MTV Onair - Trippin

Alessandra Phelan-Roberts - Oakland, California - Age 19


	Alessandra Phelan-Roberts' enthusiastic work as a Roots & Shoots member has inspired others both locally and internationally. From her hometown of Oakland, Alessandra has worked actively with Roots & Shoots groups at the Oakland Zoo, helping to research native bee species, orchestrating beach clean-ups and creating a butterfly garden. She is most proud of her work with the International Children's Conference on the Environment in 2004. Alessandra guided children and adults from around the globe in identifying local and international environmental challenges, ranging from water and power use to the plight of indigenous peoples. She submitted the list of priorities to the United Nations for its pledge of commitment to address these issues. Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that emphasizes care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment. For more about Roots & Shoots, click here. Photos: Alessandra Phelan-Roberts
Arsen Ewing - Oakland, California - Age 17


	LRoots & Shoots California Youth Leadership Council member Arsen Ewing is trekking the far corners of the planet in an effort to save it. The conservation and education organization Earthwatch Institute handpicked Haitian-born Ewing last year as one of three representatives to participate in a filmed round-the-world expedition, �Earthbound3.� Ewing is assisting in critical research projects related to climate change, habitat destruction, species extinction and loss of cultural heritage. �I'm so happy to have this opportunity,� says Ewing. �I hope to bring some positive change to the world and make it a better place for my children, grandchildren, and their children through the work we do on these projects.� The film is due out this fall. Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that emphasizes care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment. For more about Roots & Shoots, click here. Photos: Arsen Ewing
Lauren Fine - Birmingham, Alabama - Age 24


	Lauren is an Americorps Volunteer working on poverty and acid mine drainage issues in the rivers and streams of the Southeast. In partnership with the Alabama Rivers Alliance, Friends of Hurricane Creek and World Wildlife Fund, she helps protect and restore creeks and streams in a low-income area near Tuscaloosa, Alabama that has been affected by acid drainage from nearby mines. She organizes stream walks and creek cleanups for local high school students, conducts water quality tests, makes classroom presentations, recruits volunteers, and requests financial support from businesses and foundations. Recognized worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life on Earth.For more information on WWF, click here. Photos: Lauren Fine
David Chase - Hyannis, MA - Age 16


	For David Chase, the future looks green. A founding member of the Roots & Shoots New England Youth Leadership Council, Chase spent the past two years spearheading a campaign to encourage Cape Cod hotels to think "green." He asks them to reduce their use of electricity, be environmentally conscious in their buying, and reduce their use of water by encouraging guests to re-use towels and sheets rather than have them washed every day. With a natural talent for fund raising, he collected an amazing $12,500 to help bring the Roots & Shoots North American Youth Summit to Cape Cod. Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that emphasizes care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment. For more about Roots & Shoots, click here. Photos: David Chase
Margarida Bronzoni - Montreal, QC, Canada - Age 21


	During the past three summers Margarida traveled to the pristine islands of Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique and in the wildlands of South Africa. In Bazaruto and the Benguerra Islands Margarida participated in WWF's conservation projects by helping with shell identification, design of wildlife monitoring tables and conducting global positioning system (GPS) studies of human settlements. Working with Global Vision International at the Karongwe Reserve in South Africa Margarida helped track wild animals with radio telemetry and recorded their location with GPS. She has done tree plantation monitoring and salamander research in Canada and has traveled to or lived in 16 countries. Recognized worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. For more information on WWF, click here. Photos: Margarida Bronzoni
Jeremy Doochin - Nashville, TN - Age 17


	Jeremy is founder and president of the Student Environmental Outreach Coalition at Hume Fogg Academic High School. He built a unique program to help educate students about environmental issues and to provide environmentally oriented community volunteer activities for students throughout Nashville. Last year, Jeremy became the youngest person elected to the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club. He currently serves on the Metro Nashville Earth Day Festival Planning Committee, directs the oral history project for the Tennessee Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, and is working to create a city-wide student environmental coalition. Inspired by nature, the Sierra Club and its members protect communities and the planet. For more about the Sierra Club, click here. Photos: Jeremy Doochin
Amelia Rinas - Parma, OH - Age 19


	Kent State University student Amelia Rinas is founder of the Gorilla Garden project, in which she planted and grew vegetables in her backyard and donated the bounty to the primates of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. As neighbors, friends and family began donating food, Rinas was able to expand the donations to local food shelters. Rinas participated in a 32-country peace conference in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2004 as a representative of Roots & Shoots and the United States. Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that emphasizes care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment. For more about Roots & Shoots, click here. Photos: Amelia Rinas
Kelley Greenman - Hollywood, FL - Age 17


	When she was eight years old, Kelley and a group of her classmates testified in front of Florida�s governor and legislature to help establish the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary � the US�s largest. Now 17, she is student coordinator of World Wildlife Fund�s Team Panda, passionately defending her South Florida home against the damage caused by global warming. She and her classmates have testified before national coral reef and marine advisory counsels and have traveled to Washington DC to help pass the Climate Stewardship Act. They also organized a Climate Witness Program to record testimonies from local people about coral bleaching and other direct effects of global warming. Recognized worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. For more about WWF, click here. Photos: Kelley Greenman
Chase Pickering - Asheville, NC - Age 17


	As both a member of the Roots & Shoots' National Youth Leadership Council and a local group leader in Asheville, Chase has dedicated his time to local wildlife rehabilitation center Wild for Life. Chase constructed a 60-foot pre-release flight cage for orphaned and injured birds of prey, bringing in an amazing $3,000 for the project through fundraisers such as bake sales and the selling of Endangered Species Chocolate Bars. This work and his wildlife photography--a hobby since the age of 12--is Pickering's way of "teaching people of all ages the importance of protecting wildlife and their fragile environments." Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that emphasizes care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment. For more about Roots & Shoots, click here. Photos: Chase Pickering
Jessica Rimington - Cotuit, MA - Age 18


	Roots & Shoots member Jessica Rimington's work begins locally, but reaches the entire world. Since the Georgetown University student started the Cape Youth Council on Sustainability in June 2003, its projects have ranged from the selling of energy-saving light bulbs to the design and planting of a sustainable landscape for a local NGO, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She recently founded One World Youth Project, a non-profit organization connecting Roots & Shoots youth groups around the world, educating members on the benefits of cultural exchange. Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that emphasizes care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment. For more about Roots & Shoots, click here. Photos: Jessica Rimington