A few months ago, we answered a 9-year-old who wanted to know why snakes were not allowed in New Zealand, his home country (Do Snakes Belong Everywhere?). The following is our correspondence with him after he delivered a speech on this subject:
Date: Monday, October 17, 2011, 12:15 AM
Dear Chuck,
Thank you very much for your help. The Snake Talk was a great success. I won FIRST PRIZE!
I also won first prize for a poem in costume, and a first prize for an original poem in mask, a second prize for another original poem, and a third prize for a reading (out of 5 sections). I won 4 trophies – The Dreamtime Cup for the most promising performer, the Trophy for the highest mark for a boy under sixteen years of age, and two for the poems in verse and costume. I also received a small scholarship towards drama classes.
I am hoping people learned a bit more about snakes from my talk and they will agree with us that they are amazing creatures!
If you type “James Calloway-Brady” on You Tube, you can see the snake talk and the poems.
Thank you again.
James.
We were excited to learn that James had won First Prize! Chuck responded to James:
On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 4:32 AM, Chuck Mulcahy wrote:
Hello, James,
- Chuck in desert habitat
That was great news hearing the outcome of the competition. You certainly deserved first place in the Snake Talk presentation and I’m sure you impressed the judges and local residents with your knowledge and depth of research on a subject not usually discussed in NZ. I also enjoyed the Youtube video of your presentation. You have a great stage presence and you spoke effectively.
Some of my friends have been asking how your competition went and now I can tell them the good news. Just as you had asked me questions about snakes, I also have friends who know much more than I do. They have always been there to guide me in the right direction when I need more information.
You and your parents should be very proud of such a successful achievement!
Once again, congratulations! Good job!
Chuck Mulcahy
Volunteer Interpretive Naturalist
Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, Yuma, AZ
When asked if we could print the his letter regarding the contest, James wrote:
Date: Monday, October 17, 2011, 11:37 PM
Hello Chuck,
I would be very pleased if you published the results of the competition. My talk would have been very different if I hadn’t got your advice. I am not so dissappointed snakes aren’t in New Zealand. But, I am going to get to see them in other countries. I have already started saving for my own trip. I also got some competition money to put with it.
I have been learning to play the violin and my teacher says she will take me busking when I am ready. Someone gave her $100 when she went busking once! So, I will be able to give another talk about the snakes I see on my trip. I am also making a book using the “Because I can!” poem I wrote for the competition. This will take quite a bit of time because I am going to do the illustrations myself. But, I have a friend who wrote a book and she is giving me a lot of encouragement to make it happen.
After the Festival, a lady came over and asked me to give her a signed copy of this poem so she could frame it. So I’ve already given my very first autograph. If the book is good enough, I can sell copies and save up enough to see lots of snakes! Mum and Dad were very pleased with the results of the competition. Mum didn’t think I would get first prize for the snake talk because there were a lot of older teenagers giving talks. She said she only wanted me to enter so I could have a chance to tell people how amazing snakes are. I was really nervous at first, but I felt happy I did it and I will enter again next year.
Thanks again.
James.
We wish James our very best in his quest to see snakes around the world. And if he makes it to Arizona, we hope to have an opportunity to meet him in person. He’s a talented and passionate young man.
Good Snake Country:
Good Snake Habitat:
