British Magician Uses Magic Skills to Protect Environment

Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
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British Magician Uses Magic Skills to Protect Environment

Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley

Magic tricks performed by Megan Swann are not just for fun, they hold a vital message, according to Reuters. When she was born in 1992, the traditionally male-dominated world of magic had only just started allowing women to join the Magic Circle magicians' society.

Now at 30, Swann is not only the youngest and first female president of the society, but she's using her position and magic to raise awareness about climate change and the environment.

Swann studied wildlife conservation at university, growing increasingly despondent at the huge issues facing the natural world, and the lack of action.

“One of the key things I realized from my degree was how important environmental education is. We have so many of the solutions to solve these problems, but we don't use them,” she said. So, Swann began creating tricks with an environmental message to perform at schools.

“I use magic as a communications tool. It's a way to capture attention and share a message in a fun way,” she said. Swann, who got her first magic set at five years old, said one of her favorite tricks involves three ropes representing plants, animals and insects. They start at equal length to show nature in balance.

“As I talk about the issues the world faces, mainly caused by us humans, they become different sizes... I then talk about what we can do to help restore the ropes back to their original, equal length,” she explained.



World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
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World War II Sergeant Whose Plane Was Shot Down over Germany Honored with Reburial in California

This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)
This 1944 photo provided by Honoring Our Fallen shows WWII veteran US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta from Los Angeles. Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany. On Thursday, July 25, 2024 community members lined the roads to honor Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport in southern California to a burial home. (Honoring Our Fallen via AP)

After 80 years, a World War II sergeant killed in Germany has returned home to California.

On Thursday, community members lined the roads to honor US Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Donald V. Banta as he was brought from Ontario International Airport to a burial home in Riverside, California, The AP reported.

Banta, 21, was killed in action in early 1944 when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Gotha, Germany, according to Honoring Our Fallen, an organization that provides support to families of fallen military and first responders.

One of the surviving crewmembers saw the plane was on fire, then fell in a steep dive before exploding on the ground. After the crash, German troops buried the remains of one soldier at a local cemetery, while the other six crewmembers, including Banta, were unaccounted for.

Banta was married and had four sisters and a brother. He joined the military because of his older brother Floyd Jack Banta, who searched for Donald Banta his whole life but passed away before he was found.

Donald Banta's niece was present at the planeside honors ceremony at the Ontario airport coordinated by Honoring Our Fallen.

The remains from the plane crash were initially recovered in 1952, but they could not be identified at the time and were buried in Belgium. Banta was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023, following efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency within the US Department of Defense and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.