 Yesterday I spoke at The Truth Beauty Company.
There wasn't a big crowd and the weather outside was frightful, but it every opportunity to share my message about conversing and preserving our planet and especially our oceans is important to me. One of my favourite things about this speaking gig was that the people who attended gave me great feedback and asked super questions. They also shared what they felt they could do more of to help save our environment. They were really interested in trying to make a difference in helping our ocean's ecosystem! Some of my core messages at the event related to the harm we cause our ocean when we use plastics and they get into the water system. I found that the audience really felt it was true that we're all connected to the ocean and that the harm we do now will continue to do damage for future generations. Many thanks to Jennifer Freitas, founder and owner of The Truth Beauty Company for this amazing opportunity to speak about my passion for saving our oceans. Jennifer is a role model for green living and sharing tips for using eco-friendly beauty products. She is a mom of twins and knows how important keeping our planet green is to her children and future families. For more about the Truth Beauty Company. contact Jennifer.
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 Me in Grand Bend, Ontario * photo by Deb Schwedhelm Photography I love the beach. I love being near water and feeling sand on my toes and enjoying everything about spending a day making sandcastles and jumping in the waves. Our lakes and oceans can be a great way to relax and enjoy the summer break from school or a vacation from work.
We need to keep focused on protecting our lakes, rivers and oceans. If we don't, we'll lose the chance as the water just will be overwhelmed with pollution. My friend, Scott Hammell sent me another great video to watch. I just had to share this video of Pacific White Sided Dolphins. Imagine if the ocean was so murky from pollution that we couldn't see the dolphins? No one wants this. They are beautiful and so playful. I hope you enjoy this video and will be inspired to keep our lakes, rivers and oceans clean. Every little bit helps. All you have to do is try. I hope you'll help me... For our oceans and endangered marine life.  Photo of me taken by Hilary Camilleri, owner of One for the Wall Photography My dear friend, Illusionist and Communicator, Scott Hammell, sent me a great link to a TEDEd video that I just have to share with you!
If you've ever wondered why I am an ocean warrior and why I care so much about saving it from harm, you'll know a lot more about why it is so important to me once you watch this video. Even though people believe there are five oceans (Pacific, India, Atlantic, Southern, Arctic) in reality, they are all connected and make up one BIG body of water that takes up 71 percent of our planet. If you look at our planet from space, what do you see? The ocean. That's why the Earth is called the Blue Planet. The ocean holds 91 percent of Earth's biosphere - that means all the life that lives in the ocean - planet and animals too. There are so many reasons to love our ocean and so many ways we can help protect it. Can you think of something you can do to conserve our ocean? Here are some helpful tips: 1. Try to stop using plastic products as much as possible. If you've heard me speak at an event, you know this is a passion of mine - talking about reducing the use of plastics. Why? Plastics kill thousands of marine animals every year. Carry a reusable water bottle and keep food in a container you can bring home and reuse. 2. Take care of the beach, lake or rivers near you If you see pollution, pick it up and place it in a recycle bin or garbage container. 3. Don't buy things that cause harm or kill marine life Don't buy shark products or eat shark fin soup. Shark fining has caused the death of millions of sharks every year. Don't buy hair accessories made from turtle shells. 4. Support organizations that work to save the ocean I'm an ambassador for AfriOceans Conservation Alliance and I know they do amazing work to help raise awareness and educate children to influence change and help save our ocean. There are other organizations like Oceana and National Geographic and lots more that do wonderful work. Please help support their efforts. 5. Learn about the ocean There are so many great websites to help you learn about our planet and the ocean. There are great videos and ways to stay connected to the ocean and the animals that live in it. Stay educated and share what you learn; it is a great way to inspire others! You have the power to save our ocean and save our planet. How will you use your power today?  This last month has been so awesome. I've had a chance to share my message and raise awareness about protecting our planet.
