This Earth Day, Tampa Bay students and experts encourage them to work together for the Earth

Second Grade Owen Brotrollo felt he was most connected to nature on the day he spotted a stick bug.

A primary school student at Corbett Prep said he was camping with a friend when the duo spotted a tweeter insect on a whim. They put it in the tank for a few minutes, and in awe of adoration it was roaming around, then brought it back into the wilderness.

“I want to see more people help the animals,” Strollo said. To see insects, birds, and lizards is to give him hope and demand that if he can make one law, he releases an animal that humans can catch.

For Earth Day, the Tampa Bay Times will sit with students from elementary to high school to discuss the environmental conditions of Tampa Bay.

Stollolo joined students on Thursday from St. Petersburg and Seminoles’ Indie School, Strawberry Crest and King High School for an hour of conversation. The Times also spoke with representatives from four environmental organizations to discuss temperature checks on how local conservation initiatives are progressing.

The event brought together local conservation decision makers and children in the area they want to inherit better, cleaner, more sustainable Tampa Bay.

Is it an important point? The longer the kids spend outside in nature, the more they want to protect it.

“They’re going to grow up to become adults in the future,” said Peter Clark, president and founder of nonprofit Tampa Bay Watch. “We want them to love Tampa Bay. But if they don’t go out on a boat or physically out in the woods and can’t thank the environment, how can they love it?”

Pat Deplasco, executive director of Keep Pinellas Beautiful, joined the expert panel. Devi Luke, Senior Vice President of Conservation at Florida Aquarium. Bonnie Eaton is Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoot USA Tampa Bay Base Camp Coordinator.

The four organizations emphasize that a key element of a successful conservation initiative is collaboration, whether it is building oyster reefs, cleaning up trash, or planting native species.

Example: Roots and Shoots are with Keep Pinera on Saturday, along with beautiful Pinera for a coastline restoration event. There, volunteers planted native sea oats on Treasure Island Beach to control erosion and build Florida wildlife habitat.

“We often talk to each other,” Eton said. “Because we’re all in there to win it.”

Caymus Maxson, a freshman at Seminole High School, discovered that he’s most relaxed when he’s on the beach.

“It’s just the waves and you, especially as a young child in the morning,” she said. “You can think about your own thoughts.”

If there is one place she would like to be protected in the future, it is her hometown coastline on Madeira Beach.

So, at age 10, Maxon founded Trash Turtles, an environmentally-friendly nonprofit organization that encourages the removal of waste from Florida coastlines. The nonprofit’s catchphrase is #leavewith3, which encourages beach fans to leave three pieces of garbage with each visit.

Maxon said it was the youngsters on the panel next to her who gave hope for Florida’s future to dodge climate change and curb environmental issues such as habitat loss and pollution. Also on the panel were King High School seniors, Samafatta, Victor Laurinx, Juniors from Strawberry Crest High School, Evaspitek and Indiededo, and Adina Fisher, a junior from Corbett Prep in Tampa.

Fatta said she feels hopeful in innovation. It’s exciting to think that some of the tools needed to save our planet, such as how to capture carbon emissions before they enter the atmosphere, will be invented by humans, she said.

“These technologies are amazing and we need to use them to the fullest,” Fatta said. “Our generation is very aware of what we have to face because ultimately we will inherit the consequences of climate change.”

For more information about Earth Moon events and how to participate, visit rotsandshoots.org.