JUPITER Fla. (CBS12) — This week’s ‘Hometown Hero’ is turning a lifelong passion into real action, advocating for legislation to protect Florida’s unique natural treasures.
From the environment to the wildlife that makes it so special, it’s something 19-year-old Merrick Walder has cared about since he was a little boy.
He grew up in Jupiter, spending most of his time outdoors and in the water.
He says that’s where his appreciation for our natural areas and the wildlife that calls it home first started.
“Florida is a one-of-a-kind place,” he says. “We have some of the best diving in the world off Jupiter. We have the Everglades and Florida springs. Nowhere else in the world has stuff like this, so it’s important that we’re conserving these treasures for the next generations and that’s really what’s made me so passionate about conserving wild Florida.”
Merrick has interned at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a place he calls a second home.
He’s also worked with the Angari Foundation, supporting marine and environmental sciences.
Now, a sophomore at the University of Florida, Merrick is taking his passion to protect wild Florida all the way to the state capital.
He took a trip to Tallahassee with other members of the UF Surfrider Foundation club to talk to lawmakers about the importance of several conservation bills.
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“They’ll listen to you and try to learn. A lot of them don’t really know much about our environment, so it’s important that we’re here, people who are passionate, so they can share our stories,” Merrick says. “That’s really what they want to hear. They want to hear from their constituents, people that live in Florida and have grown up in Florida. They want to hear that they’re passionate and that they really care about this issue.”
The two bills Merrick and his fellow students were pushing to get through the legislature did pass.
One of them, SB302: Coastal Resiliency, has already been signed by Governor DeSantis.
It supports nature-based solutions like mangroves to strengthen our coastlines.
The other, HB441/SB546: Conservation Lands, is a land swap transparency bill that is still waiting on the Governor’s signature.
Merrick hopes to continue advocating for wild Florida and ultimately share his passion with others.
Right now, he is studying marine science and filmmaking at UF.
He hopes to combine them and become a wildlife filmmaker so he can capture the beauty of Florida and our planet for all to see.