When I first came up with the idea for Beneath the Surface, I was mentoring students in China through a youth leadership program called Roots & Shoots that empowers young people to make a difference in their local community. Roots & Shoots was founded in Tanzania by students from the Jane Goodall Institute there in 1991, and over time, has grown to offer clubs in more than 60 countries around the world with a shared mission:
To foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for animals, people, and the environment.
Nanshan Chinese International College Roots & Shoots Club, 2015
After just 1 year of launching Roots & Shoots at Nanshan Chinese International College (Shenzhen, China), our high school students won the national achievement award (2016), which was delivered by Dr. Jane Goodall at the annual Roots & Shoots China Summit, for their collaboration with the China Mangrove Foundation in Shenzhen. Throughout their project, these Roots & Shoots students spent 4 weekends being trained as park guides, where they gained valuable mangrove protection knowledge, eventually earning the title of official Volunteer Park Stewards.
This is merely one of many inspirational stories from Roots & Shoots Global. Since the Blue Marble Series explores the ocean all around the world, I offered to donate books and ocean literacy materials to Roots & Shoots mentors all around the world. The ocean covers the majority of our planet, and with every single life form on Earth dependent on it, I figured it might come in handy. I am so excited to hear what more students and teachers think about the Blue Marble Series.
Thankfully, the Roots & Shoots office here in Tampa, Florida (where the sequel to Beneath the Surface largely takes place) has helped organize an opportunity to present some of the book and activities with one of their local partners, Brooker Creek Preserve. Registration for this May 17th event is free and open now.
Please join us if you're in the Tampa Bay area!
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