I am so excited to share with you the great news that I was named a 2013 International Young Eco-Hero by Action For Nature!
Action For Nature is an international non-profit organization that encourages young people to take personal action to better their environments and to foster love and respect for nature. Their Young Eco-Hero Award program honors the work of kids and teens between the ages of 8 and 16 who have done creative environmental projects.
I was so surprised when I received notice that I had been named a 2013 Young Eco-Hero because this is an international award given to a small group of kids and teens from around the world.
Many thanks to Action for Nature for recognizing the work I do in Central Texas and across the country to help educate kids of all ages about invasive species and to protect and preserve our native species. I am so honored and humbled.
Visit the Action for Nature site to learn more about this great organization and also about what kids are doing everywhere to protect our natural world.
Commander Ben joins St Edward’s Earth Week celebrations
I’ve had an exciting last few weeks that I look forward to talking with you about, but I first want to catch up on some of the great events that I had a chance to be part of in April.
Last year, I was invited to St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, to give a talk about Commander Ben and the Invasive Hunter Academy as part of St. Edward’s 2012 Earth Day events. I had a great time and was honored to be invited to bring the Invasive Hunter Academy back on Monday, April 22, to St. Edward’s 2013 Earth Day celebrations.
Commander Ben and the Invasive Hunter Academy at St. Edward’s University
It was a beautiful sunny day and turnout for the event was great. Along with my Invasive Hunter Academy display and poster board about my invasive species nemesis, the Giant Reed (Arundo donax), there were lots of great people there with all sorts of Earth Day activities and information. I enjoyed visiting all the tables and meeting some very interesting folks.
Some of the groups I had a chance to speak with on Earth Day included:
Sustainable Food Center at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations
I want to thank all the people at St. Edward’s for another great Earth Day celebration, and a special thank you to Mr. Mitch Robinson, Education and Land Management Coordinator for Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, and Ms. Cristina Bordin, Special Assistant to the President and Sustainability Coordinator for St. Edward’s University, who invited me to be a part of this great event.
Commander Ben and Mitch Robinson at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations
I’ll have more posts coming up about my other April adventures. Talk with you again soon! 🙂
Join the Invasive Hunter Academy and be one of the few. The proud. The fighting naturalists!
I had a lot of great experiences the last few weeks and have a number of blog posts to get caught up on, but I wanted to tell you that I’m bringing the Invasive Hunter Academy to St. Edward’s University for Earth Day on Monday, April 22, as part of the university’s Earth Week 2013 program. I even created a new logo for the event, which is at the top of this post and is also on the St. Edward’s Earth Week 2013 web page. Hope you like the logo!
I was at St. Edward’s University last year, and I had a great time speaking to students, faculty, and members of the community about my fight against invasive species and how I developed the Commander Ben blog, videos, and the Invasive Hunter Academy.
Many thanks to Mr. Mitch Robinson, Education and Land Management Coordinator for Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, and Ms. Cristina Bordin, Special Assistant to the President and Sustainability Coordinator for St. Edward’s University, for inviting me to be part of their Earth Day 2013 celebrations.
What kind of life choices may reduce your risk for cancer or other illnesses? What are you eating? How much do you exercise? How do you interact with your environment? The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study – 3 (CPS-3) studies the impact of the environment on individuals through their genes.
Dr. Mark Clanton talks about CPS-3, and how the study is accepting participants to help understand how people’s decisions and their environment affects their DNA. The study is expect to last about 20-30 years, starting with an initial visit for measurements, a blood sample for DNA, and follow up questionnaires.
Many people may inherit genes that may make them susceptible to illness, but Dr. Clanton talks about how these genes are not turned on unless they are influenced by something in their environment, including their body weight, exercise, diet, and illnesses over time.
This is the second part in my interview series with Dr. Clanton, who is the chief medical officer of the High Plains Division of the American Cancer Society and who was the deputy director of the United States National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
I had a great opportunity to talk with Dr. Jay Famiglietti about the water concerns that we face across the United States, about his work with the GRACE satellite mission, and about the 2012 film featuring him, Last Call at the Oasis. (It’s coming out tomorrow, November 6, 2012, on DVD and BlueRay!)
