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| In
1996 the National Safety Council established June
as National Safety Month. It’s purpose is to
increase public awareness of safety and health risks
and ultimately decrease the number of accidental injuries
and deaths. This month we are focusing our feature
on inventors who have invented products to make our
world a safer place. This also includes kids who have
gone out of their way to not only make the world a
safer place but to help the environment as well. |
 Bindi
Irwin
Bindi Sue, the daughter of Steve Irwin has her own wildlife
documentary premiering soon. She learned her love of
animals while she was just a baby. When she was two
weeks old, she was on location in Texas for a "Crocodile
Hunter" segment on rattlesnakes. Bindi, being home
schooled has had time to be a regular part of the "khaki
crew" at the Australia Zoo, pitching in with chores
like checking on the skinks and caring for Harriet,
a 176-year-old Galapagos sea turtle. She made a fund-raising
spot for Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, a charity her
dad founded, and attended a ceremony in his place. Her
love for animals is truly inspiring. |
|  Janine
Licare (age 14)
Janine formed the organization Kids Saving the Rain
Forest in Costa Rica to help save endangered animals,
organize tree plantings, and preserve the rainforest.
Janine is especially talented at caring for baby rainforest
animals such as sloths, kinkajous, and Titi monkeys.
The Costa Rica rainforest is quickly disappearing due
to development, tourism and agriculture. Now, thanks
to Janine and Kids Saving the Rainforest, this beautiful
part of the world and its animals are being protected,
including the tiny one and a half pound Titi squirrel
monkey of which less than 1,500 remain.
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 Christina
Faust (age 16)
For the last three years, Christina has been studying
"riparian buffers," the land and vegetation
beside a stream or river. She has shown how important
these areas are to our ecosystems, and how the human
destruction of riparian zones hurts people and the environment.
Christina has written research papers, given talks,
and exhibited at science fairs. Her research will also
be recognized in an ecology journal. Christina used
her work to successfully protest a Georgia law that
would have allowed the pollution of several streams. |
 Ryan
Just (age 16)
When Ryan saw sea birds and marine animals tangled
in discarded fishing lines, which can cause starvation
and death, he wanted to do something to stop this.
He solicited donations, recruited volunteers, and
organized a project to build recycling bins, encourage
people to recycle used fishing lines, and do shoreline
cleanup. |
 T.J.
Tullo (age 16)
After volunteering with Alliance for Living Oceans,
T.J. became curious about the impact of housing development
on marine life near his home. He installed artificial
reefs called "reef balls" under his family's
dock, and discovered the "reef balls" improved
marine life. T.J. is encouraging greater use of "reef
balls" in his neighborhood, and is continuing his
testing of the waters and sediment in New Jersey.
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|  Lindsey
Williams (age 16)
Lindsey spent five years testing how to produce tomatoes
while conserving our forests and water supply. She developed
several ways to grow tomatoes that use less water, and
she promotes the use of metal, not wooden, stakes. Lindsey
believes that if the 27 million home gardeners in the
USA use her techniques tens of thousands of trees and
enough water to fill two large sized lakes could be
saved each year. She has presented her findings at science
fairs, to TV networks, gardening clubs and civic groups.
Lindsey donates the excess fresh vegetables she grows
for her experiments to needy families.
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