At 13 years of age, Boulder Creek resident and Youth Ambassador Paris Shewfelt has already traveled the world spreading the word and raising awareness for ocean and environmental conservation.
“I would say my biggest accomplishment is being able to spread the word to others of all generations,” Shewfelt said.
When Shewfelt was only four years old, it was brought to her attention that the sea otter population was endangered and close to extinction.
During this time, she began her nonprofit called Greatkidscare to help build awareness and knowledge amongst children for cleaner oceans and healthier marine mammals.
At the same time, Shewfelt created her first art piece titled “Mother and Daughter Sea Otter, Love and Comfort,” which was created using chalk pastel and took one year to complete.
In 2008, she was a part of the green Olympics in Beijing China, where the Wyland Foundation awarded her the title of Youth Ambassador for the planet.
“It means I am someone that goes out there, and not only has passion for the ocean but, also spreads the word and spreads my passion and care for it to others around me, to get them to be passionate and involved,” Shewfelt said.
While she was there, Shewfelt and 212 other youth ambassadors from around the world worked together to paint a mile-long mural, which was displayed on the lawn of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
Shewfelt said that she began playing the guitar when she was 6 years old and wrote her first two songs called “Green Generation” and “Girls Gone Green.”
Her next song was titled “Mother Earth Versus Fossil Fuel.”
This was originally a poem written for a poetry competition that was eventually put to music and recorded in Nashville Tennessee.
She has performed this hit song everywhere from Hawaii to numerous Wyland Foundation events worldwide.
Last Saturday, Sept. 20, Shewfelt performed a new song at the Mountain Winery in Los Gatos to get the word out about the endangered cheetahs in Africa.
“I performed my new song that I wrote and composed its called ‘Amber Eyes’ and it was inspired by the cheetahs,” Shewfelt said. “They are an endangered species that are illegally traded and killed by local farmers.”
She is also supporting the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia by hosting a book collection drive on her website.
Shewfelt said that she plans to host a book collection in Scotts Valley Park and Santa Cruz in the future to support her ultimate goal of taking 1,000 books back to Namibia in a year’s time.
There she will help to start a new library where children can become educated about cheetahs and their conservation. Shewfelt has collected 400 books so far.
“If they are educated, when they grow up and have their own farms, they will support the cheetahs and instead of killing them off when they are coming around,” she said. “They can go to CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund) and get protection like Anatolian shepherd dogs — if they are educated then it benefits cheetahs and everyone.”
Shewfelt is currently engaged in a new project she calls the “Paris Project” that is designed to help document and clean the trash from the beach in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
“All the tourists use the beach and leave thousands of tons of trash all over,” she said. “My goal is to get the local amusement park vendors to use recyclable silverware and cups and to get tourist kids to help clean the beach during park hours.”