I published my video interview with Dr. Famiglietti in five parts with cool graphics from NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Click on the videos below to learn more about our water crisis that we face and ways that we, especially kids, can conserve water.
The GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites launched in March 2002. Learn about the valuable data these twin satellites provide along with insight that hydrologic modeling brings with Dr. Famiglietti.
California’s Central Valley and the High Plains Aquifer in the central United States show high rates of water depletion. Dr. Jay Famiglietti talks about these areas of concern and ways that we could improve measuring our water supply.
If we found a way to have unlimited fresh water, would there be a population boom?What technological breakthrough do we need to transform sea water to fresh water easily and affordably? Learn about the water, energy, and food nexus with Dr. Famiglietti.
Saving water begins with becoming aware of your water use. Learn about Dr. Famiglietti’s easy tips to help kids save water. You’ll find that saving energy also helps save water too.
Dr. Famiglietti talks about the declining snowfall on the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the DVD and BlueRay release of his “Last Call at the Oasis” movie. You’ll also be surprised to learn about his favorite water sport.
My injured hand from taekwondo sparring has slowed me down 😦 , but I’m almost done with my post about the great time that I had during the Dr. Famiglietti’s Hot Science – Cool Talks event and the prelecture fun! 🙂
Thanks for the great interview, Dr. Famiglietti, and my wonderful thanks too to Dr. Jay Banner, Director of the UT Austin Environmental Science Institute (ESI); and Mr. Geoff Hensgen, ESI Outreach Coordinator, for the time to talk with Dr. Famiglietti!
After checking in at SXSW Eco at the fantastic UT Austin AT&T Conference Center, I headed over to Rm. 103 to attend a talk titled Fighting Food Insecurity with Urban Agriculture in Austin…and guess who I got to meet? Ms. Addie Broyles, a food writer for the Austin American-Statesman!
Food in Austin
Ms. Addie Broyles and Commander Ben at SXSW Eco
It was neat to get to meet her because I have heard my Mom (the foodie in the family 🙂 ) talk a lot about her. Even though my blog isn’t about food, Ms. Broyles said she was looking forward to checking it out because she too has a budding filmmaker at home…her five year old son! 🙂
Clean energy
Ms. Griffin Gardner and Commander Ben at SXSW Eco
Next I walked over to Rm 204 to attend the Filmmakers Clean Energy Confab. I took my seat in the second row and that’s when someone in the front row turned around and said, “I know you, you’re famous!” It was Ms. Griffin Gardner, UT Austin Media Coordinator, who remembered taking a picture of me at the UT Austin Environmental Science Institute (ESI) Hot Science – Cool Talks event. I’m not sure if I’m really famous, but Ms. Gardner made my day!
Making great films for good
Mr. Steve Vogelpohl and Commander Ben at SXSW Eco
Next, as I headed out to lunch, I ran into Mr. Stephen Vogelpohl who recognized me from the Lights. Camera. Help. Focus on Good Film Festival. Mr. Vogelpohl is with Social Good TV. We talked about future projects we’re both working on, and he encouraged me to continue making great films for good.
Green army on the march
Today is the big day! As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I’ll join Ms. Jessica Strickland, Invasive Species Program Manager at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Dr. Damon Waitt, Director Native Plant Information Network; and an elite team from the Wildflower Center and the Green Army to map invasive species as part of the conference events.
Let’s find the Giant Reed (Arundo donax), Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta), and all the invasive plants that may be along Waller Creek in Austin, Texas!
I hope to see you there!
Your friend,
Ben
P.S. Tomorrow’s the last day to vote! Please vote for my SXSWedu presentation, “What Invasive Species Taught Me About Dyslexia”. I’ll talk about my great experiences with the Wildflower Center and Learning Ally too. Thanks!
I’ll be tweeting on my InvasiveHunter Twitter account and creating blog posts about the conference this week.
Tomorrow, I’ll join Ms. Jessica Strickland, Invasive Species Program Manager at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Dr. Damon Waitt, Director Native Plant Information Network; and an elite team from the Wildflower Center and the Green Army to map invasive species as part of the conference events.
My name is Commander Ben and I'm the Invasive Hunter. I educate kids of all ages - and all learning styles - about invasive species, science, and dyslexia.
I am so excited to share with you the great news that I was named a 2013 International Young Eco-Hero by Action For Nature!
