FORT MILL, S.C. — A Fort Mill boy is hoping his love of the outdoors will earn him a national title and a chance to meet a conservationist hero.
Six-year-old Xane Long loves nothing more than cleaning up local parks, learning about every animal he sees and spending as much time as he can outdoors.
His mother Courtney says he’s been that way for as long as she can remember.
“He’s always come look at this! Come look at this roly-poly what kind of spider is this?” she said. “Just always wanting to learn about different things.”
She said it started with taking care of tomato plants at home, then when he got older and started visiting local parks, she said Xane insisted on leaving them better than he found them.
“He would start picking up trash,” she said. “He’d be like, mama this is bad for the environment I’m like yeah, I know.”
Now his years of volunteering are paying off. Xane is in the quarterfinals of the National Wildlife Federation’s Jr. Ranger Competition.
He’s up against kids from across the country, sharing their stories in the hopes of winning a $20,000 cash prize, a feature in Ranger Rick Magazine and a wildlife experience with Jeff Corwin.
For Xane, it’s about the opportunity to meet and learn about new animals, while his mother hopes it helps kickstart savings for his education and give him the chance do more good.
“The money going towards his college fund would really help and the experience of just getting to go out and learn from someone who knows everything about animals,” she said.
Two rounds of competition remain, but whether he wins or not, his mom says Xane is happy outdoors learning and doing his part to make the world a better place.
“He’s just smart and inquisitive and wants to help, like, naturally wants to help people and animals,” she said.
Anyone interested in supporting Xane in the competition can vote here.