we know that if you put your
mind to it, YOU can save the earth!!

I am not sure when I realized that I had to do something to help protect our
planet. One of the first times I can remember was when I was at the beach
with my grandparents. They love the beach and would always take me there
on vacation. I would sit by the water and pretend that I was a mermaid that
had washed ashore. When I got a little bigger I would take long walks with
my grandpa and look for beach glass. The blue glass was my favorite. I
would pretend that dolphins had sent the frosty jewels to me from their
magical world under the sea. One day I began to question, where did all the
glass come from. It didn't seem so special after I learned it was from
garbage that was thrown in the ocean. I also started to notice all the trash
that was mixed in with the sea weed that had washed up on the beach. I
learned that all the garbage that humans throw in the ocean is killing fish,
birds and turtles. Birds eat trash that is floating on the water and they can't
digest it. It takes up room in their stomachs and they can't eat the real food
they needed to survive. They would starve to death because their stomachs
were filled with plastic bottle tops that they mistook for food. I learned
about fish getting stuck with plastic soda can rings around their stomach
and necks. I read about fish swallowing so much Styrofoam that they
mistook for fish eggs that they could hardly dive under the water. I was
surprised to learn that alot of this garbage washes into the ocean from
streets into sewers and out to sea. I told my mom that I had to do
something. She of course told me I could do anything I put my mind to.

I figured that people couldn't possibly know what they were actually doing
to the environment and the animals that share the planet with us. I thought
that the more people knew the better care they would take not to be
careless or wasteful. A couple of months before I met Johnny, I went to my
school principal and told her how I thought it would be a good idea to start
to let kids know that they can make a difference. I explained that I thought
if kids were taught about how their actions effect the planet they would go
home and teach their parents too. She told me I should meet Johnny
because we seemed to be alot alike. After we met, we came up with GREEN!
It has been amazing to see how involved the kids in our school have
become. We have taught kids about conserving our planets resources and
recycling what we use. I feel that we are really making a difference.
So.....Get Ready for Environmental Education Now!