My Legacy
How It All Started....When I was six years old and in first grade, I watched a documentary with my mom about the work of Dr. Dian Fossey, a great scientist who dedicated her life to working with the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda and Congo. The documentary focused on Dr. Fossey’s work with the mountain gorillas, and how -- while endangered during Dian Fossey’s time-- they are now in even greater danger of becoming extinct because of continued destruction of their habitat due to illegal Coltan mining and black market poaching. From that moment, I was determined to do something to help and my passion for conservation was born.
That is when I discovered an Eco-Cell collection box at the Buffalo Zoo. It said, "Answer the call of the wild. Recycle cell phones and help save gorillas." The wheels began turning. I signed up to become an Eco-Cell Conservation Partner (and at the age of six, was their youngest ever). My dad helped me launch my first cell phone collection effort as part of an HSBC Earth Day Campaign. As a result, I collected my first 150 phones and what became Mariah Saves Gorillaswas created!
Over the years, I have taken my project through school and have been spreading the word in the Western New York community. I reached my first goal of collecting 1,000 cell phones in May of 2009 and became an official Eco-Cell Silverback Conservation Partner!
My Mission...While my mission is to "Save the gorillas one cell phone at a time!” my project has since become much bigger than its initial cell phone collection efforts. I quickly learned that people don't know just how endangered the gorillas really are or what problems they face every day in their jungle home. This is when I began to grow my project to include a greater level of educational outreach-- to speak not only of the dangers gorillas face (like deforestation, illness, and poaching), but also how the effects of e-waste (pollution from electronics) is destroying the environment, making people sick, and killing other animals that live near toxic landfills. Part of the mission of Mariah Saves Gorillas became a desire to not only help the gorillas and the environment through cell phone recycling, but also help educate young people about the ways they can affect change. The focus of my project evolved as I realized that Education through Inspired Action is key! Not only do most people miss the connection between cell phone recycling and gorillas (the Coltan issue), but there is so much more to the vicious cycle impacting these gentle giants. I felt I had an important message to share; one that could only bring positive results from a willing ear to listen. I still believe that people have a desire to help, but are generally unaware of the ways that they can make a difference. The more people know, the more they know how to help.
Encouraging Future Environmentalists...
Many kids have asked me how to start their own conservation projects, and this is the advice I give: First, believe you can make a positive change. I believe that we can all make a difference if we choose. Second, start small. Define your focus, set goals, and and commit to your cause. Raise awareness by telling everyone you know about your project. Third, DREAM BIG and ask for the help and support of others. You do not have to work alone and might be surprised how inspiration spreads; how willing others are to share in your cause and interests. Mariah Saves Gorillas started by word-of-mouth with homemade flyers designed in crayon. While it took a long time to develop my project to its current stage, I was only able to accomplish this great work with the help and support of others. It has truly become a family affair and it all starts with love! But in my family “LOVE” stands for so much more than the feeling of safety, warmth, and unconditional affection. In my family, LOVE is defined as Leadership, Optimism, Value, and Empathy. We have a motto of ultimate responsibility and perseverance: “Every day we win or learn.” There have been challenges along the way, but with an open mind and a willingness to make mistakes and learn from them, you can accomplish anything you set out to do! It just takes a little patience and self-forgiveness.
What Lies Ahead...
I am often asked "How long are you going to do this?" and the truth is Mariah Saves Gorillas has become life-long part of who I am. After being invited to visit to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund headquarters, located at Zoo Atlanta, I learned so much about what I can do to study the gorillas just like Dian Fossey. It was a tremendous honor to meet DFGFI's former CEO, Clare Richardson, and Tara Stoinski, its former Chief Science Officer (who is now the current DFGFI CEO). Ms. Stoinski told me how she began studying gorillas much later in life and this resonated with me in such a big way. While I was fortunate to be blessed with inspiration very young, I realized that it’s never too late to find your passion, begin making a difference, and you can start at any age! So I am still dreaming big, and setting even loftier goals for my project and outreach efforts. Now that I am older I would like to become directly involved with the Dian Fossey GRACE Center (the Center for Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education), so that I can not only help the gorillas, but do so by helping the people that live in the areas where the gorillas are endangered. I had truly hoped to visit the gorillas in the wild by the time I was 15 (the youngest age you can be issued a permit in the Virunga Mountains), but now at the age of 18, I find I am still saving for my first trip to Africa. I know that I want to continue my work to help save and someday directly study the endangered gorillas. But as I head off to college to continue my environmental studies, I can only hope that I will become a great scientist like Dian Fossey… someday. Making a difference every day to fulfill her legacy is my greatest aspiration. So for now, I am thrilled to share her nickname, "Gorilla Girl."
