19 year-old hikes 300 miles to Tallahassee for Wild Florida

By Vivian El-Salawy on February 28, 2017

Just last week, 19 year-old Oscar Psychas set off for his walk from Gainesville to Tallahassee for his Walk for Wild Florida campaign on Wednesday. Yesterday, he updated the world with having only 100 miles left to Tallahassee! He plans to walk up the steps of our capitol on March 7th, just in time for the legislative session.

Oscar with only 100 miles left until he reaches Tallahassee; Image via Oscar Psychas

So what exactly is his Walk for Wild Florida campaign?

This campaign is a way to spread the word about the efforts of getting Florida’s Legislature to fund programs that protect Florida’s wild places for future generations. What better way to get the state’s attention than to have a teenager walk hundreds of miles to show them how much wild Florida matters to the generations to come?

At the 2017 legislative session, Oscar hopes to see our state lawmakers fully fund the Florida Forever program to purchase and protect critical habitat.

Image via Walk for Wild Florida

How can you participate or contribute?

On the website for Oscar’s campaign, he clearly states five steps on how to become an advocate for Wild Florida. According to Walk for Wild Florida:

Step 1: Send a postcard or letter from Wild Florida to your legislator. Find your representative and their contact information at: https://www.flsenate.gov/senators/find

Step 2: Call your legislator and tell them why Wild Florida matters to you! He provides the following template on his website:

“Hi, my name is ________ and I am one of your constituents living in ZIP code _____. I wanted to call to urge Congress(wo)man ____  to follow voter’s wishes and fully fund the Florida Forever program and other crucial conservation programs. Florida’s wild areas are crucial to our economy and way of life and I want to see these places preserved for future generations.”

Step 3: Explore Florida for yourself! Visit your local springs and trails and consider even stepping out of your local surroundings and explore what else is in store all over Florida!

Step 4: Subscribe to an organization. There are already so many environmental organizations with similar goals to Oscar’s, but they need your support. Visit his website for more details as to what these organizations are and how to contact them.

Step 5: Become the change!

Image via Walk for Wild Florida

For the time being…

Follow Oscar’s story on his Facebook page, support him on his walk to the capitol, or write a postcard if you feel so inclined. It is truly inspiration to see such a young individual actively participating to fight for wild Florida. Every little action counts, whether it’s sending that postcard, sharing an article, or even just liking the Facebook page for this campaign or another environmental organization. But it takes a genuinely passionate and driven heart to walk one foot in front of the other for 300 miles to prove to the world how much wild Florida truly means to him.

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