Tag: reduce

Earth Day!

by theconservationkid

Last week, we celebrated Earth Day. I’m not sure what you did but here’s a little glimpse into what my week looked like! First, I had to plan because I knew I was going to busy.

Tuesday, I went to my nearest national park which overlooks the Tennessee River. It’s such a beautiful spot to enjoy and see exactly what I’m fighting for.

Wednesday, I went to Arrowhead Resort in Spring city, Tennessee to place 4 monofilament bins. Spoke to their owner/manager and had a very productive meeting. Later in the day I did an interview about rivers and pollution with ABC news live.

Thursday, I placed another monofilament bin at Booker T. Washington state park. I also met with my local chapter of trout unlimited and am working with them to place 8-10 more monofilament bins in heavily fished areas.

Friday, I spoke to the biology and wildlife club at University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) about my work and how every person can do something to improve the world around them for ourselves and our wildlife. After this, I went to CMC recycling which is where I recycle all of my aluminum to fund my monofilament project. (This turned out to be an awesome trip, my mom won a super cool griddle/grill after their guessing game)

Saturday was officially EARTH DAY! there was so much we could have done and joined on cleanups with other groups but by then I was pretty worn out so we went to another recycling center just to drop off a few bags of plastics for recycling then we did a family cleanup.

It was a busy week and things haven’t really slow brown and that’s ok. Keeping the motivation going to help keep our planet clean is exciting. I’ll post the link to the ABC interview below.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/earth-week-meet-teenager-helping-save-rivers-oceans-98699410

Cleanups!

by theconservationkid

So lately I have done several cleanups, alone and with others. Either way, I am making an impact and so can you. From 2 pounds to 20,000, every single piece and pound matter.

40!!!!

by theconservationkid

If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you know I’ve been partnering with Tennessee State parks. Recently, I went to Tim’s Ford, Edgar Evans & Rock island state park and now officially have 40 monofilament receptacles out! I am so excited this program is really taking off and spreading across our state. Our watersheds will be a little safer from excess fishing line and now it can properly be taken care of and recycled.

GLOBAL RECYCLING DAY

by theconservationkid

GLOBAL RECYCLING DAY
This is my simple recycling concept in under 10 seconds!

You can change the world your own way. This is one way I feel liken making a difference and I have some super exciting news coming in a few weeks! So many more of these monofilament receptacles are going out with the help of individuals, grants and money I’ve made from recycling.

Kid of the Year

by theconservationkid

Although I didn’t win overall “Kid of the Year”, I feel extremely honored to have even made top 5 with so many amazing kids. There were thousands nominated and to be in the top for those kids, all trying to change the world in their one way and doing amazing things, was humbling.

I have never tried to gain attention for myself but just try to bring attention to our planet and what we need to do collectively to make a difference and heal our blue planet we call home. Everyone can make a difference, you have to decide if it’s good or bad.

Thank you to Time Magazine and Nickelodeon for considering me for such an award. Words can never express how grateful I am that the great state of Tennessee and the Tennessee River were brought nationwide attention that it so desperately needs.

Another Can Day

by theconservationkid

#146 pounds of crushed aluminum cans will fill up the back of a standard pickup truck. These cans can be new cans or new aluminum is 60-90 days and will FOREVER be recyclable. The beauty of aluminum is once it’s been separated and drawn from the earths crust is stable enough to last indefinitely. Plastic, on the other hand, is generally only recyclable once or twice then is destined for the landfill where it’s toxic chemicals and microplastics contaminate our soil, water, and even our air. Plastics shouldn’t really the go to option as far as packaging. We are just adding to landfill waste over time.

Kid of the Year!

by theconservationkid

The news is out and I am happy to announce I have been nominated and named in the top 5 for Time Magazine & Nickelodeon’s Kid of the Year! This is such a huge honor and I want to thank everyone who has taken time to help me along the way. I wouldn’t be here without my amazing family and friends who have always let me explore my passion and helped me in so many ways.

This won’t change my work or my motivation, actually, it will make me push even harder knowing people see what I’m doing and that I can make a difference.

Welcome to 2022!

by theconservationkid

January 1st, 2022, I hosted a cleanup with my good friend and State Representative, Greg Vital. I truly appreciate people who believe kids can make a difference!

Last year I met so many amazing people and have been so inspired that I know what I’m doing matters. I know my voice is being heard and my actions are being seen and they matter!

Starting the year off with a cleanup has become a family tradition for my family but being joined today by people who represent my state makes me so proud and happy!

1 TON!

by theconservationkid

A few weeks ago, after almost a year of work on aluminum can recycling , I hit the 1 TON mark! I keep track of how many pounds each time I take them to be recycled and it took 10 months to recycle 1 ton of aluminum.

The cans I pick up are from Play.Wash.Pint. A local dog play park where people meet, gather, hang out and their dogs can play in a safe space. This Business hated to see all of this potential just to the trash so I partnered with them and pick up all their aluminum and some plastic for recycling. The money I make from these cans goes to make my monofilament bins that are placed along the Tennessee River. There are now 17 out and I couldn’t have done it without this partnership. If you have an idea, and don’t know where to start or how to find it, look in the trash, who knows, you may find an idea? And you can help the planet too!

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!