May 12, 2011
Ocean Hero Finalists: Zander Srodes
This is the third in a series of posts about this year’s Ocean Hero finalists.
The featured finalist today is Zander Srodes, who, at age 11, created “Turtle Talks,” an interactive workshop and activity book that teaches kids about sea turtle conservation.
Ten years later, more than 200,000 of Zander’s “Turtle Talks” books have been printed and sent to six continents, from Cuba to Mozambique, and it has been translated into several languages, including Tamil and Telugu.
“I hope [Turtle Talks] will have a significant impact of the biodiversity of our planet,” Zander said via e-mail. “Turtle Talks promotes the message to youngsters that they are the generation that needs to become advocates for these charismatic reptiles.”
Recently Zander has expanded his sea turtle conservation efforts through eco-tourism. Last summer he hosted two groups of college students on service trips to Costa Rica, where they worked with local organizations that are preserving leatherback sea turtles.
Zander also spoke at the 2010 International Sea Turtle Symposium, and at the International Marine Biodiversity Conference in Chennai, India on the threats facing sea turtles internationally.
Check out this video of Zander speaking at a TedxTeen conference:
Have you voted yet? Check out the other finalists, cast your vote and spread the word! And stay tuned for more spotlighted finalists in the coming days!
Special thanks to the sponsors of the Ocean Heroes Award for making all of this possible: Nautica, Revo and For Cod & Country, the new book by chef and National Geographic fellow Barton Seaver.