I instantaneously heard the frogs emerging from their ponds, after a long winter, and croaking. I could smell the trees and that distinct scent they give off, I could feel the moisture in the air, I could hear the rattle of leaves from small critters scurrying around, I could feel the heat of the sun on my neck marking the end of winter and the start of spring.

 I was amazed at the ecosystem that was in front of me and how this place had been preserved for so long. I saw how each little animal and each little thing contributed to the greater good of the woods. I noticed that even man made structures had become places that benefit the woods. I saw multiple animals go into the old structures and live there.

It made me curious as to how I could benefit places like this with my actions and the things I do. I live right next to a 5 acre wooded area ,in Easton, and so I wanted to make it a better place. I built little structures from fallen trees and sticks and leaves so that if it rained or an animal had nowhere to go they could maybe find this little shelter to keep them safe from the predators or weather. This also led me to start to pick up garbage on hiking trails when going on hikes. So now everytime I go on a hike or go out to the woods I always bring a couple garbage bags to throw all the trash into when I see some.

This gorilla was massive; it was twice the size of any other animal I had seen that day. But of course I was still just thinking that they don’t really do anything. Instead all they do is sit in their tree and eat and sleep. But then I saw something that would change my view of nature and the animals that reside in it forever.

The gorilla walked on his hind legs over to a little toy NIKE ball that was sitting at the floor of his cage. He picked up the ball and walked over to where a little basketball hoop was and he threw the ball. My eyes couldn’t move away from the ball as it slowly moved across my gaze into the hoop. Right in front of me was this animal shooting hoops like it was nothing. It made me wonder what other things these animals could do and how they would affect the environment and their role in the environment. Which led me to think about what I do and how I affect the environment. This made me really think of ways that me and my family could help the environment in any small way. We all started recycling everything (that we could) and I even convinced my mom to get us a compost bin. 

This one experience made me care a lot more about roles and how to be environmentally friendly and led me to think more about my actions than I had ever thought before.

This gorilla was massive; it was twice the size of any other animal I had seen that day. But of course I was still just thinking that they don’t really do anything. Instead all they do is sit in their tree and eat and sleep. But then I saw something that would change my view of nature and the animals that reside in it forever.

The gorilla walked on his hind legs over to a little toy NIKE ball that was sitting at the floor of his cage. He picked up the ball and walked over to where a little basketball hoop was and he threw the ball. My eyes couldn’t move away from the ball as it slowly moved across my gaze into the hoop. Right in front of me was this animal shooting hoops like it was nothing. It made me wonder what other things these animals could do and how they would affect the environment and their role in the environment. Which led me to think about what I do and how I affect the environment. This made me really think of ways that me and my family could help the environment in any small way. We all started recycling everything (that we could) and I even convinced my mom to get us a compost bin. 

This one experience made me care a lot more about roles and how to be environmentally friendly and led me to think more about my actions than I had ever thought before.

AT MY HOUSE - MADE ME MORE ATTENTIVE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

One day I woke up and it was just an ordinary day as per usual nothing interesting happening just getting up and ready to go to school. But as soon as I got out of the house and looked up I knew something was wrong.

The sky was clouded with smoke. It was as if the earth was a match and we were just blown out. The sky was dark and gloomy with very little sunlight coming through the thick cloud like smoke. I could taste and smell the smoke as if it was right in front of me. How could smoke come from all the way from across the country and cover the entire sky? I followed up on this question by doing research and learning what had happened. 

This was such a big deal because of global warming. The fires, while caused by humans, were so severe due to the climate at the time. Global Warming caused the terrain to become hot and dry which makes the leaves lose their moisture and they become flammable and kindling. So I asked my mom 

“What can we do to help?” I asked. 

“Be more aware.” She said, That one sentence really summed it all up and was something that anybody can do with relative ease.

 This experience has taught me to be more attentive and to be more active for the environment. Whenever I am outside on a trail or even just biking somewhere and I see a hazard of some kind I will do all that I can to remove that hazard. I tell my parents to keep off of the roads with lots of grass and flammable material as it could catch fire from the cars exhaust. This experience taught me how to change the environment for the better instead of for the worst.