Morgan Otter Saves the Sea Turtles

by Thompson, Tara V. ; Andersen, Candace;

“Really?” Morgan asks. “I think they’re pretty cool. Look at the awesome webs they make!”

  With Morgan’s encouragement, Ruby and Claire get closer to the spider webs. “Wow, you’re right,” they both say.

  Claire adds, “I still wouldn’t want to get too close to one, though. They bite!” She backs up quickly after a short look at each spider, not wanting to get too close.

  After the Bug House, the campers learn about the plants in the area while they walk around the Nature Trail. John and Asha tell them about some of the plants in each habitat, plus some of the plants on the island itself. The plants of each type of habitat look really different from all of the others. According to the counselors, each plant has a special function in its environment, just like the bugs. That is why the palm trees here don’t look much like the palm trees back in Arizona.

  Morgan doesn’t remember most of the plants once they have moved to the next habitat, but she does like a few of them. She sees a lot of the Spanish moss that she had seen in some of the trees in her own backyard. One of her new favorites is cordgrass, which is pretty boring except that it hangs out in marshes, so it spends half its life partially under water. When Morgan and her parents drove by the marshes on the way to the beach last week, Morgan had wondered about the plants that could only be seen fully at certain times of the day. Now she knows that those plants are cordgrass. She can’t wait to tell her parents about it the next time they go to the beach.

  “OK, campers,” Asha says to the group, “now that we’ve explored some of the plants in the habitats at the Nature Center, we’re going to put that new knowledge to use. Everyone pair up!”

  Morgan and Claire, of course, stand next to each other as a pair.

  Asha continues, “We’re going on a scavenger hunt! Each pair will have a list and a basket. You have thirty minutes to find your items and get back to the pavilion. The pair with the most items correctly identified and gathered wins the prize.”

  After John hands out the lists and baskets, he shouts, “The hunt starts now!”

  All of the pairs scatter, and Morgan and Claire run off to one side to look at the list. It is a long list, and Morgan realizes that she doesn’t remember all of the plants that John and Asha talked about earlier.

  “Uh oh,” Morgan says to Claire. “I don’t know what a lot of these plants are or what they look like.”

  “It’s ok,” Claire responds. “I know some of them, but not all. Maybe we should just run around and see what we recognize. Then we can match it up with the list and gather whatever we need. There are so many things on the list; I don’t think we can find them all in thirty minutes.”

  “Sounds good to me!” Morgan tells her. “Let’s go!” They run off, looking for plants that they know. Sometimes Morgan finds plants on the list, and they gather pine straw (from pine trees) or a flower (like Brown-eyed Susans). Other times, Claire finds the plants that she knows, and they pick up acorns (from oak trees) or leaves of a maple tree for the basket. They have so much fun just running around, looking for more plants to go in their basket.

  Before too long, they hear John shouting, “Time’s up! Come on back, Loggerheads!”

  After all of the baskets have been checked over, Robbie and Ruby are announced as the winners and presented with two small plants to take home. “Congrats!” Morgan and Claire tell them. Morgan and Claire had only gotten about half the items on the list, so they knew they wouldn’t win. Morgan is a bit embarrassed that she didn’t pay enough attention to the counselors when they were talking about the plants, but she is very happy for her friends.

  Chapter Six

  The next day, rain is pouring down from the sky, which makes Morgan sad because she knows that it is going to be a boring day at camp. After all, most of what they have been doing that is so fun has been outdoors! She can’t imagine anything interesting happening today. But since she wants to see her friends, she reluctantly runs through the rain to get to the main building.

  After greeting her friends, Morgan says, “Ugh. Today is going to be so boring. All of the campers are going to be stuck inside all day!”

  “I know!” Ruby agrees. “Robbie and I almost didn’t come today, but Mom said we had to.”

  Claire says optimistically, “Maybe they will have some fun stuff for us to do indoors.”

  “Attention, Loggerheads!” John comes over to the group. “I know you were hopin’ to spend more time outside today, but don’t you worry, Asha and I’ve got lots of fun tricks up our sleeves for a rainy day.”

