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Tyler Kukla

Thursday, 21 January 2010

Tyler Kukla is one cool kid from Naperville, Illinois! He is an Advanced Open Water Diver, has a photo album of over 6,000 photos, plays hockey, and has recently just started up his own environmentally based website�and he�s only a sophomore in high school!

Tell us about your website, Tyler! What�s it about? What do you hope to accomplish with it, and how can others be involved?
My website is www.napesgreenscape.com. It is designed to promote environmental awareness and, furthermore, stewardship worldwide. Locally, it features information and photos (and an upcoming video) relating to some of the ecosystems, such as the prairie and forest, in the Naperville, Illinois area. It also includes information in protecting the coral reefs, as well as a photo gallery of original pictures from some of my past dives. This website is geared towards those who are looking to benefit their community through education and a greater awareness. This could range from kids and teens looking to take some time to complete some environmentally related community service, to adults and politicians who represent and conserve our natural habitats through their lifestyle decisions. With this website, I hope to accomplish the spread of environmental awareness, as well as promoting local community service. There is a section that is soon to be updated (pending reply from the Illinois Prairie Path Organization) which will post the dates and information for group community service projects in the area. Others can become involved in the local community service by visiting the site for the latest updates.

As far as reaching out to others through increasing awareness, there is a page designated for those who have made environmentally friendly lifestyle choices and would like to share them. This page is designed to show others that the "green community" is ever-growing and surrounds us at all times. I also would like to post any links, videos, pictures, or documents that others would like to contribute to the site for others to view. This can be done by filling out the form in the "contact us" section, or by e-mailing the site directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Wow! What a great resource for you to have put together! Where did you get the idea to get all of this started?
Quite honestly, a project that was assigned for my AP environmental Science class opened the door for this website, upcoming video, and community service work. It really gave me the excuse I was looking for to contact people in the area, and work with those that could help me to actually make a difference in our community. For this reason, I decided to take the project above and beyond. This motivation is, primarily, inspired by an interest about the natural environment. At what most consider a young age, I have already experienced many of the world's most beautiful ecosystems first-hand, and they all make me realize that the full beauty of the environment will be something that I will never be able to understand.

What do you feel is the most important thing people can realize about the environment they live in?
I feel that the most important thing that people should know about the natural environment is that improvement is simple. This is what the website really strives to communicate. There is a link included which features 100 ways that you can simply change your lifestyle habits that will help to benefit the environment. Also, while so many environmentalists focus on the pessimistic viewpoints of the path that we are paving (and with strong support too), I like to think that there is always more potential than one may see for improvement. Within the past few decades alone, through government-introduced acts, laws, and regulations, as well as a greater feeling of environmental responsibility around the world, many areas have become healthier and better off than they were quite recently. The majority of the American streams and rivers would be a prime example of this, as people begin to realize that their actions affect the watershed, which affects the health of body of water. This is just one example of how increased education can help to improve the environment. In this way, everybody should know that the environmental situation, while quite serious, can be improved by every small step that every individual takes, and that improvement isn't just possible, but with help from communities around the world, it is probable.

That�s so true, hopefully one day everyone can have the same optimistic outlook as you! What kind of steps can everyone take in order to make their own difference?
One of the best things that a person can do to help the environment (which is the same way that I work mostly to benefit it) is to change the things that you will do every day. There is now printing ink that is more environmentally friendly and uses less ink per document to conserve it longer. There are CFL light bulbs that are more environmentally friendly. There are even simpler decisions you can make, such as taking a shorter shower, or not opening the oven when it is cooking unless you absolutely need to. It is these everyday changes that are immensely simple to make and will also have a hugely beneficial effect over time. I'm not asking everybody to go out and clean up a highway, or purchase the latest hybrid vehicle, or write bill to more strictly regulate a factory's greenhouse gas emissions; I'm asking those who can, to make the simple lifestyle changes that will benefit the environment, while barely altering their prior lifestyle.

Those are all things we can do! So what does a Cool Kid like you do when they aren�t out saving the world? Do you have any future career plans?
There is so much to say! I have a ton of hobbies but I typically don't get time for them because I have a ton of homework every night as well. Any spare time I have I will typically find a way to get out of the house and relax with some friends. I'm learning to like homework so that I can list that as a hobby since I do it so much, but I'm not quite there yet. In school I must say my favorite subject is AP environmental science. I'm not just saying that because of the relation to the project, I'm saying it because it really is the most interesting class I have ever had. After school, I come home, eat (because I'm a sixteen year old guy and that is just what we do), go to hockey practice (or a game) on most nights, and do homework. In the future, I would like to go to college and maybe become a professor. This way I could lead my own studies, as well as teach a subject that I like. That subject would probably be something along the lines of neuroscience or maybe Marine Biology (they're pretty different, but both intriguing). When I'm not in Illinois I'm probably somewhere warm, in which case I will scuba dive and photograph what I see like there is no tomorrow!

We certainly know what its like to love to scuba dive and take pictures! Tell us about some of your ocean experiences! How do you stay so interested and involved with the ocean while living in Illinois?
Ooh this is the best part! I'm an Advanced Open Water diver with PADI, and I have three specialties, photography, peak performance buoyancy, and fish identification. My favorite ocean creature that I have seen is the spotted drum. This is just because they are really cool looking (especially as juveniles) but they are also an adventure just to find because they like to hide beneath crevices and in sneaky places. My favorite ocean experience would be a night-dive at the town pier on Bonaire. There is a special night dive that must be planned out and reserved in advance which is literally under the town pier. It's all extremely shallow (no deeper than 35 ft) and there's no formal reef. All of the life is growing on the pillars supporting the pier, and it is most vibrant at night. Despite the lack of a formal reef, the fish life is still abundant, the soft corals are abundant and beautiful, and the feeding tarpon are intriguing to see. It is experiences like this that help me connect back to the ocean, despite living as far inland from either ocean as can be. Also, by taking pictures almost every dive, I can relive every dive with vivid imagery. The photography does not take away from the dive either, as it encourages me to hunt for the really amazing life forms, as well as my next best shot. By keeping a fairly in-depth log, I can imagine almost every dive clearly. All of this keeps my interest in the ocean peaked no matter how far away I am.

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