Top Louisville teen returns from
Canada with up-close polar bear experience
 

((EDITOR’S NOTE: More photos of Emily's trip are available upon request.))

Emily Goldstein, 16, has missed school for more than a week.

She wasn’t sick, and she wasn’t avoiding it. She just wasn’t in the country.

The Atherton High School junior, who is an A student, was actually observing polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

The Louisville Zoo selected Goldstein to be the Zoo’s teen ambassador during Polar Bear International’s recent week-long Polar Bear Leadership Camp. She joined 15 other high school students from around the world to study polar bears during their fall migration and collect field data with scientists.

“We are excited we could provide Emily with this opportunity,” said Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak. “She is bright, passionate and has an overwhelming love for animals. Through this experience, Emily truly understands our Zoo’s mission of bettering the bond between people and our planet, and I know she will do all she can to educate others so they can make a difference.”

The camp, which was founded in 2004, includes intense field work that exposes students to all sides of the issues facing polar bears and humans in the Churchill region.

Goldstein said she came away from the experience captivated and enthralled, ready to tell the world about what she learned.

“I can’t imagine a world without polar bears,” she said. “These magnificent

animals exemplify the awesome beauty of the Artic. Yet polar bears and their ecosystem are on the brink of destruction and extinction, threatened by our abuse and neglect. The mighty, magnificent polar bear has become a symbol of hope for a change in our global policies, in our need to fix the damage the human race has caused.”

Goldstein described seeing a polar bear up close in her Oct. 1 online journal entry:

“He stared directly at me—with beautiful eyes that reflected his personality … Twice, he reared up and placed his forelegs onto the buggy; his nose was at work. It was absolutely amazing—the best experience of my life. And I’ve had a lot of experiences.”

(To view all of Goldstein’s journal entries during her trip, visit  www.polarbearsinternational.org/student-journals/egoldstein/)

During the camp, Goldstein was required to create a forward action plan to help educate her peers and the Louisville community about conservation issues. Some things she hopes to initiate include building a better recycling program at her school, setting up a booth on the topic of climate change at Louisville Zoo’s Earth Day next year and making presentations to local businesses, schools and organizations on the importance of caring for the environment.

“I want to share with everyone that it is up to us all to halt global climate change, and every single person can make a difference,” she said. “If everyone would make even small changes in their lifestyles, it would add up to make the big changes necessary to save not only the polar bears, but the whole planet.”

For more information on Polar Bear International’s week-long Polar Bear Leadership Camp, visit www.polarbearsinternational.org. For more information on the Louisville Zoo, visit www.louisvillezoo.org.

 

BACKGROUND

Goldstein’s love for animals began when she was very young, and at age 13 she began volunteering for the Zoo. So far, she has more than 400 volunteer hours and is the Vice President of the Zoo’s Youth Board. She even nabbed the 2007 Giraffe Area Youth Volunteer Award.

In 2006 she started a recycling program to collect aluminum can tabs for the Zoo’s Animal Enrichment Fund. So far, she has raised more than $300.

Goldstein established the Marine Biology Club at Atherton High School a year ago and was elected president. She led the writing of a petition against overfishing from the world’s oceans that was sent to Washington D.C, organized a club trip to Chicago (which included fundraising) and organized a booth at the Zoo during Earth Day to educate visitors about overfishing and global warming.

Her mother Debbie said the Goldstein home is becoming “green” because of Emily’s influence.

“We recycle everything, use fluorescent bulbs, have turned the water heater and thermostat back, and she even makes me unplug everything after we use it … the computer, TV and more. I didn’t realize that they suck energy even when they are not on,” Debbie said. “Emily is truly educating us.”

Emily Goldstein said her goal is to one day be a zoo veterinarian and eventually a zoo director.

 

-- MEDIA OPPORTUNITY --

If you would like to interview Emily Goldstein, please contact Media Relations Manager Kara Bussabarger at 502-238-5331.

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The Louisville Zoo, a non-profit organization and state zoo of Kentucky, is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation education. The Zoo is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

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