  “Right! Today we’re going to learn more about beach habitats.” Asha tells them. “We can’t visit the beach today, but we can talk about them. Who knows something that makes beaches different from other habitats?”

  “Seagulls!” Ashley suggests.

  “They are pretty unique to beaches, but that’s not quite what I was looking for. What else?” Asha asks.

  A boy named Quinton raises his hand, “Crabs.”

  Asha responds, “Crabs also live at the beach. These are both examples of animals that have adapted to their environment. Think about the environment itself. What is different about that?”

  The group is quiet for a minute while they all think. Claire raises her hand, “Waves?”

  “Exactly!” Asha replies. “It is the waves that make the beach habitat different because the water is constantly coming and going. It moves sand, plants, and animals from the ocean to the shore, and vice versa. There are plants and animals that have adapted to be underwater sometimes and out of the water other times, based on when the tide covers them. At high tide, more water covers the sand, and at low tide, less water covers the sand. But the one thing that remains the same is the constant coming and going of the waves.”

  Asha goes on to tell them more about the beach habitat and the plants and animals that live there. According to Asha, beaches are found anywhere water meets land, and they can exist at any altitude or temperature around the world, not just in warm environments like Georgia. Also, she tells them that sand is made up of tiny rocks, minerals, and pieces of shells that have been crushed by the waves. Morgan finds it really interesting since the desert habitat (like in Arizona) and the beach habitat here both have sand. Morgan remembers from school that parts of Arizona were at the bottom of a sea millions of years ago, so the sand must be similar in both habitats even though the climate and temperature have changed a lot in Arizona.

  John announces, “We’re gonna make sand candles today. Who here has made one before?” A couple of campers raise their hands, including Claire.

  Claire whispers to Morgan, “It’s a lot of fun.”

  “First, I need everyone to grab a bucket and fill it up with damp sand from the box by the door,” John tells the group. Everyone rushes to find a bucket and then fights to get to the sandbox first. Morgan and Claire aren’t fast enough, so they have to wait until Robbie and Ruby are done.

  “Next, we’re going to split you up into two groups,” Asha says. “The first group will get to know their sand; running their fingers through it and paying close attention to details. Each person in the first group will then create a hole, at least three inches deep that can be in any shape you want. It just needs to have a flat bottom. The second group will come over to these buckets and pick out the shells that they want to use in their candles. After everyone is done, we will switch stations and then finish making the candles.”

  Morgan and her friends are in the first group. Morgan immediately sticks her hand into the sand, spilling some of the sand onto the floor. The sand is cool and squishy feeling around her hand. When she pulls her hand out, she notices that the individual grains of sand are actually all different colors, not just tan. Robbie catches her eye, and they throw a handful of sand at each other, laughing. Claire and Ruby start laughing, and then they throw sand at each other. Suddenly, everyone in the group one is throwing sand around.r />
  “Stop! No more throwing sand,” John yells.

  Morgan looks at her friends, laughing, but they stop throwing the sand. Instead, they start digging the holes that Asha had told them to do. First, Morgan digs a deep hole.

  Then she gets an idea, “Why don’t we make shapes other than just circles?”

  “Yeah, that sounds like fun,” Claire says. “I’ll make a heart.”

  Morgan tells her, “I’ll make a star.” Once she starts trying to make the star, she realizes it is easier said than done. After struggling for a few minutes with the points of the star, she decides that she will be OK with a lumpy star.

  Next, Morgan and her friends move to the next station, where they picked out shells to put in their candles. There were so many to choose from and so many colors! After several minutes, Morgan picks three: one flat orange-striped, one pink spiral, and one small gray. She puts them in her lumpy star-shaped hole.

  Next, John and Asha go around to each bucket, pouring the hot wax into the hole.

  “Yellow or green?” Asha asks Morgan.

  “Green,” she answers, watching Asha pour the wax before dropping a wick into the center.

