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Alexandra Barr: The climate is a-changin’… so she did somethin’ about it

When Alexandra Barr took an Advanced Placement environmental science class during her sophomore year at Calabasas High School, she learned about such dire issues as overpopulation and global warming.
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June 9, 2016

ALEXANDRA BARR, 17
HIGH SCHOOL: Calabasas
GOING TO: UC Berkeley

When Alexandra Barr took an Advanced Placement environmental science class during her sophomore year at Calabasas High School, she learned about such dire issues as overpopulation and global warming.  

“Some people read our [textbook] and said, ‘Oh, that’s terrible,’ ” Alexandra, 17, said during an interview at her Calabasas home. “But for me, it was, ‘There are so many issues to tackle in the world. Where do I start?’ ”

Alexandra began by rallying students to create a garden of native plants on a barren patch of soil on campus. She went on to become a student member of the city of Calabasas Environmental Commission, where she prepared a gap analysis for climate action plans, including the proposed requirement of energy-efficient appliances among residents. The report compared the environmental policies of the city of Calabasas with those of San Luis Obispo, and its recommendations are now being considered by the Calabasas City Council.  

Alexandra arranged for the city’s Earth Day and Arbor Day celebrations to take place at her school, and this summer, she will serve as a counselor at Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu, where she will help conduct the camp’s garden activities. Inspired by the Jewish idea of tikkun olam, changing the world for the better, she said she will teach campers “that we must be thankful for the land that God has provided us.”

Alexandra’s love of nature began, in part, as she was struggling with anxiety in the aftermath of her parents’ divorce when she was 5. She found peace in the calm of the outdoors, including visiting her grandparents on their moshav in Israel and working in the vegetable and fruit gardens at Hess Kramer, which she began attending as a camper at age 10.

More recently, Alexandra has been helping to spearhead a campaign to eliminate the use of rat poison at her school and in the community. She is also president of her student body. As a winner of the prestigious Ventura County Star Scholar Award, she’s pitched a program to empower women by teaching them to plant and maintain their own gardens in Honduras. 

Alexandra also has helped raise more than $15,000, through bake sales for the children’s charity Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, among many other endeavors. Along the way, she’s earned an award for her more than 100 hours of community service during her junior year alone. Alexandra’s academic achievements include winning a certificate of merit, recognizing her for excellence in science and mathematics, from the Society of Women Engineers San Buenaventura Section.  

Next year, she will major in society and environment in the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. “It’s how the environment relates to global policy and international law,” she said.

Alexandra aspires to a possible career as a politician or an environmental attorney.  

“I dream … of making groundbreaking discoveries that cure disease, working with world leaders to find solutions to the lack of potable water [and] enacting legislation that protects the entire planet from destruction and ensuring human rights,” she wrote in one of her college application essays.

Alexandra told the Journal she’s looking forward to joining Hillel at Berkeley — perhaps getting it more involved in environmental areas — and being part of Jewish life in general.

“There’s such a strong Jewish community at Berkeley, and I’m really looking forward to working with other Jewish young people who are inspired to make change and do better for the world,” she said.  

Ultimately, Alexandra said she hopes to inspire others to “change their daily habits” on behalf of the natural world.  

“The biggest thing I fear is climate change,” she said.  “But even the smallest things you do can help make a difference — whether it’s bringing a reusable bottle to work or recycling in your home. We can accomplish so much when we work together.”

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