Amira Odeh

plastic use reduction, campaign planning, timeline creation, leadership training, beach cleanups, environmental interpretation, reusing items

The ennvironment has been an important part in my life since my earliest memories. When thinking about my childhood, what stands out is the animals around me, the ocean and some worries about drought and constructions in a nearby river. During my school years I offered my time as a volunteer for several organizations and environmental causes but I always knew I wanted to do more than just volunteer. When I started to study at the University of Puerto Rico, I saw a world of environmental issues and efforts to solve these. Here, I joined the Eco-Environmental Society where later I became president and where I am know a campaign coordinator. I am working to ban the sale of bottled water at my university and to create in it a community of sustainability. This project has given me a lot of opportunities and knowledge about this issues as well as the importance of organizing for a positive future.
I love working with water conservation and with the subject of reducing the plastic we consume. With these interests and with the campaign I'm working at, I hope to complete the project succesfully at the university while also creating a network and community of people interested in the same cause, who will help create a movement that will be developed around several areas in all of Puerto Rico. I wish to continue working in organizing and community outreach to motivate more people to join the movement and create the change they hope to see for the planet. 

hiking, swimming

eating a lot of chocolate

walking

there are many good things I want to see happen. I believe that I can't sit back and wait for them to happen, I have to take a stand and work to create a positive change.

bringing energy and motivation in different situations. Even when plans don't work out as we had planned, I always try and work to see possible different outcomes and search for other options. Even in frustrating time, there is always a hope of making a difference, even if it's not the same one that was planned at the beginning.

Working on this campaign has brought many good moments, like when we won an EPA Environmental Quality Award or the times we have appeared on local media. But the proudest moment while working on our community is noticing the little details that people do to support our campaign and make a difference. I feel very proud when I talk to someone about the issue of bottled water during an event and then see them a few days later with a new reusable bottle. Those details are the most important to me.

their sense of urgency on environmental issues. Many people see environmental problems happening in 100 or 200 years, preventing them from acting now instead of waiting for a bigger problem to happen. This is why we work in education for the present.