Rhiannon Tomtishen & Madison Vorva
Ann Arbor, MI
Campaigning for orangutan habitat protection
A desire to earn a Girl Scouts award led Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva to something much larger. The two friends created Project ORANG (Orangutans Really Appreciate and Need Girls Scouts) in 2007 to earn their award. Then they discovered that the Girl Scouts’ iconic cookies contain palm oil, and that palm oil plantations are one of the leading causes of orangutan habitat destruction. So Rhiannon and Madison started a campaign to get the Girl Scouts to replace palm oil with a more eco-friendly oil instead. They have since partnered with Rainforest Action Network, co-authoring a petition that has generated more than 70,000 emails to the Girl Scouts headquarters.