I joined Calvin and his class for a beach field trip up in Marblehead. I was in charge of the tide pool station, and as I was collecting creatures for the children to look at, I found a painted turtle struggling in the harbor.
A quick google search confirmed that painted turtles require a fresh water habitat, so after spending the morning as our star tide pool [guest] specimen, I brought it home to relocate it to a pond.
The kids took right to "her," and Calvin named her Shelly. She's missing a leg, but makes up for her lost limb with spunk and determination, and was constantly trying to swim through the plastic holding bin we had her in.
Here's the release video:
Calvin was pretty upset afterward, and went through all the stages of grief. He worried about things like her being lonely, never having a family, being eaten by predators, and getting lost. He's settled into acceptance and knows that we can go visit her pond and try to catch a glimpse of her in her new life.
5 comments:
Laura said: It won't let me watch the video - says it is private. I'm glad your kids got to have this experience. I love that Calvin has such a tender heart. Did you release Shelly at the refuge?
Laura: no, we released Shelly at a pond near our house. We thought about taking her to the refuge, but figured she'd be safer in her own pond (turtles are known cannibals).
Once, while visiting the Brad Johnson family in Minnesota during the summer, cousin Marc and my dad found a little turtle similar to your Shelly. After keeping this turtle in a plastic wading pool for a few days, Marc decided to release the little creature into the "wild" (their suburban neighborhood). When confronted by his enraged siblings about his actions he simple said, "Sometimes you just gotta let nature go!"
Very wise words from a little boy. Marc was about Calvin's age at the time. Sometime you do just have to let nature go.
This video makes me so happy. I love the delighted giggles from the kids as Shelly plops into the pond. I'm sure she is one happy turtle in her new home. :) (I also love hearing the little rubber band boing sounds from the peepers at the pond.)
It looks like Shelly got to move into a turtle pond of paradise! I'm sure she's going to just love it there. Calvin was such a good caretaker - here's to seeing her again many times on trips back!
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