|
 |
Lily the Bernese Mountain dog is very proud of all of her heroes. These kids
are really something - they are very active in their community and have
learned the importance of giving. You can be one of Lily's Heroes
too! Want to learn more or need some ideas? Click on "Become a Hero". Is
one of your pals doing something really cool that helps people?
Check out "Nominate a Kid".
Lily hopes
that kids (and parents) will be inspired by these stories. Many of
these ideas can be copied and carried out right in your own neighborhood.
If you appear on our website in this section, you will be entitled to a free certificate. |
Alternate Photo
| When Chloe Maxmin began high school, she was surprised to find that there was little awareness of environmental issues or how students could make a difference on the climate crisis. That’s when she began to formulate her life’s mission: to make global warming the defining issue of her generation. Her goals were to 1) educate and create opportunities for direct action, and 2) help students and community members realize that they could make a difference and see the results of their efforts echo worldwide.
By the start of her sophomore year, she had founded the Climate Action Club at her school. It was aimed at educating and mobilizing action to fight global warming within the school and community. Chloe works tirelessly at this endeavor-- in addition to five AP courses, Mandarin Chinese, varsity sports, piano studies, and a perfect GPA! The Club has a growing list of accomplishments: a comprehensive NO IDLE policy that has changed behavior on campus; recycling over 4000 batteries from students and now expanding into town; a printer cartridge recycling campaign that educates students about the negative effects of cartridges, circulates receptacles, and delivers cartridges to a recycling center. The club has led seminars for faculty and administrators to share information on energy conservation, installed energy optimization software on school computers, and is working on a variety of approaches to reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
The club is now working with the community to reduce the use of plastic bags. They are collaborating with merchants on the design of a town-wide reusable bag. Through a weekly column in their local paper and other means (emails, handouts, fact sheets, and community meetings) the club is educating people as to why they should reject plastic bags. Chloe produced a video on the negative consequences of plastic bags called “First Here Then Everywhere”. (You can see it on YouTube here.) The video has been shown to community groups and airs on the local cable channel. Chloe calculates that each reusable shopping bag can eliminate the use of at least two plastic bags per person per day. Based on current science, her analysis concludes that this will save 4.8 x 1010 lbs of CO2 with an energy savings of 398,930,400 BTU’s. It means significantly fewer bags in landfills that leach toxic chemicals into the soil and harm local wildlife and marine life.
Chloe was recently chosen as the only high school student in her state of Maine to win the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. She pledged the $1000 prize to the Climate Action Club as a challenge grant to the community to fund the initial purchase of reusable bags for the town. The club has raised money from individuals, stores, and community groups to meet this challenge and is now in the process of buying the first installment of reusable bags. These will be sold in town, and all proceeds will be reinvested to purchase more bags, creating a self-sustaining economic platform for the campaign that can attract a growing list of sponsors.
Chloe and the club have received other national recognition. They were one of five winners chosen from hundreds of teams nationwide to receive the Lorax Challenge Award sponsored by Youth Venture. Their work was also recognized by the Sundance Channel, and will be featured in the upcoming season of the TV series “BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET”.
Chloe also started the website www.firstheretheneverywhere.org for teenagers worldwide to share local green initiatives. The message of her site reflects her experiences with the Climate Action Club. She observed that people living in small rural towns often don’t believe they have power or influence. Chloe says that no matter what size your town or school is, YOU have the power to create change in the world. She is determined to spread this message and empower others to rise above location or a sense of powerlessness in order to unite on behalf of nature. She is networking with other ventures all around the world to inform them about her site and invite them to be a featured initiative. Her goal is to make her website a place where young environmental activists can share their ideas, passions, experiences, and obstacles. She believes that is how brave ideas will spread and change the world.  
County: Lincoln ME, USA School: Lincoln Academy |
