Iida Ruishalme

“I’m happiest out wandering in the wilderness or splashing in the lake with my kids and our dogs. However, the lakeshores where my grandmother grew up are now plagued by toxic algae. Gone are the frogs and the frog pond, and there is no sign of the flying squirrel that once nested in a tree next to our old cottage. Will my daughters experience the richness of the natural world that I enjoyed? Once they have grown up, I want to be able to tell them that we saved the coral reefs, the polar bears and the vulnerable ecosystems. I want to do all we can so we will have space for flying squirrels and wetlands that echo with the croaking of frogs.”