FPZ Youth Council Talks About 96 Elephants
Zoo New England advocates the conservation of animals all over the world,
be it through the Zoo or on a larger scale. One global conservation project the
Zoo has been particularly invested in advocating is the 96 Elephants project. Elephants
and rhinos are being massacred daily for their ivory tusks and horns. Poacher’s
siege territories filled with elephants, equipped with military-grade weapons
to obtain their prized tusks. Sold illegally, these tusks are then converted
into various artifacts and relics which ultimately results in the decimation of
wild elephant and rhino populations.
As part of the Zoo’s mission and goals within the Education Department,
we feel that an important aspect of conservation is sharing knowledge with our
youth. Our Youth Council is very involved with current events and recently
learned about the 96 Elephants project. They felt passionately about sharing
ways to help including setting up an information table on Endangered Species
Day.
One of our newest Youth Council members, Caitlin, age 14, understands
the bigger picture of eliminating an entire species which can lead to “food
chains and webs in their ecosystem [becoming] disoriented”. Liam, age 14,
also recognizes the importance of using an
organization to publicize the project “because being an organization they have more voices than just one
person”.
If you’d
like to get involved and learn about ways you can help, you can visit the Zoo website where you’ll find a sample letter to send to your local
government representative. That letter “could raise awareness about the death
of [elephants] and what is happening to them,” Caitlin says. Another Youth
Council member Adam, age 13 agrees, “It’s helpful because
they have the power to give money and the money can make a difference”. When you send a letter to your
representative, this shows the government how passionate and supportive you are
of creating legislation that bans the trade of ivory in Massachusetts. Liam
adds that it “shows how many people
care about conservation of the elephants”.
As a young student, it may be difficult to feel like you
can make a difference. The simplest and most effective way to help is to spread
the word. Caitlin realizes that “most of [her] friends probably don't know the dangers
facing elephants. Youth can use social media, e-mails, and even talking about
the problem and the cause at their schools”. One way to bring attention to the
poaching crisis is to “submit to [your] school paper”, suggests Liam, “it is
the easiest thing to do and if you caught someone's attention they will spread
the word to people they know”. Adam says, “I could talk to my friends at school and put up posters to raise
awareness about this issue and to try to raise money for 96 Elephants”. Let
your friends, family and representatives know that you want to ban ivory trade!
You can be the change that saves the elephants!
