Eco Hero finalist excited for potential opportunity to continue reptile research

Local 10′s quest to find this year’s Eco Hero continues this week, as we introduce you each day to one of our top five finalists.

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One high school student with a passion for our planet will win a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to Australia and will be the subject of a primetime special here on Local 10.

If you want to know anything about reptiles, just ask Terra Environmental Research Institute senior Brielle Martinez.

She says when she went to her first reptile convention, she was hooked.

“It really opened my eyes to how diverse reptiles can be, species wise, different adaptations, where they can be around the world and why they look a certain way,” said Martinez. “Ever since, I just couldn’t look back.”

While her family’s reptile business sparked her special interest, Martinez says she really is wild about all wildlife.

In fact, she’s volunteered almost 500 hours as a conservation teenage scientist at Zoo Miami.

“Which I absolutely loved my time there because it’s just a lot of education with the public, getting people involved in conservation, letting them know what they can do in their home life that can have real world international implications,” Martinez said.

At Terra Environmental Research Institute, Martinez leads the school’s Million Orchid Project, gathering data for Fairchild Botanical Gardens.

“Any organism really, plants and animals, have a specific role in the ecosystem,” she said.

It’s the unique ecosystem in Australia that Martinez is hoping to see, as well as the argus monitor, a reptile.

“These guys stand on their hind legs and kind of look around to see and hunt,” she said. “Super, super, super unique species. You aren’t going to see that anywhere. Koala, kangaroos, so amazing. Everything from the birds to the insects, the invertebrates, so unique.”

From shark tagging with the University Of Miami to organizing rallies opposing a water park on county land and designing a dress made from poultry bags to promote sustainability in agriculture, Martinez is passionate about spreading her conservation message.

“Animals can’t speak, plants can’t speak — they can’t tell us that they are hurting or that something is wrong and it can affect us,” she said. “So it’s important for us as people who have the opportunity and the tools to make that change.”

Martinez is headed off to college this fall with plans to become a conservation veterinarian.