In the month of March and April I spoke at a number of events including: a day long school event about ocean conservation, TEDxWaterloo Youth, a plastics workshop for echo-hydrology professors planned by the University of Waterloo and then last week, I spoke to 1500 students at the Count Me In Conference in Mississauga. To top it off in the best way, my mom took me to see Rob Stewart's movie, REVOLUTION. It was incredible. I loved Revolution because we see the harm that we are causing and how much this is affecting us, our oceans and marine life. We see that TIME IS RUNNING OUT and we need everyone of us to join the fight to save our oceans. We see that the oceans have a thriving role in every part of survival and existence. We see that without a change, our oceans will disappear. We see that we need to act NOW! I cried when I watched REVOLUTION (and so did my mom...). I cried when Rob swam with the Whale Sharks. I saw their beauty. I saw their worth, but I also see that these amazing creatures will be gone. I cried during the movie REVOLUTION when I saw youth being rejected for speaking from their hearts, and for caring about our planet. This is NOT right because youth are changing the world. Youth are our future. Youth are our present. Rob tells us that if we all join together and raise awareness, we will save our planet and our oceans. This is the best message and exactly what our world needs to hear now, on Earth Day and every day.  Jason Mraz singing 93 Million Miles It is good to be back home. Chasing home has been on my mind since my family just came back from a wonderful trip to California. I got to see Elephant Seals, Seals, Sea Lions and Sea Otters. The Aquarium in Monterey was amazing and I had a great time with the Marine Biologists there who showed me what my future job could be like.
I'll blog more about that after I'm done practicing my speech for TEDxWaterloo Youth. I'm so excited to share my message about saving the oceans and the endangered sharks. There is so much I want to say and so little time. For my opening music at TEDxWaterloo, I'm so excited that Jeffery Navarro, who is an spectacular DJ will be working with me for my intro. I'm just thinking about all the music that reminds me of how wonderful our world is and why we need to protect it. I really love to listen to Jason Mraz and since I got to see him in concert last summer, I have the best memories of all. One of the songs that really reminds me of how beautiful our planet is and why we need to protect it is: 93 Million Miles. We are that distance in miles from the sun or 150 million kilometres. I hope you'll take a few moments to relax and listen to it.  I've got a new logo and some new photos on my website that I'm so excited to share with everyone. I did this for a lot of reasons. My mentor, Lesley Rochat has a new website called SharkWarrior.com. I'm really lucky to be one of the four ambassadors on the website.
I'm also going to have a chance to present again! On March 27, 2013, I'm really happy to be sharing my message about saving our oceans and sharks with all the students and grown-ups attending TEDxWaterloo Youth. What's that, you ask? Well, TEDxWaterloo Youth is part of TEDxWaterloo. I got this from the TEDxWaterloo website: "We are a group of volunteers who are passionate about bringing the TED mission of Ideas Worth Spreading to our community. Tapping into the local hotbed of creativity, technology, education and innovation, we are combining our skills, talents, expertise and enthusiasm to bring you remarkable speakers with powerful ideas. As we enter into our third successful year, TEDxWaterloo continues to be completely volunteer run and supported by many generous community-minded companies and organizations. We invite you to be part of this shared experience. TED, by the way, is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design." TEDxWaterloo Youth is about "chasingHOME – a celebration of young minds and the thought leaders of tomorrow. Designed specifically for youth by youth, TEDxYouth@Waterloo showcases the talents, creativity and imagination of some of the most diverse and interesting speakers in Canada while enabling the spark of ideas worth spreading." I'm really looking forward to being a voice for our oceans and helping people find ways to be a voice for something they are passionate about. There are so many ways we can make a difference at home, in our community and in the world. Chasing Home is all of those things for me. Most of all, it is about reminding people that they are not alone. What they believe in is important and when they tell someone about it, their message can grow wings and find its way home to the hearts of others. Remember everyone - with every drop of water we drink, we're connected to the oceans and we're connected to each other. You're not alone. I'm right here with you. Keep on believing that you can make change happen. You can make a difference!  On April 17, 2013, I will be speaking about saving the oceans and sharks at the largest youth run conference in Canada. I'm so excited to have this wonderful opportunity to share my message.
