Florida teen raised butterflies at 7; now her research tracks bird recovery

A 16-year-old student from Sarasota, Florida, Sophia Haakman began growing butterflies at just 7. Over the years, her love for nature and its beings has evolved into a serious conservation effort. Haakman sought to find out if the hundreds of hours she spent rehabilitating local ecosystems were truly beneficial to wildlife. So she created her own bird monitoring initiative and a national birding magazine is set to publish the findings.From watching birds to studying their habitatsHaakman's passion for conservation and nature started at a young age. She remembers raising butterflies at the age of 7 and reading a field guide that shifted her interest to birds a few years later. Noticing her affinity for nature, her parents often took her outside.Her mother, Irene, said her daughter found an attachment to Celery Fields, not just because of its diverse environment, but because there were volunteers she could learn from.