Baylee Ritter, The Young National Geographic Explorer Making Big Waves

Who is Baylee Ritter?

Baylee Ritter is a sustainability advocate and environmental educator who believes that collective solutions begin with each individual’s actions. You can’t achieve full sustainability until everyone teams up, works together, and does what it takes to create a sustainable future for human lives and our planet. Ritter is known worldwide for her sustainability efforts and was recognized as a National Geographic Young Explorer and Co-Founder of Operations Endangered Species.

Baylee started her journey in sustainability at a very young age when she used to beg her dad, a high school environmental teacher, to take her on his school trips to the Shedd Aquarium. After refusing her for many years, he finally decided to let her join, and ever since then, she has been hooked on creating a more sustainable future.

Baylee recently founded ‘ Everyone’s Collective on top of all the good things she does to advocate for a sustainable future. This is a store that is eco-friendly in all aspects and provides people with an affordable and convenient way to shop for plastic-free everyday items. Ritter also holds sustainability workshops where she educates people on what’s really going on in our landfills, how it affects the environment, and what they can do to create a more sustainable and healthy future. She also fights for sustainability in all aspects of life – from our animals to waste that we put into landfills and everything in between. She is well-known worldwide for all her efforts in educating people about what sustainability is and how they can practice it in their personal lives. Let’s dive into what she does for sustainability.

Everyone’s Collective

One of Baylee’s biggest projects when it comes to sustainability is ‘Everyone’s Collective’. This is a store located in Illinois that sells plastic-free items. When you enter this store, you won’t find a single ounce of plastic. From reusable paper products such as paper towels, shampoo bars, and plastic-free skincare and deodorant, this store focuses on sustainability through non-plastic items. Plastic is one of the biggest causes of global warming, and Ritter made it a priority to rid any type of plastics from her life and her brand. She created Everyone’s Collective so people could shop without increasing the waste in our landfills – this store is your one-stop-shop for reducing our carbon footprint and environmental impact.

You can’t achieve full sustainability until everyone teams up, works together, and does what it takes to create a sustainable future for human lives and our planet.

Operation Endangered Species

Another major project of Baylee Ritter’s is the Operation Endangered Species. This project focuses on saving different kinds of endangered species from complete extinction. Baylee comes from a tiny community in Illinois with a population of only 36 people. Baylee knows what it’s like to be passionate about something but not have anyone around to help support and encourage you (besides her dad, of course). This project is to help young people follow their passion and help endangered species in a variety of different ways.

Sustainability workshops

Ritter preaches her sustainable practices in so many different ways. She uses social media as her main way to educate people on the dangers of non recyclable materials and to show people how they can become eco-friendly. She has her personal pages, a page for her store “Everyone’s Collective” on top of the sustainable workshops that she hosts. Baylee knows how important education is when it comes to creating a sustainable future, that’s why she put so much attention and detail into her workshops. She wants everyone to join the sustainable club and do what’s right for our planet, our animals, and the human race!

The most popular workshop she developed is called Rise Up. This is a youth-led webinar series that takes place monthly that connects, inspires, and encourages youth to see what sustainability can do for our future. These webinars come in all different forms: peer-to-peer training, networking, and skill-building.

Takeaways:

• You don’t have to be passionate about sustainability in only one industry, you can do it all!

• If you are passionate about something, don’t stop until you make a difference
• Sustainability only works if you have the drive to see the changes you want to see in the world
• Never stop fighting for what you believe it – if you can dream, you can achieve it