My interest in wildlife and tropical rainforests began at an early age when my parents introduced me to nature books and magazines. I was fascinated by the pictures of strange animals living in distant lands and as I got older, my mother and father encouraged my learning by taking me on trips to other countries so I could see wildlife firsthand. I grew to greatly appreciate places of natural beauty and respect the environment around me.

Over the years I have seen many incredible places and met many wonderful people: I have swam with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands, watched lemurs sing and dance in Madagascar, spent time with native Amazonians in Peru, and had many other amazing adventures. I have also become increasingly aware of the changes brought about by human activities. Some of the special places I so enjoyed are no longer around today. My inspiration for this rainforest project comes from a particular experience in the rainforest of Borneo (Borneo is an island in southeast Asia) when a section of rainforest was destroyed by loggers.

Today I spend a great deal of time reading, writing, traveling to tropical places, and talking with scientists doing research on rainforests. My goal is to raise awareness, interest, and appreciation of wildlands like tropical rainforests. It is not too late to save these special places and I hope that my work will someday inspire people to make a positive difference in the world around them.

My 2010 TEDxYouth talk in Palo Alto

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