Earth Day!
We celebrated Earth Day with a river clean-up, cook-out and mulch delivery to the Boys & Girls Club for their Edible Landscape project. It was a fun day!
Little Contentnea Creek – part of the Neuse River Basin
Earth Day Art
Heather Ritts has 4 Earth Day prints available to purchase – 8″x10″ at $18/each, includes tax & shipping. Each will be signed & noted “Earth Day 2011″. Heather will donate $10.00 from each sold to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. Contact . Thank You & Happy Earth Day, Miss H!!!
River Clean-up
A call to action was made to friends to help with the Pamlico Tar River Clean-up Challenge. With bags and gloves in tow, we paddled the Tar River to pick up trash along the way. Other volunteers walked the area to remove trash. My parents removed tires, a shopping cart and traffic cone from ravines along the river. The amount of cigarette butts, bottles and cans is ridiculous. When your area has a clean-up, lend a helping hand! Everything eventually flows into the ocean.
The Upstream Downstream Connection
The Upstream Downstream Connection has been created for students who otherwise would not have this opportunity to get involved in environmental issues through hands-on science, nature and aquatic activities. Love A Sea Turtle will fund 2 weeklong camps this summer for the Ayden Boys & Girls Club. My goal is to fund 6 camps for the countywide Boys & Girls Clubs next year!
- Examining Fresh Water Sources
- Exploring River Basins
- Water Pollution Sources
- Water Quality Testing – includes canoeing the river
5th day includes a Coastal Aquatic Adventure – we’ll head to the beach for a marine science adventure, snorkeling, a beach clean-up and tour of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. Rum Runner Dive Shop will provide snorkeling equipment and an instructor. That’s having fun while you learn!
Miss H
Heather Ritts, known as Miss H, designed the “Save The Turtles” shirts for Love A Sea Turtle. Check out her website, Above The Reefs, to find out more about this amazing artist.
National Volunteer Week 2011
Date(s): April 10, 2011 – April 16, 2011
Location: National
Event URL: http://www.handsonnetwork.org/nationalprograms/signatureevents/nvw
Registration Fee: Free
Description
Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week has grown exponentially in scope each year since, drawing the support and endorsement of all subsequent U.S. presidents, governors, mayors and other respected elected officials.
National Volunteer Week is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. It’s about demonstrating to the nation that by working together, in unison, we have the fortitude to meet our challenges and accomplish our goals. National Volunteer Week is about taking action, encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change—discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to foster positive transformation.
STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Math & Medicine
I was invited to speak to a group of 100 eighth grade girls at Hendrix Theatre on ECU’s campus. Chancellor Ballard made the opening remarks. The students and ECU professors watched my slideshow presentation and I spoke to them about my sea turtle work. It was quite an incredible experience to be up on that big stage! I discussed the STEM discipline and how it is incorporated into my turtle work. I also encouraged them to go out and make a difference. The girls continued their day on campus with lab experiences and networking with ECU women faculty.
Making A Difference
I received a very sweet note from a turtle lover, like me! She also sent me some inspiring “Making A Difference” cards.
Making A Difference-
An old man walked up a shore littered with thousands of starfish, beached and dying after a storm. A young man was picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean. “Why do you bother?” the old man scoffed. “You’re not saving enough to make a difference.” The young man picked up another starfish and sent it spinning back to the water. “Made a difference to that one,” he said.
You make a difference every day.
