Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – A Jonesboro 8-year-old is in the running for the nationwide Junior Ranger Competition.
Ellie Hooks is a homeschooled second grader who has loved nature and animals her entire life. She enjoys fishing at Craighead Forest Park, picking up trash, hiking, and more.
The Junior Ranger competition is nationwide, open to kids aged 4-12. To advance, kids secure votes from their communities, and a certain number of kids advance after each round. The ultimate winner will receive $20,000, a wildlife experience with conservationist Jeff Corwin, and appear in Ranger Rick Magazine.
During each round, people can vote once daily for free; however, extra votes can be purchased. Funds raised from voting for any kid in the contest benefit the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), a nonprofit that educates on and advocates for wildlife conservation.
Ellie’s mother, Sarah, entered her in the competition because of her love for nature. Sarah added that her daughter loves that the funds go to the NWF because they benefit wildlife.
| ADD US ON GOOGLE NEWS: Click here to see more local news from Jonesboro Right Now
Ellie’s love for animals is what’s driving her in this competition. Throughout the interview, she described her experiences with different wildlife. She once had a snake-themed birthday party where a wildlife handler brought in various snakes, as well as turtles, lizards, and even a tarantula, for partygoers to hold. Another time, she spent an hour making a hut for frogs to live in.
“We sticked all the sticks in a square. We spent like an hour looking for frogs, I think we found like three,” Ellie said.
She added that when she gets older, she wants to go into an animal-related industry, but right now she’s keeping her options open about which field she wants to enter.
Protecting wildlife and ensuring they have clean, safe areas to live is important, Ellie said, as well as informing people about wildlife and nature conservation.
“If everybody didn’t tell everybody, then everybody would litter. If everyone started littering, all the animals would die,” Ellie said.
Since entering her daughter in the competition, Sarah said family and friends have been supportive and have voted for Ellie.
“It’s really been really fun cheering her on, everyone’s having fun supporting her when we go out around town. Everyone’s like ‘I voted for you today, Ellie!'” Sarah said. “It’s been really cute; she’s been really excited to see people voting.”
Ellie is in the quarterfinals, standing in fourth place at the time of publication. Voting to advance to the semi-finalists concludes Thursday, May 21, at 9 p.m. CDT.
Regardless of the vote’s outcome, Sarah said that entering her daughter in the competition has shown Ellie that more people support her than she thought.
“I think the support has been fun, but she has said, ‘It’s OK if I don’t win,'” Sarah said. “She’s like ‘I have everything I need,’ which is really sweet.”
To vote for Ellie, click here.
| DAILY BRIEF: Sign up for the Jonesboro Right Now Daily Brief Newsletter