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Teenager from Eastside named "Cox Conserves Heroes" of Western Washington

KIRKLAND, Wash. — An Eastside teenager is using a combination of high-tech and good old-fashion gardening to take on the pollination crisis.

Adithi Raghavan, 17, has just been named the "Cox Conserves Hero of Western Washington". Cox is the parent company of KIRO 7.

The 12th grader at International Community School in Kirkland is raising awareness about the decline in the bee population. She even created an app called “BEEducated” to help people better understand the importance of pollinators and their impact on our food crops.

“It’s really important that people realize how vital bees are for the economy and for our environment and we need to step up and make a change,” said Raghavan.

Her latest project is helping more schools across Western Washington create their own sustainable pollinator gardens.

Right now, eight campuses in four different school districts have joined the effort.

"We are facing a food security crisis in the upcoming years,” said Raghavan. “And that's something that we, as people who are populating the earth in the (next) 30 to 50 years, don't want to live through. So it's imperative that we act now and we get change done immediately”.

Because of Raghavan's dedication to improving her community, $10,000 was donated to her environmental nonprofit non of choice: "Coding 4 Life Science"

She will now compete against other Cox Conserves Heroes from across the country for an additional $50,000.

You can go to CoxConservesHeroes.com to help vote for Raghavan and support her cause.

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