  “Now, while those cool, let’s talk about one animal that this area is famous for, one that only goes to shore every few years. Does anyone know which animal I’m talkin’ about?” John asks.

  “I know!” Morgan answers. “Sea turtles!”

  “Right you are,” John responds.

  “They are one of my favorite animals!” Morgan tells him. “Sea turtles are warm-blooded reptiles that breathe air, so they have to surface sometimes to breathe. They have flippers, can live a really long time, and eat just about anything.”

  “Wow, you sure do know a lot about sea turtles,” John says. “Who else knows about sea turtles?”

  Jason raises his hand, “On the inside, sea turtles look like monsters. I’ve seen the inside of one’s mouth, and it’s scary! They have huge spikes that look like shark’s teeth down their throats.” Jason snaps his hand at Ruby, who squeals and leans away from him. Morgan did not know that fact about sea turtles. It makes them sound scarier than she had ever thought of them. They seem so nice and gentle in the picture books.

  “That’s true,” John says. “They do have spines that help ‘em eat jellyfish, which are their favorite snack. Otherwise, the jellyfish might try to escape the next time the sea turtle opens its mouth. Does anybody else know any interestin’ facts about sea turtles?”

  Ruby raises her hand, “They’ve got really salty tears, like more salty than ocean water.”

  “Yep, they produce those tears to make sure that their bodies are less salty than the water around them,” John answers.

  Robbie adds, “Sea turtles come to the beach to lay eggs. Ruby and I saw a turtle nest the last time we went to the beach.” Morgan remembers seeing a marked nest when she and her dad went to the beach last week.

  John responds, “One of the special things about the beaches in the Lowcountry is that sea turtles come here to lay eggs and build nests. In fact, they always come back to the same beach where they hatched as babies to lay their eggs. Unfortunately, loggerheads, which are one of the species of sea turtles that build nests here, are endangered. To help protect the nests from animals and humans that might harm the eggs or the baby loggerheads when they hatch, there’re a couple of groups of people that go out most nights to watch out for the babies and protect the nests.”

  Morgan gets excited. Maybe she could help protect the nests. “John, can we join one of the groups to help watch out for the babies?”

  “Sure, if anyone is interested in joinin’ one of the groups with their parents, I’ll give y’all some information this afternoon about the group on Hilton Head Island. They got the best luck with hatchin’ sea turtle eggs within drivin’ distance,” John tells the campers. Morgan knows that Hilton Head Island is about thirty miles north of Savannah, actually in South Carolina. She and her parents haven’t gone there yet, but it sounds like fun.

  Later, as Morgan and her friends draw pictures of sea turtles and their habitats, Morgan tells them, “I want to help watch over the baby sea turtles. It would be like being a superhero for sea turtles—saving the babies from bad guys on their way to the ocean!”

  “That sounds like fun,” Claire agrees.

  “Yeah, I want to be a sea turtle superhero too!” Robbie says.

  “Let’s see if our parents will let us join one of the groups,” Ruby suggests.

  “Good idea!” Morgan says. “Then tomorrow we can plan when we want to do it, so we’ll be there on the same days!”

  “Yeah, let’s do it!” Robbie agrees.

  That afternoon, Morgan starts telling her mother all about the sea turtles and the superhero group. “The baby sea turtles need people to protect them while they go from their nests to the ocean, Mum. I want to help protect them. They’re only babies, and it’s really easy for them to get hurt. Please, can we join the group? Please? Counselor John gave us information about the group on Hilton Head Island. You can go as many nights as you want, so we wouldn’t have to do it every night. I know Hilton Head Island isn’t as close as some of the islands, but we’ve been talking about going there anyway, and it would be for a good reason. Please, can we help the babies?”

  Mum responds, “We will have to discuss it with yer dad when he gets home, but I think we can probably go out with the group once a week. It could be fun.”

  “Yay!” Morgan cheers. She gets to be a sea turtle superhero! She can’t wait to go to camp tomorrow. She hopes that Claire, Robbie, and Ruby will be able to join the group too.

