9-year-old boy aims to protect national monuments

In April, President Trump signed an executive order questioning the future of 27 monuments. 9-year-old Robbie Bond is making it his goal to save them.

“So we are going to all 27 of the national parks and monuments,” Bond said. “And we’re going to be recording what we do and posting it on like social media.”

But he’s not just posting about it online. He started Kids Speak for Parks. After visiting all 27, including a trip to Craters of the Moon, he plans on taking it to the classroom, where kids his age can learn. He even started an education fund to take kids to see the monuments.

“Adults have never really tried to support conservation using kids,” Bond said. “And I think it will work because it’s a fresh start and no one else has done it. Because like what would you rather do, do something you’ve already done like 20 times or do something brand new? Probably brand new.”

One local Butte County Commissioner is hoping to take it one step further. She hopes to turn the Craters of the Moon Monument into a national park.

“We’re looking to get more people to come to our area,” Rose Bernal, Butte County Commissioner, said. “It’s a huge economic boost to us already. We’re not looking to change anything really except for the marketing status and the name on the sign.”

You can learn more about Robbie and Kids Speak for Parks through his Facebook page and his website.