Nine 'Green Teen' Finalists in Arctic Ambassador Competition

Seven Staples High School students have been named as "green teen" finalists in the Gault Energy-Polar Bears International Alliance for its third annual Arctic Ambassadors Leadership Camp Competition. Two other students, one from Darien and one from Fairfield, have also been named as finalists.

This week, one of the nine finalists will be selected to represent Fairfield County at the leadership camp in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada in October.  The winner, who must be a high school junior for the 2010-2011 school year, will receive an all-expenses paid five-day trip to attend PBI's Leadership Camp this fall in the Arctic wilderness known as the "Polar Bear Capital of the World."  Valued at $15,000, the Arctic classroom experience is an opportunity for the student to study the threatened ice bears up close in their natural habitat. This year's finalists include: Staples students Gregg Bonti, Kenzie Furman, Emily Greene, Brian Hershey, Perrin Judd, Jake Lewis and Nina Lochoff, Darien High School student Will Ropp and Fairfield Warde High School student Matt Hamilton.

The online essay competition (www.gault-pbi.com) asked each student to explain in 1,000 words or less why he/she would be the best arctic ambassador for Fairfield County.  Each finalist appeared before a selection committee of local environmental and humanitarian leaders, including current Fairfield County teen Arctic Ambassador Fallon Murphy, Builders Beyond Borders Executive Director Amy Schroeder-Riggio and Gault Energy's Alliance Director Megan Smith. During their personal interviews, candidates were asked to describe their interest in the environment, their experience and comfort level with public speaking, as well as the scope of their extracurricular activities both in and outside of school.

Each finalists shared stories about their personal connections to nature and their interest in saving the polar bear in its icy habitat.

Here is a snapshot of each finalist's essay and interview:

Gregg Bonti 

A sophomore at Staples, Bonti comes from a family of environmentalists for whom conserving energy is second nature. Always conscious of reducing their carbon footprint, Bonti and his family wrap Christmas presents with newspaper, recycle cans, bottles, newspapers and plastic, carry aluminum water bottles, turn off lights and keep the thermostat down to sweater temperatures in winter.  The  self-acclaimed ambassador of his "blended" family, Bonti "looks forward to working with the team and would be cautious when it comes to observing the polar bears in their habitat."

Kenzie Furman 

A sophomore at Staples, Furman is vice president of the World Wildlife Club, where she says she has "developed a bit of a reputation for being the member that is always encouraging local projects." In fact, one such project recently raised enough money to adopt a polar bear.

Emily Greene 

A sophomore at Staples, Greene understands that studying the polar bear isn't just about personal adventure, but rather "to instigate change in our entire community through raw exposure to the direct effects our society has on these animals and the entire ecosystem."

Brian Hershey 

A sophomore at Staples, Hershey has been eager to contribute to the preservation of nature.  "With the help of my community, I hope I can play an important role in assuring that the magnificent polar bear species will flourish, instead of being critically endangered." 

Perrin Judd 

A sophomore at Staples, Judd has dedicated herself to animal advocacy. "I understand the thin veil that separates humans from the rest of the animals on this planet, and I have spent my whole life devoting time and money to help save the creatures that graze the earth, living next to us everyday."

Jake Lewis 

A sophomore at Staples, Lewis has had an interest in learning about nature and a concern for the environment since went on a whale watch off the coast of Cape Cod as child.  In fact, for his Bar Mitzvah, Lewis chose to interpret his Torah portion with an environmental mission. "We must protect all of the living animals and living plants on the Earth by doing our best not to interfere with their resources."

Nina Lochoff 

A sophomore at Staples, Nina was extremely moved by Al Gore's documentary, "The Inconvenient Truth", and was brought to tears during the polar bear animation scene. "…The idea that my kids may know polar bears as an extinct species is not acceptable."

Will Ropp 

A sophomore at Darien High School, Ropp believes that polar bears are the world's warning sign to a highly under-rated environmental issue. From running awareness fairs and talking to children at area nature centers, he can already picture himself as Fairfield County's Arctic Ambassador. Will believes "it is necessary to display a passion in order to make an audience develop a passion of its own." 

Matt Hamilton 

A sophomore at Fairfield Warde High School, Hamilton participates in many environmental projects, including Fairfield's Clean Energy Task Force, Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration and his school's Environmental Science Club. As an intern in U.S. Congressman Jim Himes' office, Hamilton sees himself as a youth leader who can wholly dedicate himself to environmental sustainability and consciousness. He looks forward to the "opportunity to translate learning into tangible change within his community."

"Our nine finalists should be extremely proud of their accomplishment," says Gault Energy's Smith.  "Each one uniquely demonstrated his or her passion for the environment and concern for the polar bear. We were so impressed with their leadership skills, poise and purpose, that picking just one student to attend PBI's Leadership Camp and return as Fairfield County's Arctic Ambassador, will be very difficult." 

The student selected will work under the guidance of renowned scientists, educators, wildlife photographers and filmmakers and with other leadership campers from around the world to observe polar bears in the wild, and learn about climate change first hand from experts while aboard the Tundra Buggy mobile research station.  After five days in the Arctic, campers return to their communities as Arctic Ambassadors empowered to make a difference in the race to save the polar bear, whose habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate.  

According to PBI, the Arctic summer-sea ice cover has both shrunk and thinned by 45 percent, losing 70 percent of its former volume since the 1970s. Scientists predict the summer-sea ice will disappear completely in less than 30 years, a situation Gault Energy and PBI hope will inspire Fairfield County teens to get involved.

About Gault, Inc. and the Gault-PBI Alliance

For more than 145 years, the Gault family has been providing energy to Westport. Fulfilling his vision of transforming Fairfield County into a national role model for environmental change, in 2008, Sam Gault, the fifth-generation to lead the company, made energy conservation and education about global warming and the plight of the polar bear the cornerstone of the company's corporate mission. Inspiring homeowners to embrace "energy solutions for a greener tomorrow," Gault opened a new chapter with the non-profit organization Polar Bears International (PBI). The Gault-PBI Alliance has sent two Fairfield County "green teens" to PBI's Arctic Leadership Camp. To date, they have educated more than 1,500 children and their families about what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint for the health of their neighborhoods, their communities, their planet, and the polar bear.  For more information, visit www.gault-pbi.com.

About Polar Bears International

Polar Bears International is a non-profit organization devoted to worldwide conservation through education. Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Polar Bears International (PBI) is an organization whose work is field-based in the icy North where polar bears roam. PBI believes that scientific research, educating the public, and conservation activities are the keys to saving the polar bear and its Arctic habitat. For more than a decade now, PBI's Web site, www.polarbearsinternational.org, has served as "Polar Bear Central" for all individuals and organizations with an interest in polar bears and their environment.