Thanks also to the Brethren Foundation, for funding the publishing of this book, and especially to Sonia Ewald for her amazing editing and cheer-leading throughout this publishing process. We are grateful to the local communities of Ethiopians living around Zhara church forest outside Bahar Dar who have helped with conservation, photography and biodiversity sampling to serve as inspiration for this story. Thanks to the Spurlino Foundation for believing in this conservation project and giving a grant to fund the conservation of the first church forest; to Dan Bennett for his business acumen to create a match for church forest conservation via TREE Foundation; the Peppertree Press Publishers for their enthusiasm and efforts; to Dr.Alemayehu Wassie Eshete who is single-handedly monitoring the biodiversity of many Ethiopian church forests; to National Geographic for their initial funding of the first-ever biodiversity survey in Ethiopian church forests; to David Martin of Brighter Technologies for graphic assistance; to Justin Gargulia, and Matthew Gelling for donation of several images; and to the many school children and citizens who have provided small donations to conserve these forests. BEZA is the story of an Ethiopian girl who is helping to conserve the last forests and biodiversity of northern Ethiopia. BEZA not only inspires girls to pursue science, but she also illustrates the power of kids to seek global solutions.
