I was blessed to grow up in the beautiful and delicate ecosystem of southeast Louisiana. We didn\u2019t have a lot of money, but my childhood was rich in love and filled with activity.\u00a0We lived off the land and the water. I learned a great deal from nature; I developed a deep appreciation and respect for it.<\/p>\n
When you grow up in a place that is ravaged by violent storms on a pretty regular basis, you learn how ferocious nature can be. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina showed us all the truly awesome and destructive power of nature. Katrina was like nothing we had seen before. Five years later came the \u201cBP Gulf Oil Spill.\u201d Hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. The entire ecosystem was destroyed. It was devastating. It made me sad and it made me angry. I felt powerless. That feeling of powerlessness inspired a new understanding of what my life\u2019s work would become. ISF<\/a> was born. I am so thankful to be able to do this with my wife, my partner in crime, and the vice president of the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, Nikki Reed.<\/p>\n What is ISF? What do we do? This earth functions as an interdependent system. Plants, animals, and humans…we all depend on one another for survival. We each play a role in the future of all life on our planet.<\/p>\n ISF\u2019s mission is one Nikki and I believe into our cores. We want to empower our youth. We want to educate people to make changes in their lifestyles, which will benefit the environment: air, land, and sea. We want to collaborate with rescuers and advocates to protect creatures and to heal those who have suffered abuse. Together, as an ISF family, we have made tremendous strides toward our goals. But, there is still much to accomplish, and it is urgent that we act now.<\/p>\n For Nikki and me, ISF means being part of a family who refuses to allow the degradation of our environment, the mistreatment of animals, or not educating our young people with the tools for a sustainable future to go on any longer. It means standing together and empowering one another so we can go sustainably into our future. Together, through grassroots initiatives, reverence, gratitude, and compassion, we will nurture the next generation of humans to be the most compassionate, grateful, innovative, and loving generation this planet has ever seen. Together, let\u2019s change the world.<\/p>\n Love,
\nIan Somerhalder<\/p>\n