12345
Registered: January 2011
City/Town/Province: RHE
Posts: 1
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The baby river turtles trekked their way toward the long stretch of endless water. Their presence created a disturbance of multiplying ripples, forming a collage of speckled light. My heart skipped a beat as the guide in the wildlife preserve permitted me to hold a baby black river turtle of Cano Negro in the palm of my hand. I was so taken in by their fragility that I was at first oblivious to the guide’s words, who cautioned how this species was nearly threatened and were being released after months of dedicated care. I remained transfixed; such a delicate, infinitesimal being, yet so full of vigor and willpower to survive in the terrors of the wetlands.
When we arrived back home, I was left to contemplate: how could one person’s actions change the future of so many fragile lives? The answer was at my doorstep. Or, more realistically, a 30-minute drive from my doorstep. My new found treasure trove was Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, the home to hundreds of various marine animals and their nurslings. When I first started at the aquarium as a docent, I was 14 years old, quiet, and pretty shy, but I devoured obscure facts about the California marine environment and animals so I could pass this mysterious world onto schoolchildren who took tours of the aquarium. I felt so fortunate to be able to see the looks on the children’s faces when I showed them how to pet a sea star or touch an anemone for the first time. Educating children on how to be a good steward of the earth is reward in itself. Recently, I was lucky enough to recreate the feeling I had when I saw the tiny turtles making their way out. In the nursery portion of the aquarium was a large mother lobster, captured and donated by a marine biologist. Eventually she laid thousands of eggs. On a warm, sunny day, 15 of the most experienced docents formed a line from the nursery to the beach. I scooped out tiny lobsters the size of a grain of sand from the huge container in the nursery where they hatched. I put the tiny grains of life into a bucket, which I handed off to the next person in line. The bucket was handed on down the line until it reached the beach, where the last person poured out the minute lobsters. In connection with the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium I have also helped maintain the native garden and cleaned up the Cabrillo Beach. Learning about the native garden inspired me to plant native plants in my own garden. These plants, I’m proud to say, are thriving and are a symbol of the pluckiness of Mother Earth.
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