I write to you today to let you know, not so much about the organization, Kids Saving The Rainforest, (KSTR) but more on how it got started. KSTR is a 501 (C) 3, non-profit organization that was founded 11 years ago in 1999 by my best friend Aislin and me.
Read MoreThe art of shell collecting dates back thousands of years. Over time, shells have been used as currency, treasures and game pieces to different civilizations. In present times, shell collecting has led to the birth of conchologists, malacologists, among other words rarely used in the English language. The OCD reaction some might have towards picking up shells and storing them on their balcony or in vases in their living room is leading to a shortage in adequate sized homes for small sea creatures. Shells provide shelter to invertebrate animals with no mechanism of protection or self-defense. Every so often these creatures trade homes depending on how fast they out-grow their current homes. Those beautiful shells you keep on your shelves are actually the dead carcasses of sea creatures. When clams, oysters, starfish and mollusks die, their shells wash up on the beach with the tides and are taken as a shelter to those who do not have the mechanisms to create them themselves.
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