August 2010

Can you believe what has happened to the Gulf of Mexico? I have several friends that live along the coast who eat fish and other aquatic creatures. These friends, Pelicans, seagulls, and terns, fly over the water searching for fish swimming near the surface of the water. When they spot the fish, my friends dive into the water to catch their food. With oil on the surface and under the water, some of my friends dove through the oil to get their meal. Then these birds are covered in oil., which prevented them from flying very well. Many people have been working very hard to catch my friends and other animals who are covered in oil and try to help them.  The animals are put into sheltered areas away from a lot of noise and activity.  The volunteers massage warmed vegetable oil into the bird’s feathers to loosen the crude oil.  The birds stay under heat lamps to keep them warm during this cleaning. Then the birds are put into a tub of Dawn dishwashing detergent. Their feathers are gently scrubbed, one-by-one. Volunteers use a toothbrush around their eyes and head. This cleaning take an hour. After the bath, the birds are then put under dryers. This whole process takes seven to ten days. Birds stay in rehabilitation until they can catch and eat fish. The cages resemble their natural habitat. My friends have now moved to Texas and Florida here they have been released. I don’t know if they will come back to Alabama or stay in their new environment.

I want to tell you about a few human fledglings who have been raising money to help my friends and humans along the Gulf Coast.

Have you heard of Olivia? She is an 11 year old girl who has raised over $110,000 to help with the clean-up of the Gulf Coast area. Olivia wrote to the National Audubon Society with her idea to help raise money. She wanted to sell her paintings and give the profits to them.   They agreed to her idea, thinking it will bring in about $25,000. She painted 500 bird pictures but that wasn’t enough. People all over the US wanted more. Five of her pictures were selected for prints and are mailed when you donate. You can read more about her and her birds on her Facebook page “Save the Gulf: Olivia's Bird Illustrations.” She is also one of the youngest recipients of the Global Appreciation Award from the World Heritage Cultural Center's event in NYC on Sept 25^th. What an awesome fledging?

Many children have sold lemonade and donated the proceeds to help clean birds who have been covered in oil. Some of these fledglings are four year old Jonathan from New Orleans, and Maddie, Roy and Morgan from Cullman, Alabama.  I want to thank these fledglings for helping my friends and making a difference.

All of these children wanted to do something to make a difference because they felt strongly, or passionately, about it. In this case, they were passionate about the oil spill. What do you feel passionate about? Have you tried to make a difference? Post me a note to let me know what you have done to make a difference!