My Community Anonymous

My childhood was marked by David Attenborough nature documentaries, issues of National Geographic Kids, and environmentalist parents. Naturally, I was the child who could tell you about echolocation or shark migratory patterns. My favorite childhood activities included catching and releasing juvenile marine life from washed up Sargassum seaweed, hatching backyard lizard eggs, and raising monarch caterpillars. As I grew older I began to associate myself with others who had similar environmental convictions to myself. In fact now, more than ever, I find that I want to conserve the one thing that all people relate to, the source of all life’s sustenance, the earth.

The community of environmentalists I belong to is not a definite group and is comprised of individuals from various demographics. There are no defined membership requirements, responsibilities, or levels of commitment. Everyday I actively choose to make my contributions to helping preserve our planet. These contributions range from being vegan for the past year and half to picking up litter whenever I see it to convincing my parents to install solar panels on our home instead of buying a new car to turning the lights off when I leave a room. The fact that I know that...