By:Jacky Gerzema
Baldwin student Nicole Campbell wants to be a zoo veterinarian when she grows up. As a ten year old who enjoys learning as much as having fun, she has found a way to mix business with pleasure by developing a club designed for animal lovers like herself. Last week the group spent a morning cleaning up Silver Lake Park.
Nicole said because she loves animals and wants to be a zoo veterinarian, she wanted to find something to do that would allow her to become more involved in the community and learn more about animals.
"Summer is fun, but you need to tighten up on your learning too, so this is the perfect way to learn and have fun," Nicole said. "I have goals every year, so I decided that this year I wanted to start a group to learn more about animals."
Her mother, Sheryl, said Nicole took her own initiative and researched the National Wildlife Federation on the Internet. Through the NWF, children can form an animal club with an adult supervisor. Members pay dues each year and are given news about events through the NWF about ways they can get involved in sponsoring and helping animals.
Mrs. Campbell said she offered to take the role as club leader and holds meetings at her house every Saturday afternoon. Once school starts, meetings will be held every other Saturday.
The group is associated with the "Teen Adventure" league through the NWF, Mrs. Campbell said, but members are allowed to create their own group name. The Baldwin children chose to name their group Nature Creatures.
Nature Creatures is already well underway. They recently adopted a manatee and are sponsoring a dog named Blueberry and a cat named Action Jackson. They also visited the North Shore Animal League and want to take more trips to places such as animal hospitals and the Bronx Zoo.
Mrs. Campbell said that as a group, the members wanted to get involved locally, so she called the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and spoke to Barbara Fullerton. Fullerton suggested that Silver Lake Park needed to be cleaned up, so "Nature Creatures" took on the responsibility. Last Wednesday morning, they cleaned up the park and tacked poster boards on the trees to let the community know who they are and what they do.
There are currently six members in the group, all of whom will attend Baldwin Middle School in the fall. In addition to Nicole, they are Lindsay Kerr, Kimberley Johnson, Brandon Johnson, Vanessa Nicolas and Elizabeth Freeman. Mrs. Campbell said she and her daughter would like to expand the club to 10-12 members and include more if another parent would volunteer their time as a group leader.
"I like doing this because it makes me feel good about helping the environment," said Brandon.
"When school starts, hopefully we can get more boys to join to keep Brandon company," Nicole said.
All members of Nature Creatures have a love for animals and some are thinking about future careers with their furry friends, among many other goals they have set for themselves.
Vanessa said she wants to be a pet veterinarian when she grows up and would love to have a cat if her mother were not allergic.
Ten-year-old Lindsay said she wants to combine both her love of sports with her love of animals. As a self-proclaimed excellent swimmer and diver, she said she would love to work with whales in the future. But that career is just one of many for this student.
"I have too many options in life because I'm good at almost everything," Lindsay continued. "I'm good at sports, art, writing and public speaking."
As a student herself, pursuing a master's in education, Mrs. Campbell said it is motivating for her when children are excited about their future. She said that children like these are what push her to help do everything she can to feed their desire to learn.
Yearly membership fees are $15 per person, but only $7 if a group is started before Oct. 1. Mrs. Campbell said members also pay a weekly fee of $2.50 to help with some of their projects and field trips.
