Tag: conservation kid

Winter the Dolphin

by theconservationkid

This morning I woke up to the news Winter the dolphin that has been at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium has died. This hurt my heart so much. I had the great pleasure to see Winter more than once and her story really touched me.

She was injured by a crab trap that was left behind and she was entangled causing irreversible damage to her tail which ended up having to be amputated. She was found and cared for by the amazing team at Clearwater Marine Hospital.

Their motto is rescue, rehab and release but a dolphin missing her entire tail flukes, is obviously unreleasable so that’s where she stayed for 16 years. So many people heard her story and connected with her on such a deep level. She touched so many human lives than and truly changed hearts towards ocean animals.

Winter was harmed by humans and was forced to be removed from her home but on the other hand, humans saved her and took amazing care of her so we learned humans can make things better and do our part to care for our wildlife. We can do better. We can come together and make an impact for good. Let’s do something today for Winter!

Go Blue Award

by theconservationkid

Ella & I were finalists for the Go Blue Award with Loggerhead Marine life Center. The Cleanup Kids is focused on cleaning up the planet of trash, plastic, bullying, air pollution, noise and and other for of pollution to make this planet better.

The keynote speaker was Sylvia Earle and hearing her speak was incredible. I had chills the whole time being in the presence of “Her Deepness”.

Although Ella & I didn’t win, we are all winners because we met and spoke with so many amazing ocean conservationists who inspire us and now we are more ready than ever to keep going and move forward with our work to make this world a better place.

World Rivers Day

by theconservationkid

If there’s something I love, it’s the Tennessee River so today, I am celebrating World Rivers Day.
The Tennessee River and it’s tributaries supply drinking water to about 5.1 million people. It’s also the nation’s fifth-largest river system and one of the most biodiverse rivers in North America. With that said, it’s also the tested higher for microplastics than any other river in the world to date. Why?! Landfill waste! We have got to do better with what we dispose of and where it goes. Our health and well being literally depend on it.
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Sammie Smiles Podcast

by theconservationkid

I did my first podcast interview and it happens to be with my friend and fellow Prudential spirit of community award winner. Go check it out and let m know what you think!

YouTube: https://youtu.be/AdQOySpgonQ

Apple podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sammie-smiles/id1536338801?i=1000527870083

 

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FLq6bNiINA6982pEIdjQY?si=Vwiw5gqMTSqyRS5mnShZEA&dl_branch=1

Prudential Spirit of Community Awards!

by theconservationkid

I was named as a state honoree for the state of Tennessee. Each state had 1 honoree for high school level and 1 for middle school level from each state. After a long weekend of zoom calls and meeting other state honorees, they named 10 national honorees. There were some amazing youth doing wonderful things and I was happy to be among those 100 kids recognized but my weekend got even more amazing when I was named one the top 10!!!!

Check out the link below! This is such an amazing honor and I am more than thrilled but humbled to represent Tennessee in the best way!

https://spirit.prudential.com/honoree/2021/cash-daniels

SHARK SERIES

by theconservationkid

Check out TheCleanUp Kids on YouTube for my newest project to raise awareness for all kinds of conservation issues that our planet faces. Right now we are in the middle of a special shark series.

Would or wouldn’t you swim with sharks?! Why it why not? I have been with Nat Geo photographer Jim Abernethy and it was the most amazing experience EVER! Check out the link below and let me know what you think?!

Sharks!!

by theconservationkid

Today, I swam with sharks! That’s right! I’m 11, and I swam with sharks with the amazing Jim Abernethy! It was amazing to see lemon sharks and some bull sharks and guess what?! Nobody was bitten or attacked! You know why? Sharks aren’t mindless eating machines. Sharks are actually afraid of people and are shy. Jim has gotten to know them over decades and loves them so much. These beautiful creatures need protected and loved. They need to be appreciated for what they are. Amazing, gorgeous, strong, but vulnerable animals.

Let’s all help save sharks together! what can you do if you don’t live near the ocean? Don’t eat shark! Limited your single use plastics when you can. Check your ingredients list in cosmetics, cat/dog food and don’t buy things that contain squalene.

Rare bird sighting!

by theconservationkid

I was able to see an amazing beautiful bird this week, the Snowy owl! I live in Tennessee so these birds are not normally seen here. This is the first one in my city/county and only the 15th seen on our state. It’s thought that females will wait until they know there’s enough food so when they do have chicks, there’s more than average and they need to expand their territories so they sometimes go further south.

This beauty isn’t the biggest owl but one of the heaviest because of the thick feathers, which keep them warm in cold climates like the arctic.

New receptacles coming soon!

by theconservationkid

I have plans for new monofilament receptacles to be places soon! I’m working with TWRA on new places to put them and strategize where and when to empty.

All the fishing line collected goes to Berkeley fishing and is recycling led and turned into fish habitats to better our waterways instead of threatening it with improperly disposed of fishing line that wreaks havoc on our wildlife.

Check back to see where these new receptacles will be places! I can’t wait.