by Margaret Lindenburg
Do you know any shark enthusiasts? If you don't, then meet Alexandra DiGiacomo, a rising sophomore at RHS.
In early July, she left Ridgefield to spend twelve days on the coast of Belize with National Geographic Student Expeditions. The high school students who traveled to central America along with Alexandra all had something in common: they wanted to learn about marine conservation and become "ambassadors of the ocean". Activities on the trip included snorkeling the famous Blue Hole in the Gulf of Mexico, and helping collect data for a shark conservationist.
Throughout her travels to different reefs and coastal communities, Alexandra saw large amounts of trash, debris, and plastic mixed with seaweed and littering beautiful beaches. "In a stretch of about 400 feet on one beach, we collected enough plastic to make a life sized person", she said, "It opened my eyes to the how the ocean is being mindlessly destroyed." How is she taking action? By making small choices to reduce waste such as using a reusable coffee cup and straw or even getting ice cream in a cone instead of a cup.
Alexandra hopes to apply her new passion for sharks and ocean conservation to community service projects during her high school years.