Teen Environmentalist Sarah Jo Lambert on Carrying the Olympic Torch
Over a period of 70 days leading up the London Games, 8,000 inspirational people carry the Olympic Flame throughout the United Kingdom as part of the historic torch relay. Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola selected ten talented American students to participate in the relay and spread excitement about the Games, and Sarah Lambert is one of them. When she was fourteen years old, Sarah conceived and built a carbon neutral, 800-square-foot environmental education center in Texas as part of a Girl Scouts challenge. She's since received many prestigious honors for her green thumb, including the Barron Prize for Young Heroes and the Environmental Protection Agency's Youth Award. Sarah tells us about her environmental achievements and what it felt like to carry the patriotic emblem.
1/4After designing and building an environmental education center, this nineteen-year-old student received the honor of participating in the Olympic Torch Relay in England.
Photo of Sarah at Lorax Lodge courtesy of John Bowersmith2/4"For the Girl Scouts Gold Awards project, I built an environmental center for children called the Lorax Lodge. It's 100 percent carbon neutral, entirely run by solar panels, and focuses on the importance of the environment and being green. How we protect our world is so important. I started working on the center when I was fourteen, and finished when I was seventeen."
Photo courtesy of Stephen Spillman, Lubbock Avalanche Journal3/4"2,200 volunteers in fifteen states helped build the education center, and I raised over 225,000 dollars for the project. I was selected for the EPA Environmental Youth Award, and I got to go to Washington, D.C. and meet President Obama. I won the Barron Prize for Young Heroes and the national Coca-Cola scholarship, and then I got asked to carry the Olympic Torch! My adviser for my project, my high school counselor, and my high school friend nominated me for the honor."
"I was nervous about falling and dropping the Olympic torch, but it was so exciting to be a part of history. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only because I was allowed to represent my country, but also because I was allowed to participate in a legendary event that represents peace, athleticism, respect and friendship around the globe."
Photo courtesy of Matthew E. Lambert, II4/4"I'm a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln double majoring in News Editorial and Advertising and double minoring in Spanish and English. I have to wait until I'm out of college to build more environmental education centers, but I intend to continue my conservation efforts!"
