My name is Carlos Flores and I'm a senior at Chinquapin Prep with a passion for spending nights on mountaintops. I've traveled to Yosemite, Big Bend, and the Guadalupe Mountains. The mental benefits I've personally experienced from my connection to natural environments had a significant influence on my research topic.

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My research junior year was focused on the benefits of nature connectedness and outdoor recreation. What particularly caught my interest was the psychological effects of experiences in the outdoors. Whether it be hiking through Yosemite National Park or taking the time to sit outside and read, work, or do whatever you please. Studies suggest being connected with nature boosts self-esteem, reduces stress, restores attentiveness, reduces anxiety, and yields other psychological benefits.

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I had a lot of trouble trying to apply my research into a tangible project that would benefit my community in some way. One day, while brainstorming in Sarah's class, I recalled the story of when my first betta fish, Arcoiris, died and how six-year-old me could not stop crying. This memory evoked more of the same nature, like me getting lost in The Galleria because I had glued myself to the fish tank. That's when I knew I would continue the work of my Creativity Week group and finish renovating the pond: a small piece of nature students could connect with. The past two years, my partner and I have been planting ferns and lilies, watering plants, raising koi, cleaning filters, clearing pumps, landscaping, fundraising, and working on other pond related chores. We encountered some very arduous obstacles, some of which were beyond our control and changed our project's final vision completely. Nevertheless, I'm proud of our work and how we navigated our journey through this project. I also took pride every time I saw a group of students or chore group maintaining the pond because, in a way, that was an ambition of my Jr/Sr project being fulfilled: to create something that lasts longer than my time here. I imagined students years from now caring for the pond for nobody's sake but it, long after I was gone.

I'll do as much as I can for the pond in the time I have before heading to Minnesota for college. The aforementioned obstacles out of our control have made it so I won't be here when it's possible to have the pond running again, but that's not important to me anymore. I realize I don't have to be here for our project to succeed. In fact, it would be a testament to our project's fulfillment if It were to be completed after we were gone.