Naomi Kruse is doing the work of The Lorax. 

Earning recognition as one of The Gazette’s Best and Brightest, the homeschooled 17-year-old continues to “speak for the trees” as the iconic Dr. Seuss character did. But Kruse has done a lot more than simply speak.  

In her relentless drive to help the charred forests of the American West heal from wildfires, she has researched ecology, planted new life, and taught others to do the same. 

It might come as no surprise that wildfire recovery holds personal significance for Kruse, since the Black Forest fire displaced her family of 11 back in 2013 when their home burned, leaving nothing but a pit in the ground.  

What might come as a surprise, however, is how the experience of loss fueled Kruse to be a conduit for change rather than a victim of circumstance.  

“At first, recovery meant practical things, borrowed clothes, donated toys, temporary housing, and rebuilding life,” Kruse wrote in her Best and Brightest essay. “But as the years passed, I began to notice something deeper, nature was not recovering at the same pace as people were. That realization became a defining moment, and I wondered, “How can ecosystems rebuild?” 

That question launched Kruse into a quest of her own.  

She began by researching ponderosa pine trees and methods for restoring montane ecosystems. Eventually, she developed a two-year community project called Paper for the Planet, where she planted biodegradable paper infused with native seeds and fungi to spark microbial life and native flora. 

It didn’t end there, though.  

Kruse assembled seed kits with other students so they could get involved, and later she adapted her kits and sent them to California communities that had also suffered from catastrophic wildfires. 

“Watching families go through the same loss we experienced transformed the project from personal healing into shared purpose,” Kruse wrote. 

And that sense of purpose has extended even further for Kruse, who leads Forest Fridays — a hands-on nature program for elementary and middle school students  — and A Doll for Every Girl — a project Kruse and her sisters started to provide dolls to girls who have lost their homes in natural disasters or are facing difficult circumstances. 

Perhaps helping others and teaching younger kids comes naturally to Kruse because that’s what her eight older siblings modeled for her. Growing up in such a big family is what Kruse calls the biggest privilege of her life. 

“All eight of my older siblings are like teachers and parents to me, especially with research I do or projects I want to do,” Kruse said. “There is always someone who can help me.” 

And that’s all thanks to her mother, Kruse said, who was conducting research at Stanford University when she decided to start rearing her children instead of continuing to pursue a dream of becoming a doctor. 

But that dream remains alive with Kruse, who intends to follow a pre-med track at Westmont College to become a doctor and has already made headway in medical research.  

In May, she will compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest science competition for high schoolers, where she will present research she conducted with a professor at Pepperdine University on the use of Vitamin C in vaccines versus other chemical additives.  

“She inspired me to be a doctor to continue on that goal and dream of hers,” Kruse said of her mother. “She’s really the most influential person in my life.”