June 21, 2010
I’d like to introduce Alana G, a fifth grade student and our special environmental reporter on the Seymour Science Blog this summer. She’ll be telling us about her environmental activities in her own community and also about her thoughts as we go through the summer of the Gulf Oil Spill. As I said before, “Welcome Aboard Alana. It’s great to have you as a shipmate on Planet Earth.”
—- Seymour
Hey fellow Shipmates,
I am so excited! This is going to be the best summer vacation ever thanks to Seymour’s words of inspiration. I never would have imagined that I would become Seymour Simon’s new Youth Environmental Reporter, but here I am. 
One of the luckiest 10 year old kids there has ever been. I get to work with and write for my favorite children’s author, Seymour Simon, while doing what I love the most. Helping to “Save the World!” Yes, you heard me right…I am going to “Save the World,” well, at least I’ll be doing my part by trying to. I want to know that I have made a difference on our planet because this is OUR PLANET and OUR FUTURE. We share this planet with all of the other creatures that live here including the Earth itself, but for some reason humans continue to destroy this beautiful world.
So this summer I will be setting out into my local community to do environmental research and reporting. That might sound boring, but it’s totally not! I am going to have such wonderful adventures this summer. Oh, I forgot to mention the coolest part. I have started a group called “KIDS TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW.” This group includes all my friends and a ton of other kids from Southern California. (That is where I am from) We are going to have a blast. Not only will I get to hang out with all my friends this summer, we are actually going to be doing something amazing…we will be out improving our community and saving the planet at the same time. Isn’t that so cool?
So you might be wondering how this all came about. Well, I was really sad about the Gulf oil spill. My mom and I had been watching the daily updates. It broke my heart to hear about what was happening. All those poor sea creatures and the beautiful ocean were being ruined because some adults didn’t make sure to properly plan ahead of time. (You know how at school we practice for earthquakes, or tornados, hurricanes, and all that type of stuff? Our teachers have us practice for these types of things so that we will be prepared in case it actually happens.) Well, this oil company did not prepare for a spill, which is so crazy. Well, anyhoo, when I went to school we were reading a story called “Wildfires” by Seymour Simon. I really liked the book and how it was easy to understand so I wanted to learn more about the author. I found out he had a website www.seymoursimon.com.
I went on the website and saw that Seymour had a science blog. One of the blogs he had written was on the Gulf oil spill. I needed to tell someone about how I felt, so I thought “why not ask Seymour who is a science expert?” It made me feel a lot better to write a comment to him about how horribly sad I was because of the spill and all the sea turtles (Sea Turtles are my very favorite animals and other marine life that were dying. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help make a difference. Afterwards, I was so happy to have sent him the message because I knew it would be great to write to Seymour because I could tell from his books that he loves OUR PLANET too. But my story gets better.
He actually replied to me and I was so happy because I knew he was very busy but he cared enough to listen to me and took the time to reply. (Thanks Seymour) After reading Seymour’s words I felt like I could do anything. He woke up my imagination and my heart…I knew then it was my duty as a fellow shipmate to try and make a difference on this earth, and help to save our planet.
That is how Seymour and I became friends. So, remember it is good to write to the people you think are important, even if they are famous, because you never know when one of them will have a chance to answer back. Look at me. Now I am a reporter for Seymour’s Science blog and I found the courage to organize “KIDS TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW.” I know we are just kids but we are small and mighty. Remember, we will be the ones running the world one day, so it’s important we learn how to help our planet and each other before it’s too late. This is why I want to be an environmental reporter. I want to make a difference.
My fellow Kids Today members and I are going to have some wonderful adventures this summer so keep posted. We have a couple of really awesome things coming up soon. We are going to take a trip to Amy’s Farm in California, where we will learn all about the science of Organic & Sustainable farming. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, I don’t really know either. That is why we are going to hang out on the farm for a day so we can learn all about it. We will get to plant and pick vegetables and fruits, learn about the good and bad bugs that hang out on farms, and even learn about and play with some farm animals. Some of the produce we pick is going to be given to local shelters for the homeless and food banks, which is so nice. I can’t wait to go! We will also be decorating a wagon float for our local Fourth of July Parade. We want to do an environmental theme like a Go Green wagon or Recycling. If you have any ideas for a good float please leave me a comment here or e-mail us at KidsToday4aBetterTomorrow@gmail.com.
We still have a lot more “Sweet” things planned for the summer but I’ll fill you in next time so stay posted. Thanks for reading my blog.
Alana G
“Science Rules”
P.S. Do you want to help the Planet too? Maybe you can join “KIDS TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW” and lead a helpful environmental project in your community too. 
Just a thought…he he
Posted by: Alana G
