Kids Saving Oceans Founder Releases a Children's Book
As some of you may know, Keep Pinellas Beautiful is in partnership with Kids Saving Oceans (KSO), an organization run by eight-year-old Miles (with a little help from his moms!) which focuses on ocean conservation. Recently, Miles partnered with author Tori McGee and illustrator Kate Zotova to write a book called Kids Saving Oceans: Olivia Makes a Difference, the proceeds of which benefit KPB! The book is loosely based on Miles’s own story of starting Kids Saving Oceans and the idea that small changes, multiplied by many people, add up to a BIG difference. It's available NOW on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop (an online retailer supporting local bookstores!), and at Book + Bottle in St. Pete!
To celebrate this awesome news and the fact that June is National Ocean Month, we want to tell you the story of how we met Miles and highlight some of the amazing things this young man is doing to better our community and our planet.
How We Met Miles
KPB and KSO came together through a fortuitous meeting at an environmental event. The two organizations immediately connected over a shared love of benefitting our Pinellas County community, and KPB staff were (and are!) quite impressed with Miles’s determination to make a difference to the wider world by bettering the state of our oceans. Soon, a partnership was born.
What Kids Saving Oceans Does
After realizing how in-need our oceans are, Miles established Kids Saving Oceans, a conservation business which donates its profits to local environmental groups. With his family’s support, Miles has designed t-shirts, hats, and stickers that highlight a number of important aquatic habitats influenced by human activity. By purchasing these items, ocean lovers can proudly display their commitment to ocean conservation and their support of environmental organizations.
Since developing KSO, Miles has: presented in front of St. Petersburg City Council in support of the proposed plastic straw ban, inspired a school earth week dedicated to conservation, and brought 80 people out for a Great American Cleanup event where the group removed over 100 lbs. of consumer-based debris.
Our Partnership
Along with donating the proceeds of Kids Saving Oceans: Olivia Makes a Difference to KPB, Miles has also collaborated with KPB to design a special campaign to sell reusable metal straws in beachfront restaurants, with the goal of educating tourists and local residents alike about single-use plastics. All proceeds generated from this effort will support KPB’s cleanup efforts throughout Pinellas County. KSO also has a dedicated “beach cleanup” sticker in honor of KPB, benefiting our cleanup initiatives.
Kids Saving Oceans exemplifies how individual action adds up to something big and amazing. As Miles says, “Each decision and each choice we make multiplied by all of us will change the world.”
We’re honored to be working with Miles as he strives to better our oceans and our community, and cannot wait to see what this young activist does in years to come. Congratulations on becoming an author, Miles! Love, the KPB team.