Susette Oñate is a member of the Dr. Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots National Fellowship Program. This encourages young people, especially youth of color to work in underserved communities around the world. Dr. Goodall’s nonprofit gives grants to youth leaders so they can develop community action programs and empower people. Susette is working in her home town in Florida to create a service learning project to benefit humanity and the environment.

When Susette was in high school, she revitalized her school’s butterfly garden, involving other students and the science teachers in the task. Now she is in college studying wildlife ecology/conservation and political science. This year she is leading a Roots and Shoots conservation project in her home town of Hialeah, Florida, further expanding the high school butterfly garden. She wants to teach, “…children early on that we should care for everything, even those as tiny as caterpillars.” Students will learn about the life cycle and food needs of caterpillars and butterflies, and expand butterfly habitat by transplanting extra flowering plants from the garden to near their homes. Susette will also meet with teachers from local schools to take the project to the larger community level.

Susette Oñate and her dedication to nature is one reason I can imagine a positive ecological future. To find out more about Susette Oñate and Jane Goodall’s work, click here. As Dr. Goodall likes to say, “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”

What gives you hope for our natural world?

Gracias for reading Fake Flamenco. Olé! –Rebecca