Spring Break 2018 turned into TurtleFest 2018, thanks to SLAC Mentor, Viviana. Two SLAC-kers accompanied Vivi to Fair Park to check on the turtle situation out there.

 

 

 

 

 

Note from Viviana:

While the girls and I were out at Fair Park, we noticed the Lagoon was littered with trash. Seeing this trash floating alongside the turtles, fish, and birds we gathered as much of it as we could and used the net to help collect it. We put it all in the trash can and continued on our turtling way.

Don’t Mess with Texas! Don’t Mess with Texas Turtles!

In response to Viviana’s note, Katie Hulka (Craker Care Team member and SLAC mentor), wrote this:

Growing up near Grapevine Lake, my mom and her neighbor friend used to make us (me, my sister and friend’s 3 kids – including Kamber, who joined us at Craker’s release) clean up trash along the major roads leading into our neighborhood if we wanted to swim at the lake. We were told repeatedly that it was a basic responsibility that we had to learn about if we wanted to enjoy our natural areas. At one point, my dad worked for the local CNN bureau in its very early days. He came out and filmed us for a small, but worldwide audience (1980 or 81). It got so much local attention that our little kid speeches to city council and the Corps of Engineers, along with that footage, got the first glass ordinance passed on any public lake in Texas.

Today it exists on all but Caddo (the last I checked).

Little kids picking up trash often has far-reaching benefits that are as inherent as breathing as they grow up. I wish I could have joined you.

The three of you are doing great things in small bites. I am grateful for you and all of SLAC.

These kids know how fortunate they are to have such exceptional mentors. They do not take these people for granted.

 

 

While those two were busy saving the world from litter, another SLAC-ker was busy composing an email to Katie about Craker’s new stats (remember, we found her during the recent Spring Lake Turtle Survey). We’ve mentioned before that it’s almost unheard of for veterinarians or wildlife rehabbers to know what happens to an untagged animal once it leaves their care. That’s the nature of wildlife—it’s meant to be wild. But, Craker lives on a small body of water, surrounded by several homes full of people who love her and watch for her, and she has a remarkable injury to her shell that makes her immediately recognizable. It’s a trifecta of turtley good luck.

Here’s the email this SLAC-ker sent to Katie:

A few days later, we received a lovely email in return, and we were happy to get this data from Craker’s convalescence:

She was 899grams on 6/27/17.
She got down to 892 on 7/4 before she started gaining.
She was 1320 grams or 1.32 kg at last weight before release on 9/27

Later in the afternoon, all the SLAC-kers reassembled and reviewed their field notebooks with Viviana.

This wrapped up a fantastically great Spring Break for some girls who love science, animals, and baking.