Miriam Li, a rising fifth grader at Millstone River School, is spearheading a project to address global warming by planting trees around the world through Trees for the Future. Her plan is to raise enough money to plant 5,”000 trees by the end of 2008. She has already collected more than $400, but she needs close to $600 more to reach her goal.##M:[more]##
“Do you want to know what you can do to help save our planet? Do you want to do something about global warming? Planting a tree can really help. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the main reasons why our world is heating up. Trees take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and give off oxygen. So we need to plant trees, and lots of them,” says Li in a note to classmates.
Li is very interested in creative arts. She plays the piano and cello, sings, dances at the Princeton Dance and Theater Studio, writes stories, and paints. She also composes music and lyrics. One of her poems was chosen to be in the Princeton Arts Council’s “Underage” poem collection this year. She was honored at a reception on June 12.
“One of her favorite things is sitting at the piano with her grandfather from Chicago and singing harmony together,” says her mother Bess Spiro-Li. “Grandpa, who just turned 80, and Grandma come to Plainsboro every spring to help plant the family garden.”
Miriam is proud of her name. She was named after Miriam from the Old Testament, who plays an important role in the Passover story and the Jews exodus from Egypt. Actually, Miriam is also proud that she is “half Chinese – half Jewish”. Miriam’s father is from China.
Li has a busy summer ahead. She begins with studies at McCarter Theater’s Shakespeare camp. The family is then off to Oregon to go rafting with the Sierra Club followed by volunteering at Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. They already have plans for summer, 2009, to visit China for three weeks to volunteer in a small town called An Shan with the Global Volunteers program.
“Miriam’s life is one of commitment and passion. Anyone who knows her knows that nothing with Miriam is just half way,” says her mother. “If she cares about someone or something, she cares 1000 percent and helping to save the earth is one of her passions.”
For information about donations E-mail bess.spero.li@gmail.com.
