STANDARDS

CCSS: 7.NS.A.3, MP1, MP3, MP5

TEKS: 7.3A, 6.14C

We Are Saving This Species

Two friends raise money for a sea creature threatened with extinction

Image of an underwater sea creature

Reinhard Dirscherl/FLPA/Minden Pictures

The chambered nautilus can be 4 to 10 inches in diameter.

Image of two kids

Courtesy Elise Strong

Josiah Utsch (left) and Ridgely Kelly at age 12 after starting Save the Nautilus.

Helping Earth can feel overwhelming. But one of the most effective ways to make an impact is to hold a fund-raiser and donate the money to your favorite cause. That’s exactly what Josiah Utsch and his friend Ridgely Kelly did in 2012. When they were 11 years old, the duo started raising money for a critter called the chambered nautilus. This mollusk is a relative of octopuses but lives in a shell.

Although he grew up in the landlocked state of Montana, Utsch has always loved nautiluses. When his grandmother shared a newspaper article about how the chambered nautilus was threatened with extinction, Utsch got to work. He and Kelly created a nonprofit organization called Save the Nautilus.

Image of a teen folding their arms

Marc Piscotty/AP Images for Scholastic Inc.

Utsch is now 23 and studying biology. He hopes to go to graduate school.

The group’s goal is to increase public awareness of nautiluses and fund research to keep it from becoming extinct. They made a website, spoke on National Public Radio, talked with journalists about the overfished species, and more. Over the past 12 years, they’ve raised almost $40,000. Many of the donations they receive are less than $10. But every penny counts.

The money they raise is used to support the research of two scientists studying nautiluses. In 2018, they helped fund a research trip to Fiji that Utsch was able to join! “Not only are we the only people to research the nautilus in some of these locations, but in many cases we’re the first people to ever survey the health of these deep-sea reefs at all,” he says.

Since forming the nonprofit, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has listed the chambered nautilus as a threatened species, bringing even more attention to it. Utsch plans to continue his efforts to educate people about nautiluses and hopes to work with marine animals in the future. “Not enough people understand the dangers the nautilus faces, especially with new threats like climate change,” he says. “We just can’t lose a 500-million-year-old animal.”

Use the information above to balance the check register for a class’s bake sale fundraiser. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Image of a Fundraiser Check Register

On April 5, each student in a seventh-grade class of 25 students donates $2 to the fundraiser to buy supplies. This will be their starting balance. Add it to the register.

A. On April 10, they buy the following supplies for the bake sale: $2 poster for a sign; $3.29 for napkins; $5.99 for eggs; $2.50 for flour; $7.29 for butter; $4.50 for sugar; $3.99 for chocolate chips; $2.50 for baking soda. What is the total cost for supplies? Add this to the register.

B. Is the total amount for the supplies a withdrawal or deposit? How do you know?

The bake sale is on April 15, and they sell 126 cookies for $2 each. How much do they earn? Add this to the check register and update the balance.

The class wanted to raise $300. Did they meet their goal? How do you know?

How could the class have changed their purchases and pricing decisions for this fundraiser to raise an additional $150?

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