Young conservationist inspires others by “getting his feet wet”
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Submitted by EarthEcho International
Meet Armon Alex, youth leadership council member and Board of Directors at EarthEcho International, a non-profit organization that aims to build a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet. Their programs explore fostering youth leadership, mobilizing communities, educating students and training teachers.
While an EarthEcho Water Challenge Ambassador, Armon interned at the Texas State Aquarium in the education department to connect high school students to nature. Here, Armon visits the San Antonio Zoo, where he and the other ambassadors engaged 30 high school students.
Armon’s love for nature led him to join the Earth Echo community when he was still a high school senior in Texas, USA. He then studied Science Communications and Public Relations, which equipped him to flourish into an exceptional educator and leader. For over a decade, he has led various environmental and conservation non-profits internationally and continues to inspire young environmentalists through his youth engagement roles.
The Water Challenge Ambassadors partnered with another University undergrad to exercise their ability to connect and educate younger students. Here, electricity and Connections were the topic of discussion.
In 2017, Armon was selected as an ambassador for the Water Challenge, a global water quality monitoring program where youth work as community scientists and lead ongoing water conservation initiatives. Through this program, Armon learned how to engage his peers in testing the health of their waterways. This amazing opportunity allowed him to get his feet wet (literally!) in the field of environmental education. He was instantly hooked.
The Water Challenge Ambassador research team used the EarthEcho water test kits during the regional water testing. Armon founded a student led-research team dedicated to surveying the quality of water in their local bays and educated k-12 classes about negative environmental impacts.
Once his tenure as a Water Challenge Ambassador ended, he joined the EarthEcho Youth Leadership Council, where he continued his journey as an environmental educator by ensuring that young people have resources and power to change the planet. He now serves on the EarthEcho Board of Directors, which has been nothing short of enlightening for him.
Armon worked with at risk youth to teach them about fish anatomy under a partnership with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and a local environmental non-profit. They engaged 23 k-12 students from the south Texas region
Since he’s been connected with EarthEcho, he personally has:
- Been a speaker for a Science Communications TedTalk.
- Represented EarthEcho at the Ocean Justice Forum in Washington, DC, a coalition of 18 leading U.S. environmental organizations focusing on equitable ocean-based climate policy.
- Co-founded the very first Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit in partnership with the GulfREACH institute, which aims to develop the importance of climate change, preserve the gulf’s coastline and take initiative to protect it through efforts in education, policy and advocacy.
- Hosted the 2021 EarthEcho Youth Leadership Summit, bringing together nearly 300 people from 28 countries.
- Keynoted the 100 Miles Science conference in Jekyll Island, GA, sharing examples of the power of young people to change our ocean planet.
- Headed the YLC Education committee, developing educational toolkits on 30×30 and using them in my training workshops.
If you would like to share your story of inspiring love of nature, send it to us, along with some images, at info@natureforall.global