I'd like to thank Popy Dimoulas-Graham for introducing me to Shane Feldman. Meeting him was incredible. I'll never forget it. What is the Count Me In Conference? Well, I got this from the website:Count Me In is an organization that promotes and encourages any and all acts of volunteerism among youth, both locally and globally, in an effort to create social change and enhance personal growth. Count Me In Conference (CMIC) is a single day event focussing on the power of youth to create positive change! Designed to inspire, motivate and empower today's youth to become leaders, the main goal of CMIC is to give students the tools they need to get involved and make a difference! Count Me In was started by teen activist Shane Feldman when he was 13 years old, and is now recognized as the largest initiative of its kind, run entirely by students. It is a chance like this one that reminds me of what can happen when you try. So, here's my message to you -- if you believe in something and want to make a difference, YOU CAN. Just try. Keep trying and don't give up. Tell someone who believes in you and ask them to help you. No effort is ever wasted.  Today I made a pastel picture of Water Lilies. Mine isn't exactly like the ones made by Claude Monet, but I think it's great. I love water and all the life that lives in and around it. Did you know that there are more than 1,000 species of animals that live there? Not all of them are in one pond, but you'll find lots, if you really look. I have a tiny pond in my backyard. It is frozen now. We have lots of snow today. In little ponds there are frogs, fish, fleas, dragonflies and snails. There are amphibians, invertebrates and mammals in ponds. Beavers, birds, ducks and racoons live near them too. Ponds are interesting because they support lots of different food chains. There are many plants that live in ponds such as water lilies. As well as being beautiful to look at, they make great places to give creatures shelter. Pond water needs to stay clean so that it can help keep all the plants and animals healthy. When we dump or pollute pond water, there isn't enough oxygen to break down the pollution. One thing I've learned about pollution is that there are chemicals and fertilizers that get put on our food and the soil we use to grow crops. These chemicals can get absorbed in the water that flows to rivers, streams and ponds. You can help keep the water in ponds clean by picking up garbage you see in and around a pond. Also, try not to eat foods with chemicals in it. Try to eat organic foods if you can. I know it isn't always easy. There are no sharks in ponds, but there are lots of different types of fish like trout, bass and Kingfishers. Just as we do, all of the fish in ponds need clean water too. I bet Monet loved looking at all the animals, fish and plants that lives in his pond in Giverny. His paintings are inspired by the water and life that needed it to survive. I'm so glad that Monet liked ponds or we wouldn't have some of his best paintings! I hope you like my pastel art too. While I was waiting for a reply from Prime Minister Harper, I talked to my mom about what more I could do to save sharks. I need to help them and I like to sketch. My sister, Sammy and I started drawing sharks. My mom did too. Then we looked at Lesley Rochat's amazing photos on her website and Facebook page. She has lots of really cool photos of sharks! I love Lemon Sharks. They are so beautiful with their yellow colour. We looked at all of our sketches and decided to make a 2013 Save the Sharks Calendar. I'm so excited to share it with you! We are asking $20.00 per calendar and all the proceeds go to AfriOceans Conservation Alliance at www.aoca.org.za. They gave me the okay to use some of Lesley's shark photos. So cool! Writing emails and making a homemade calendar is a small way I can help. You can help by:
Order your calendar here or email me. Thanks!Here is a sneak peak at the 2013 Save the Sharks Calendar Every day I've been waiting and checking my email inbox for a letter from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I know he must be really busy and my mom told me that I might not get a reply, but that I should keep being a voice for our sharks and our oceans. On Friday, I got an email from "The Office of the Prime Minister". It was sent to me and Mr. Ritz and Mr. Ashfield too. Here it is: Prime Minister/Premier Ministre I am going to email the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of Fisheries. I know the sharks would want me too. I have to do this for our sharks and our oceans. Will you email them too?
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Maddie Cranston,
--Ocean Warrior "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732 Archives
April 2018
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