Out of Africa
“The views were immensely wide. Everything that you saw made for greatness and freedom, and unequalled nobility.”
Karen Blixen, Out of Africa, 1937
On Thursday my brother Owen and I will leave Miami for a two week trip to South Africa and needless to say we are both very excited. Our trip includes visits to Johannesburg, Mpumalanga, Soweto and Cape Town, a camping excursion and safari in Kruger National Park as well as a visit to Mandela House and the opportunity to learn about apartheid by visiting many of its most historic sites. I can’t wait to see the natural environment there as well as meet the people and experience their diverse and historic culture.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
Change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
Owen and I are fortunate to attend a school (Palmer Trinity) that is committed to developing what they call global scholars. Last year, for example, Owen traveled to China as part of his curriculum and over the years there I’ve been able to visit the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands and Hawaii.
I’ve scaled mountains, hiked to the top of volcanoes and swam with white tip sharks, sea turtles and giant manta rays as part of the best high school experience I could ever imagine. This week I am especially excited to travel with my brother on such a trip for the first time (and in my case the last one while still in high school since graduation day is nearly here!).
I’d like to thank Palmer for making these amazing opportunities available to its students and want to especially thank Mr. Chapman, our Head of Upper School, Mrs. Sidhu and Dr. Lane who will be traveling with us on this incredible trip. Time permitting I will post during our travels and will most certainly share stories about our adventures when I return.
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. “
Nelson Mandela
Post-Scripts:
Palmetto Bay Declares February 6th, Delaney Reynolds &
The Sink or Swim Project Day
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I am proud to share that my work with The Sink or Swim Project was honored last week by the Village of Palmetto Bay with a lovely Proclamation honoring my work.
Upon receiving the Proclamation from the Mayor and Village Council I took the opportunity to ask them to consider working with me to draft a new law to require that any new construction within the Village and all material renovations require that the maximum amount of solar power be installed so that we can make progress into turning The Sunshine State into THE Solar State. I hope that the Village of Palmetto Bay will join me in writing such a law and in doing so help Florida take a giant step forward towards a sustainable future.
Thanks ever so much to the entire Council for this honor and especially to the Mayor for his kind words as well as to Councilwoman Cunningham for taking such an interest in my work and The Sink or Swim Project.
Miami Dade College Honors College / Earth Ethics Institute: March 2, 2017
I am excited to share that on March 2nd I will be presenting a brand new Sink or Swim lecture at the Miami Dade College Honors College on the North Campus in Room 1373 from 3:30 PM until 5:00 PM.
Since its inception, the Earth Ethics Institute has introduced the Miami Dade College community to the new way of thinking called “Earth Literacy” which constitutes a greater understanding of the evolution of our Universe and how everything in it is connected.
Founded in 1960, Miami Dade College has the largest undergraduate enrollment of any college or university in America.
Thanks to Program Professional Stephen Nesvacil, Miami Dade College and the Earth Ethics Institute for the invitation. I look forward to seeing everyone on the 2nd and collaborating on ideas for a sustainable future.
MAST Academy Solar Update: Green Leadership Grant
Exciting News! As an update to my recent blog (http://miamisearise.com/2017/02/06/the-mast-makos-sustainable-future-kids-get-it/) following my visit to MAST Academy on Key Biscayne I am pleased to share with you that the school is installing a ‘solar hub’ and has won a grant from the Dream in Green organization to help fund its costs. The solar hub is planned for the school’s dining room and will allow students to charge their electronic devices from the sun’s power through a solar system. Congrats to MAST’s Principal Ms. Otero and the entire student body for winning this grant and beginning your solar powered journey! Way to go Makos!
I am extra proud of this news not only given my recent lecture for MAST’s 1,500 students but because I am proudly a Dream in Green Youth Ambassador and in that capacity was happy to advocate for this project. The Dream in Green Leadership Grant program makes available monthly grants for elementary, middle and high schools that participate in the Dream in Green Academy and does so to support green teams in bringing their project ideas from conception to creation.
I look forward to continuing to help MAST in any way possible in hopes that the solar hub is just the start of a wider scale solar and sustainable program that can be used to educate it students, other schools and the Key Biscayne Community about the power of the sun. Working together we can surely turn The Sunshine State into THE Solar State!
I started my morning with presentations to two groups of high school students that filled the school’s auditorium. These young people were very engaged, had excellent questions, and were eager to learn more about what they could do to help.
The children were so enthusiastic that day that the school’s leadership was spontaneously inspired to create a school-wide sustainability committee. Over 50 children volunteered on their own volition to participate and then joined me to discuss how they could raise money, approach local political leaders, design, plan and implement a range of projects on their campus and in their community.
