The meeting room conveniently located next to the children’s department at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library was flooded with tiny tots eager to see and touch anything and everything associated with turtles. The occasion was the arrival of volunteers from Wareham-based New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance. They were visiting to share their love for ocean creatures in terms that helped even the smallest in the audience grasp the relevance of amphibious animals.
The NECWA was founded by Carol “Krill” Carson, a marine biologist studying and working the New England shorelines since 1980. Her biography notes that she was bestowed with the nickname Krill by Captain Aaron Avellar while crewing on his whale-watching boat. Today she spends her summers whale watching and autumns rescuing ocean sunfish, sea turtles, and other marine wildlife. She has written the story of “Salt,” dubbed the “most famous humpback whale in the world.”
Carson’s all-volunteer army of conservation-minded, young, interning animal lovers studies turtle-nesting sites, collects data shared with various state and other non-profit agencies, and performs rescues for marine animals in distress on land and in local waters.
It is never too soon to begin teaching children the importance of taking care of nature in all its forms. Parents seemed to agree as a steady flow of little ones eagerly assembled themselves in chairs or across the carpeted floor with faces turned up and ready to absorb new information. And they were amazingly attentive, listening to Erin Maloney, the lead presenter from the NECWA.
Maloney gave the wiggly squiggly participants the basics of turtle anatomy, flippers, paws, shell markings, and how the NECWA tracks the animals throughout their homes, aka habitats. The children were delighted but didn’t really believe when Maloney said that the turtles also have mustaches, prompting one tyke to shout out, “Not human ones, though?!” No, not quite like humans, she explained.
Several of the children were also interested in what had happened to the turtles whose remaining shells bore evidence that these were once living animals. Straightforward, one child ventured, “How did that one get deaded?” Maloney, clinically but with careful attention, explained that at least one of the exhibits had been killed by a car while another may have been sick. Satisfied, the young gent smiled and simply responded, “OK, thanks.”
The kids loved hearing about what the animals eat: small fish, mollusks, crabs, and snails. And they learned that, while turtles prefer saltwater locations, they can survive in freshwater as well.
In talking about turtle identification, Maloney said that the markings on the shell are unique to each animal, giving them their own signature appearance. She even talked to the little children about the turtles’ nesting habits and how they can lay an average of 17 eggs per nest. This occurs in late spring through early summer. Hatching is anticipated any day now. Maloney also touched on the work that the NECWA performs in checking new hatchings for abnormalities that might signify stress that the breeding animals are suffering or the general health of the local populations.
One of Maloney’s young assistants explained how she became a volunteer for NECWA. Upon finding a stranded, distressed turtle on her neighborhood beach near her summer home in Marion, Emerson Bowens checked the internet to find a rescue agency to assist. She found NECWA. After learning about their work, she was all in for the rest of the summer, doing her part to help local wetlands’ wildlife. It’s an experience she’ll remember all her life and has further sparked her interest in environmental studies when she graduates from high school next year.
After the fast-paced but incredibly detailed presentation, the children, and not just a few of the grown-ups whom they brought along on this day, had an opportunity to touch the exhibits, and then it was off to the fully stocked craft table with materials for creating turtles from shells or folded paper.
On hand to ensure that everything anyone might need was being attended to was Children’s Librarian Ms. Chris, also known as Assistant Library Director Chris Matos.
To learn about upcoming programming, visit mattapoisettlibrary.org.
Mattapoisett Free Public Library
By Marilou Newell