In Spotlight: Conversations on Conservation: Part I

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"...Posterity is the world to come ...The world from whom we have borrowed our planet and to whom we bear sacred responsibility..."
                                                                                                                                                                                                       - President Clinton

Earlier this year I had a couple of requests from kids asking me if they could contribute to my newsletter or if I could showcase their favorite animal. I decided to honor that request and dedicated the Summer Issue of 2015 to showcase their thoughts and ideas on wildlife conservation. 

I am really impressed with the entries I received and the varied interests and concerns these budding conservationists have brought to our attention. The topics range from threats wildlife face to deforestation. I appreciated the diversity in the species that were highlighted especially since some of these were not on my radar. The art work and photographs are equally impressive and thoughtful. I am very encouraged by their sense of wonder, their ability to articulate their love for animals and nature and their passion for conservation! I would like to thank each and everyone of them for sharing their thoughts and talent with us and for raising awareness on the important issue of wildlife conservation!

  " A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." 
                                                                                                                                                                                                       - Mahatma Gandhi

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Art Contributions : 

 Zebra                                                                 Sailfish                                                              Monarch butterfly 
 Artist : Eva,  13                                                  Artist: Alexander H,  15                                   Artist: Pooja G, 11  
 Boulder, CO USA                                             Atlanta, GA USA                                              Charlotte, NC USA 
                                                                                                                                                       Status: Near Threatened (click to read)

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Written Contributions:

What Is Wildlife?
By: Nandana A
Age: 9
Atlanta, GA USA

What is wildlife? From the word we know that it is life in the wild. The word life includes all living things- vertebrates and invertebrates, living on land, water, and air. It also includes plants and trees. In short, wildlife is all living things that have not been tamed by man. Without wildlife our world would shrivel up. They bless this land, with every step of their feet, flap of their wings, swish of their fins. Trees make this atmosphere purer, with every breath they take. Read more...

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A Forest She Once Knew
(Short Story)
By: Sarah S
Age: 16
Atlanta, GA USA

A quiet whisper of noises ran through the forest as three scarlet tanagers fought over an earthworm, a red fox nibbled on nearby berries, and an alligator crawled from land back into the river’s deep waters. A little girl ran through the forest with her arms wide open, awed by the vastness that it presented. She hiked up over moss-coated rocks, slowly picking the small ones up hoping to find mysterious creatures underneath. Read more...

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Preserving What Is Remarkable
By: Emma G
Age: 17
Atlanta, GA USA

Imagine a majestic herd of African elephants lumbering across the planes of their homeland.  Suddenly, a bullet pierces the silence and a great beast falls to the ground.  All of the remaining elephants flee fearfully as poachers come to retrieve their spoil.  Poaching and habitat loss threaten to obliterate this precious species.  However, animal conservation programs work together with modern day zoos to provide a chance for such animals to repopulate.  Highly organized breeding programs allow zoos worldwide to foster the repopulation of many endangered species.  Read more...

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Galapagos Penguins
By: Sara K
Age: 12
Atlanta, GA USA

My favorite animal is a penguin. For this article I wanted to write about my love for Penguins. I wanted to
 specifically talk about the Galapagos
penguin, because it’s one of the species of penguins that are endangered. The Galapagos penguin is found all over the world; specifically in the Galapagos Islands, Santa Cruz, and the Floreana Islands (south of the equator). These penguins don’t live in Antarctica like penguins typically do, because they prefer to live in tropical destinations. Read more...

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The Bumblebee Bat

By: Tanya S
Age: 11
Hyderabad, India

Have you ever wondered what kind of animals are out there, or rather what kind of extraordinary animals are out there? The Bumblebee Bat is not any ordinary bat, in fact, it is the most abnormal bat there is because it has a nose like a pig and no tail!  It is also the world's smallest mammal. With a wingspan of approximately 170mm and a fill length of 29-30mm they had captured the eye of the Thai Biologist Kitti Thonglongya, in 1973. That is simply the reason why they are also known as the Kitti's Hog nosed Bats.
Read more...

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Red Fox
By: Rania Z
Age: 10
San Francisco, CA USA

Sneaky and awesome, the Red Fox is one of nature’s most magnificent animals.  Red Foxes live throughout the U.S, Asia, Europe and Canada, in woodlands and farmland.  Their scientific name is Vulpes Vulpes.  Their Diet consists of lizards, rodents, rabbits, snakes, voles, hares, carrions, small birds, earthworms, fish, mollusks, mice, fruits and berries.  They also eat fungi and grass. What’s not to love about a Red Fox? Read more...

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We Couldn’t Survive Without Soil and Water
By: Emily H
Age: 8
Atlanta, GA USA

We couldn't survive without soil and water because we need clean and clear water to drink and to survive. We couldn’t survive without soil and water because soil contains the worms and they help the plants to grow and to survive. We couldn’t survive without soil and water because the roots grow in the soil. We couldn’t survive without soil and water because water is the rain and rain is the water. Read more...

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Photo Contributions:

Blueberries on a bush                                        Amazon River Dolphin (Pink Dolphin)               Flowers
Photo credit: Emily H,  8                                     Photo credit: Sam F ,  13                                      Photo credit: Emily H, 8
Atlanta, GA  USA                                                  Atlanta, GA  USA                                                   Atlanta, GA  USA

If you have a comment or a question for a contributing artist, writer or photographer please send those to me using the comment box in the Contact page and I will forward it to them. 

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