Trinity Favazza is a freshman in high school who cheers and does gymnastics. She also may be the youngest mayor there ever was – just finishing her second two-year term as mayor of Amphibiville. We sat down with Trinity to learn more about her work in that role and advocacy through her Action for Amphibians platform.
All images were provided by Trinity.
Trinity got an introduction into the world of amphibians at an early age. From the time she was a little girl, Trinity and her dad would search their local parks for frogs, finding wood frogs and spring peepers.
At an age where other kids might be scared of things that hop and crawl, Trinity developed a bond with amphibians. At nine years old, she learned of an opportunity to get even more involved with amphibians through the Detroit Zoo.
“I remember we were in the car, and my parents said there’s a little essay contest I could do about amphibians where you get to become the mayor of Amphibiville and get involved with the zoo,” said Trinity.
Trinity entered the essay contest because it sounded like a cool opportunity, but never did she think it would become such a large part of her life. She won and became the Detroit Zoo’s first-female amphibian ambassador.
“That made me realize I want to make a difference and right now the biggest difference I can make is to spread awareness, get other people involved and educate about the importance of amphibians,” said Trinity.
Over four years later, she has just finished her second term as mayor of Amphibiville.
Mayor of Amphibiville
As mayor, Trinity has worked to spread awareness, educate others about the importance of amphibians, and get people involved.
In addition to educating her classmates about amphibian conservation, she has promoted Earth Day within her community, cleaned up local wetlands and been a contributor on conservation-themed radio and TV shows.
Her advocacy also contributed to the creation of an Amphibian Conservation Awareness Week across Michigan in 2018.
In 2017, Trinity took a FrogWatch course at the Detroit Zoo and passed the certification test, becoming the nation’s youngest certified FrogWatch USA member. FrogWatch volunteers identify frogs and toads by their breeding calls and gather data that supports a national network.
“That’s been a really great way for me to get involved with field data research,” said Trinity. You get to go out to your local parks and record frog calls and send them to scientists so they can get more information about the populations in your local area.”
Action for Amphibians
Trinity started Action for Amphibians once she got on social media. She created her own website with information and educational tools to help promote awareness about amphibian and wetland conservation.
“It really helped me to have a platform to connect with younger people, kids and other people around the world even. It helped me connect to other people I never thought I would connect with,” she said.
Trinity has had many people, especially younger kids, reach out to ask for advice and see what they can do to help the environment. Her advocacy is making an impact in both her local community and beyond.
Trinity’s most recent campaign event was at Detroit Prep elementary school where she educated the kids about amphibians while painting rocks with frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts. Trinity says now the kids can take the painted rocks around the community and speak about conservation themselves.
Trinity feels good knowing she has made a difference in her local community and beyond. She knows more people are being educated about amphibians and realizing that they are essential to our ecosystem that we need to take care of.
Getting Involved
If you are interested in getting involved in amphibian conservation, Trinity advises to reach out to your local zoo. They likely offer programs or have a FrogWatch chapter that you can join.
You can make a difference in your own backyard by educating your peers about the loss of amphibians worldwide and advocating for conservation of amphibians and their habitats.
Learn more about Action for Amphibians. Read more Rustic Spirit stories.