Well, it finally happened… after almost two years of lobbying to try to save animals from being killed each year at local rattlesnake roundups, the folks in Claxton GA have agreed to change their event from one that collected and killed snakes to an event, which now celebrates the species
Olivia and Carter’s sincere commitment to everything they do was again apparent during the Salvation Army’s Re-Effect conference and we feel confident that our programs are something which will benefit each of the communities the Salvation Army serves.
As we learned more about their mission in South Africa, we found out that IFAW strongly supported an incredible organization called CLAW (Community Led Animal Welfare) which began ten years ago with Cora Bailey’s one-woman crusade to personally provide basic veterinary services to one South African township.
While driving to the Cheetah section of the center, we passed by some of the various species that they care for as well including the Caracal, African Wild Cats, Brown Hyena and various types of Vultures, all of which are considered endangered and unless protected, are sure to become extinct in our lifetime.
Additionally, 10 year old Georgia Student Carter Ries and his sister Olivia were selected as Second Place Winners, recognized for a Plastic Awareness Week school curriculum they developed together. Both students are excited to be guests at the Atlanta event. Nine year-old Olivia noted, “This is my first ever Gala … it’s a once in a lifetime thing!” Carter added, “I’m so excited to meet the winner! I’m hoping that I meet some famous people too!”
Olivia and Carter were invited to be speakers at this years 2011 Youth Ocean Summit hosted by the ‘Stow It Don’t Throw It’ organization. The inaugural event was held at the Mote Marine Laboratory in beautiful Sarasota FL.
Recently we had the opportunity to present our program “Plastic Awareness Week” program to the extremely talented students from the SKA Academy of Art and Design school in Duluth GA. Co-founder of the school Dr. Leng Chee Chang (who is a Graduated with Ph.D. Degree in Pharmacognosy from University of Illinois at Chicago) heard about our program and invited Olivia and Carter to come and teach to several of their classes over the course of several weeks.
As we learn more and more about the affects of plastic pollution on our environment and on the many species that share this earth with us, we have become more aware of how much trash is just lying around in our community. If you take the time to look, you too will be amazed to see how much trash we are just throwing on the ground.
Sierra Club Green Home is starting its Energy Efficiency First Campaign, where their goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of 1,000 homes by 2012 – one home energy assessment at a time. They are offering free full home energy assessments to the first five people who sign up through their campaign in Orlando, FL; Denver, CO; Boulder, CO; Albany, NY; Atlanta, GA; and Sacramento, CA. If you or anyone you know is interested in receiving a free home energy assessment in those areas, call 888-SCGH-COM or contact Heather Logan at hlogan@scgh.com directly and she will gladly help you out.
We created our presentation, “All God’s Critters Have A Place In The Choir,” in an effort to help church communities remember our responsibilities and to help them better understand how easy it is to be part of the solution.
Your donations to OMG help support the many initiatives with which we are involved to help our endangered species and clean up our environment.
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