One of the unexpected surprises for the SNOWstorm team is who has turned out to be our strongest promoters.
Carl Wagner has been sharing Philly’s journey with friends and classmates.
Carl Wagner is a 9-year-old third grader from Honey Brook, PA. He discovered Operation SNOWstorm with his mom and 2 older brothers. They all got very excited when they learned that Philly’s release site was within 3 miles of their home and that Philly had landed on landmarks in the area that they all knew well. This picture of Carl was taken at his local little league fields, just a quarter of a mile from one of Philly’s stops atop a farm building at an Amish farm complex as he began his initial descent back into PHL.
But out of the 3 brothers, it was Carl who really latched onto Philly and his travels. So much so that he pulled together a PowerPoint presentation and a SNOWstorm Tracker demo to show his 24 classmates. After he gave his PowerPoint presentation and showed his classmates where Philly had been, the class gave him a standing ovation! Way to go Carl!
And Carl didn’t stop there. He quickly made plans to give his presentation to the other 7 third grade classrooms in his building. And when he gets done with the third graders, Carl wants to take this to the 9 second grade classrooms, then all the fourth grade classrooms. It is his intention to educate his peers and get them excited about such a beautiful, majestic species of owl.
Tragically, Philly was killed in a collision with a plane at 7:00am on January 29th at the Philadelphia Airport.
Even though Carl’s mom had prepared him for the possibility of this type of outcome, Carl was devastated by the news. But Carl quickly bounced back driven by the desire to share his presentation with the other 9 classes in his school. And he set a new type of goal for himself; raise money for Project SNOWstorm both to honor Philly and to help the ongoing research. His school told Carl it was okay for him to encourage kids to donate from home to the Project SNOWstorm Indiegogo fundraiser as part of his presentation.
When the SNOWstorm team heard about Carl’s efforts to raise money they thought it was a great idea and came up with some new perks designed to encourage contributions to honor Philly.
Philly Memorial Tribute – $10
The contributor will receive the following perks
- receive a 3.3×5 inch postcard with a picture of Philly on the front and a tribute message on the back.
- be acknowledged on the Supporter Hall of Fame
Get it now – 1000 perks at this level will be available
(EYE) LOVE PHILLY – $100
The contributor will receive the following perks:
- 3×12 inch magnetic bumper sticker with a photo of Philly and “(EYE) LOVE PHILLY”
- 3.3×5 inch postcard with a picture of Philly on the front and a tribute message on the back
- be acknowledged on the Supporter Hall of Fame
Get it now – 100 of these will be offered.
6 Comments on “Meet Project SNOWstorm’s #1 fan!”
Carl,
What an awesome inspiration you are! Such an amazing initiative that you have undertaken as a tribute in honor of Philly and Project SNOWstorm. Your family and schoolmates must be very proud of you, as are so many people that you have never even met! Great job, Carl.
Hi Geri,
Thank you so much for your kind words about our youngest nestling, Carl!! He is an extraordinary soul and is determined to “spread the word about owls”. Carl has currently given his Philly the Snowy Owl PowerPoint presentation to 2 of the 8 third grade classrooms at his school. Last week he had scheduled each of the six remaining classrooms for their respective presentations, but all the snow days this week have wrecked havoc on that schedule. However, Carl will not be deterred or thwarted, for relentless persistence is one of his strengths! Thank you again for your kind, encouraging words!
I only got to two classes last week because they had to do something “important” to do! Still trying to reschedule the presentation.
I’m psyched to be on the website! Thanks for the comments!
Carl, you remind me a great deal of my husband Dave (Brinker) when he was your age. Keep up your interest in birds, and let us know how you’re doing. Dave does have college students assist him with research from time to time. Who knows–thirty years from now, we could be reading reports of Carl Wagner’s work with owls!
Hi Mrs. Cole,
Did almost all the third grade classes. Going to ask the principle to go to the second graders today. The kids love what I’m doing and the word is spreading. But my friends are mad at me because I’m missing class. Was mr. Brinker really like me me when he was a kid? Thanks for the comments.
Carl, Thank you for giving such a WONDERFUL and well prepared presentation to my 3rd grade class. We have learned so much from you! Your passion for Philly and Project SNOWstorm is an inspiration to us all and we are so proud of your hard work and dedication. Thank you for making us aware of this important cause. We look forward to hearing more about your work in the future!