About 30 elementary schoolchildren from the Cayman Islands were inspired to travel and connect with students in St. Petersburg because of conservationist Jane Goodall.
Goodall held a Youth Environmental Summit this past weekend and spoke at Tropicana Field.
“All around the world, there are young people like you making a difference. So, my main reason for hope is you,” Goodall said to the stadium full of children.
The summit was coordinated by her Roots and Shoots youth program and other Tampa-area organizations. Goodall created Roots and Shoots to support children and their environmental projects with small grants.
Simon Rivers Jr., 11, of Sir John A. Cumber Primary School in West Bay, Cayman Islands, said he got a lot out of Goodall's speech.
"She has now inspired me to go and do beach cleanups more often, to go and spread awareness throughout my home country, and keep our environment clean and healthy for the sea life, forest life, and just life in general,” Rivers said.
This past Monday, he and his peers visited Indi-ED, a small, private, nonprofit school in St. Petersburg, to carry on a collaboration that started about a year ago.
Children from Prospect Primary School in George Town, Cayman Islands, also visited later Monday afternoon.
Simon said he's already made a new friend – they bonded quickly over their love of panthers and sports.
"We're going to contact each other through email. It's going to be very fun,” he said.
The kids brainstormed ideas for environmental projects, filling up the center room of the school. They sat altogether on the rug, couches and chairs.
The Cumber students wore their checkered red and white school uniforms, while the Indi-ED kids sported their black T-shirts with a colorful school logo.
"What if we stop deforestation?” one boy from the Cayman Islands asked.
“Yes, I like stopping deforestation, almost like reforesting, like Clementine's idea. I love the way that you all are building on each other's ideas,” one of the Indi-ED teachers responded.
A shared passion for protecting sea turtles first brought the schools together.
This year, the Indi-ED students held a sea turtle event at the St. Pete Pier to raise awareness about the endangered reptiles, which are battling a reduction in habitat as well as plastic and light pollution.
So, the kids told passers-by how when leaving a beach they can fill their holes, knock down sandcastles and make sure trash is picked up.
"The turtles are like a natural treasure in the Cayman Islands,” said Twanda Haughton, a Cumber teacher and science lead.
She said this partnership is a great opportunity.
"It allows students to explore more and learn about different cultures and to understand that you don't have to be in a classroom to learn something. The wider world is there for them to learn from,” she said.
In May, the tables were turned: Six children from the St. Petersburg school visited Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands that make up the British territory in the western Caribbean.
"It was a really cool experience. It was one of the uniqueest places I've ever been to,” 12-year-old Eva Spytek said.
Eva and the other kids fed stingrays, swam in bioluminescent water and, of course, stopped by the sea turtle center.
"It was really nice to meet the people. And, like, I learned all about their island, the national foods, the birds, and learned more about sea turtles, as well,” she said.
Rachel Pethe' is a teacher at Indi-ED and leads the school's Roots and Shoots chapter. She said working with the Cayman Islands schools helps the children build relationships and accomplish more.
"A partnership like this can take ideas and fine tune them in a way that we would have not have had the opportunity if we didn't have perspectives from different places in the world,” Pethe’ said.
And some of the children are already thinking about how these ideas will influence their future.
Jonte Jennings, 10, of the Cayman Islands said he wants to start his own business one day.
"To help clean beaches in the Caribbean, to help the plastic pollution and the sea life that is endangered,” Jonte said.
The teachers hope students walk away from this experience with the notion that they can take action – that they're not too young to be agents of change.
The group session ended with all the children reading a pledge in unison.
"My thoughts become my words. My words become my beliefs. My beliefs impact my actions, and my actions create who I am,” the children yelled. “I love myself. I matter. I pledge to become a positive leader and my best self."
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