Gorilla Hugs,
Mariah
That is when I discovered an Eco-Cell collection box at the Buffalo Zoo. It said, "Answer the call of the wild. Recycle cell phones and help save gorillas." The wheels began turning. I signed up to become an Eco-Cell Conservation Partner (and at the age of six, was their youngest ever). My dad helped me launch my first cell phone collection effort as part of an HSBC Earth Day Campaign. As a result, I collected my first 150 phones and what became Mariah Saves Gorillaswas created!
Over the years, I have taken my project through school and have been spreading the word in the Western New York community. I reached my first goal of collecting 1,000 cell phones in May of 2009 and became an official Eco-Cell Silverback Conservation Partner!
My Mission...While my mission is to "Save the gorillas one cell phone at a time!” my project has since become much bigger than its initial cell phone collection efforts. I quickly learned that people don't know just how endangered the gorillas really are or what problems they face every day in their jungle home. This is when I began to grow my project to include a greater level of educational outreach-- to speak not only of the dangers gorillas face (like deforestation, illness, and poaching), but also how the effects of e-waste (pollution from electronics) is destroying the environment, making people sick, and killing other animals that live near toxic landfills. Part of the mission of Mariah Saves Gorillas became a desire to not only help the gorillas and the environment through cell phone recycling, but also help educate young people about the ways they can affect change. The focus of my project evolved as I realized that Education through Inspired Action is key! Not only do most people miss the connection between cell phone recycling and gorillas (the Coltan issue), but there is so much more to the vicious cycle impacting these gentle giants. I felt I had an important message to share; one that could only bring positive results from a willing ear to listen. I still believe that people have a desire to help, but are generally unaware of the ways that they can make a difference. The more people know, the more they know how to help.
Encouraging Future Environmentalists...
Many kids have asked me how to start their own conservation projects, and this is the advice I give: First, believe you can make a positive change. I believe that we can all make a difference if we choose. Second, start small. Define your focus, set goals, and and commit to your cause. Raise awareness by telling everyone you know about your project. Third, DREAM BIG and ask for the help and support of others. You do not have to work alone and might be surprised how inspiration spreads; how willing others are to share in your cause and interests. Mariah Saves Gorillas started by word-of-mouth with homemade flyers designed in crayon. While it took a long time to develop my project to its current stage, I was only able to accomplish this great work with the help and support of others. It has truly become a family affair and it all starts with love! But in my family “LOVE” stands for so much more than the feeling of safety, warmth, and unconditional affection. In my family, LOVE is defined as Leadership, Optimism, Value, and Empathy. We have a motto of ultimate responsibility and perseverance: “Every day we win or learn.” There have been challenges along the way, but with an open mind and a willingness to make mistakes and learn from them, you can accomplish anything you set out to do! It just takes a little patience and self-forgiveness.
What Lies Ahead...
I am often asked "How long are you going to do this?" and the truth is Mariah Saves Gorillas has become life-long part of who I am. After being invited to visit to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund headquarters, located at Zoo Atlanta, I learned so much about what I can do to study the gorillas just like Dian Fossey. It was a tremendous honor to meet DFGFI's former CEO, Clare Richardson, and Tara Stoinski, its former Chief Science Officer (who is now the current DFGFI CEO). Ms. Stoinski told me how she began studying gorillas much later in life and this resonated with me in such a big way. While I was fortunate to be blessed with inspiration very young, I realized that it’s never too late to find your passion, begin making a difference, and you can start at any age! So I am still dreaming big, and setting even loftier goals for my project and outreach efforts. Now that I am older I would like to become directly involved with the Dian Fossey GRACE Center (the Center for Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education), so that I can not only help the gorillas, but do so by helping the people that live in the areas where the gorillas are endangered. I had truly hoped to visit the gorillas in the wild by the time I was 15 (the youngest age you can be issued a permit in the Virunga Mountains), but now at the age of 18, I find I am still saving for my first trip to Africa. I know that I want to continue my work to help save and someday directly study the endangered gorillas. But as I head off to college to continue my environmental studies, I can only hope that I will become a great scientist like Dian Fossey… someday. Making a difference every day to fulfill her legacy is my greatest aspiration. So for now, I am thrilled to share her nickname, "Gorilla Girl."
Gorilla Hugs,
Mariah