Speaking up for the red wolf
Plainfield girl’s conservation essay judged best from Illinois
Monday, August 4, 2003
By Cheryl Dangel Cullen
Correspondent
Christiana Morgan, a 12-year-old from Plainfield, represented Illinois
during the spring at the second annual Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom
Kids’ Summit on Conservation. The event encouraged students nationwide to
submit their ideas in essay form for how they would save an endangered
species.
One essay from each state was selected as the winner, with the authors
winning a trip to the Kids’ Summit on Conversation in Los Angeles.
Morgan wrote about saving the red wolf from extinction by creating a video
game to show people what daily struggles the red wolf faces.
The red wolf “used to live in Illinois, and I really like wolves,” she
said when asked why she chose this topic.
Contest organizers liked her essay so much they chose the sixth-grade
student from Drauden Point Middle School as their Illinois representative.
To commemorate her win, Morgan traveled with her mother to Los Angeles for
the two-day summit, where she joined kids from around the country to help
save endangered animals.
Morgan’s parents, Faith and Scott Morgan, were surprised and proud of
their daughter’s accomplishment, according to Morgan.
“It was amazing and fun. I never had entered a contest before. I did it
because I really like animals, and I like writing about them.”
The student ambassadors, one from each of the 50 states and Washington,
D.C., flew to Los Angeles to share their ideas about animal conservation
with each other and event hosts Jim Fowler and Peter Gros.
Fowler and Gros, along with the late Marlin Perkins, were hosts of the
television show “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” which returned to the
airwaves with specials that aired in May and June on the Animal Planet
cable network.
The summit ambassadors received a tour of the Los Angeles Zoo, home to
more than 1,200 rare and endangered species, and got a behind-the-scenes
look at many animals. There, ambassadors presented their ideas for saving
endangered species and had the opportunity to meet celebrities who share
their concern about endangered animals.
The trip also included a visit to Universal Studios theme park and an
invitation to see a television show taped at Universal Studios for airing
on Animal Planet.
Looking back on the adventure, Morgan said what stood out most was “just
meeting all the kids from the other states.”
Otherwise, her favorite parts of the trip were getting the chance to pet a
wolf, and a special dinner hosted by event organizers that included
bringing many wild animals up-close and personal to the kids.
Morgan, who owns four cats and a dog, says she wants to be an animal
photographer or an animal biologist when she grows up.
“I like to take pictures of my animals. I’ve always liked studying
animals,” she said.
As for how she’d save the red wolf, she says: “We can do a lot of stuff to
save them. It is hard to explain. These animals were here, and it is their
home, too, and they should be able to live here and not be hurt.”
“We are very excited for Christiana, who had a once-in-a-lifetime
experience as Illinois’ representative at Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom
Kids’ Summit,” said Jeff Gregory, general sales manager of Mutual of
Omaha’s regional sales office in Matteson. “She can be very proud to be
selected as a winner.
“Kids have passionate, fresh and creative ideas that can lead to new ways
to conserve wildlife,” Gregory said. “Mutual of Omaha created this
classroom program to encourage kids to think about the importance of
protecting endangered animals. An even more important lesson for the kids
is learning that they don’t need to grow up before they can make a
difference on issues they care about.”