Protect the planet, empower the people.
“Collectively, we need to find a balance where people and nature co-exist. If not, we all lose. We have to find a way to protect nature and wildlife, simultaneous to humans. I encourage everyone to take action and to inspire others. Even the smallest act can ripple out and result in a BIG change.”
—Karen Korponai
A PASSION FOR OCEANS AND LIFE BELOW WATER
Karen was raised to respect, love and protect nature. She grew up with the stories of how her grandfather crossed the Amazon jungle from Brazil to Bolivia with his dog and his hiking and kayaking adventures in the mountains of Europe. Karen spent many summers in Florida where she developed her passion for the ocean and marine wildlife. She has spent over 16 years on the coasts of Florida and remains active with ocean cleans up and marine life preservation.
Karen volunteered to walk the south Florida beaches in the early mornings and evenings to mark and inventory sea turtle nests. On occasion they would rescue baby turtles and take them to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton. On the coast of Florida, the Loggerhead and Green sea turtles are listed as threatened. The Leatherback, Hawksbill, and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle species are listed as endangered. Karen is aware that sea turtle populations have been seriously reduced due to pollution of the waters with trash, plastics, chemicals and discarded fishing nets. With only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings making it to the ocean and surviving to adulthood, she knows that more education and action are needed. Karen continues to inspire groups to get involved in beach clean ups and she continues to volunteer and support sea turtle projects.
Karen was also active and volunteered in dolphin and whale education and research. She supported Bottomtime Adventures and participated on several wild dolphin adventures off Bimini Island. She also participated in humpback whale research off the coast of the Dominican Republic on the Silver Banks, the largest breeding grounds in the world for humpback whales. During this time, she studied underwater photography with Donald Tipton. Every year Karen makes an effort to support organizations such as ConsciousBreathAdventures.com, WildQuest.com, DolphinsPlus.com and IslandDolphinCare.org. These organizations provide a platform to educate people on the importance of protecting our oceans and marine wildlife and the magical connection humans have with nature.
Most recently, Karen moderated a fireside discussion on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2020 titled “Plastic Free Oceans: Turning Visions into Action”. Corporations and institutions are driving visions for a plastic free ocean through material exploration, system changes, and designing for circularity. The fireside chat focused on the actions individuals are taking right now for a healthier planet and the solutions to free the oceans of plastic. The discussion featured Andrew Forrest, Chairman of the Minderoo Foundation and Bill Tai, CEO of ACTAi Global.
Stay tuned to learn about Karen’s other ocean plastic initiatives.
LA SENDA VERDE BOLIVIA AND GREENFIELD RESERVE U.S.A.
““When we needed support in New York to raise awareness after the Amazon fires, Karen quickly took action and exceeded our expectations. She took the time to get us invitations to several events and even arranged a meeting with a former President of Bolivia. And, during the climate strike, Karen was persistent on getting 15 year old Nina Py Brozovich, founder of Greta’s Future Fridays Bolivia as many interviews as possible. With her years of experience managing interviews and various media outlets, Karen coached Nina and naturally enrolled others in the vision to raise awareness on the Bolivian Amazon fires.” ”
La Senda Verde (”Green Path”) Wildlife Rescue Center and eco-lodge is a non-profit organization established in 2003 in the subtropical region on the east side of the Bolivian Andes. Their current efforts are focused on the frontlines of the Amazon Rainforest and the Chiquitania Forest due to the aftermath of the Amazon fires. In an effort to support the situation, Karen helped connect key players and assemble a team to provide solutions, raise funds, increase awareness and bring strategic partners to support post fire activities.
The teams’ primary focus at La Senda Verde (LSV) is to save and provide shelter to rescued wild animals and inspire people to appreciate and protect nature. The secondary focus is to support the restoration of land after the wildfires claimed over 5.3 million hectares of Bolivian forests and land (which is larger than the country of Switzerland). The fires have also threatened some of the most important places for biodiversity in the world. They have threatened the ability to protect wildlife, to store carbon and provide clean drinking water, and preserve the culture of the indigenous people. LSV is also providing training for rangers on wild animal rescue, first aid for injured animals and fire fighting.
Karen quickly realized that during the devastating Amazon fires, most people were talking about Brazil and not Bolivia where the fires originated. With Karen’s passion for Bolivia and nature, she could not sit back and do nothing. Her efforts alongside a team led to supporting Vicky Ossio and Nina Py Brozovich, at the 2019 United Nations General Assembly in New York. Karen quickly secured participation passes for Nina and Vicky to attend the Social Good Summit, Concordia Conference and the United Nations Youth Climate Summit. Also, at the end of the Climate Strike march in New York, Karen supported securing over 15 interviews for Nina and Vicky including MTV, UNDP, Climate Uprising, the Climate Action Network, CBS and Telemundo. Recently, Karen connected La Senda Verde with Greenfield Reserve to amplify fundraising and solutions around the rescue and support of wild animals.