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning, Morgan greets Claire with, “What did your parents say? Can you join the sea turtle superhero group?”

  Claire gives Morgan a big grin, “Yup! How about yours?”

  “I can go too!” Morgan cheers. “My parents will only let me do it one day a week, but still, we get to go! This is going to be so much fun!”

  “I know it is!” Claire tells Morgan. “I can only go one day a week too. Let’s find out what Robbie and Ruby’s parents said when they get here, and then we can all plan which day each week we want to go together.” “Good idea,” Morgan says. Morgan and Claire are impatient for Robbie and Ruby to get to camp. Finally, they arrive a couple of minutes before camp is supposed to start. Morgan yells out, “Did they say yes?” before they even get to the group. Robbie and Ruby shake their heads sadly as they walk over to Morgan and Claire.

  “No,” Robbie tells them miserably. “Mom said it was way too far to drive to Hilton Head. Plus our brother and sister didn’t want to do it, so Mom said it would be too hard to get us there.”

  “Oh, no!” Morgan and Claire exclaim.

  Claire tells them, “It’s not going to be as much fun without y’all.”

  Morgan nods her head in agreement with Claire and then asks, “Are you sure you can’t convince her?”

  Ruby responds, “We tried all night, but she still said no.”

  Morgan asks, “Will I get to see you again after today? Where do you three go to school? Maybe we’ll be in the same class!”

  “That would be fun!” Ruby says. “We go to the Catholic school in downtown Savannah.”

  “Oh,” Claire says. “I go to school on Wilmington Island, where I live. I guess we won’t be in school together.” Claire looks sad.

  “I live on Wilmington Island too,” Morgan tells her. “I think I will be going to school with you, Claire.” Morgan is excited that she already knows someone at her school. She hopes that Claire will be in her class. She really likes Claire, and it would be nice to already have a friend in her class.

  Still, she is unhappy at the thought of not seeing Robbie and Ruby after today. They are really fun, and Morgan hates that she has to give up two of the three friends her age t
hat she has made so far in Savannah. And she really hates saying goodbye to people, especially since she just had to move away from all of her friends in Arizona. She hadn’t thought about not seeing people again when she started camp, but now she realizes she should have expected it. After all, Savannah is a large town, and she lives on an island near Savannah. She should have thought about the fact that there are several schools, and some of the friends she made over the week would go to different schools. At least she will get to see Claire again.

  Morgan says to Robbie and Ruby, “I’m going to miss you. I’ve had a lot of fun with you this week. Let’s make sure that today is extra fun, and maybe we can still see each other sometimes on the weekends or email each other.”

  Robbie responds, “We’re going to miss y’all too.” Ruby nods her head, “Yeah, let’s make today really fun.”

  “Ok, Loggerheads!” Asha calls. “Are you ready for a great last day of camp?”

  “Yes!” the campers reply.

  “Then let’s get going!” she responds. “First, we are going to work on an art project. I want you to apply all of your new knowledge about the animals here at the Nature Center and create a mask of your favorite animal. Each of you will get the basic mask, and it is up to you to create the animal. You can color or glue on any of the various items we have in the middle of each table for you. Remember to focus on the details that you have observed about your favorite animal to make sure that your mask is accurate! Raise your hand if you need any help.”

  Morgan, Claire, Robbie, and Ruby run over to one of the tables to get seats together. Morgan thinks about making a sea turtle mask, but then she thinks it might make Robbie and Ruby sad again since they can’t be sea turtle superheroes. So she decides to make a bobcat mask instead. They all laugh and joke as they create their masks.

  She grabs one of the blank, white masks with triangles on top of the mask for ears. First, she colors the mask, thinking about the pattern on a bobcat’s face. Once the whole mask is colored in browns and blacks with black-tipped ears and reddish-brown nose, Morgan looks at the materials she can use to glue onto the mask. She chooses some black pipe-cleaners for the whiskers and adds some black feathers to use as the downy insides of the bobcat’s ears. She carefully glues everything in place, making sure that it is all in the right place while it dries.