it is 6:00 in the morning and i am waist

At
Home
Water
by Meg Kikkeri
IT IS 6:00 IN THE MORNING AND I AM
WAIST-DEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF ELK HORN
SLOUGH IN MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. AS
I BREATHE IN THE AROMA OF ROTTING
SEAWEED AND ANAEROBIC SILT, THE
RISING TIDE IS THE ONLY SOUND. ON
A CLIPBOARD, I AM COLLECTING DATA
ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIVE
OLYMPIA OYSTERS AND THE EFFECTS OF
NON-NATIVE TUBE WORMS ON THEM. I
CAN BARELY FEEL THE FRIGID WATER AS I
STRUGGLE TO MOVE THROUGH THE MUD
THAT CAPTURES ME LIKE QUICKSAND.
teens a chance to see behind the
scenes at the aquarium and develop self-confidence and public
speaking skills as they interact
with guests. TCL participants make
lifelong and life-changing connections with other volunteers as well as
aquarium staff. After reading about all
Conservation via Inspiration
these benefits, I eagerly put together
I have always been interested in nature and especially the ocean.
my application in December.
When I was younger, I spent long summer hours staring at the
In March, along with about 50
Pacific, waiting to spot some humpback whales or California sea
other students, I was invited for an
otters. I would hop from tide pool to tide pool, watching hermit
interactive interview in the aquarium’s
crabs wrestle for new homes and East Pacific red octopuses
Discovery Labs. When I received
slither away to hide in little caves created by seaweed. And when
my acceptance letter a few weeks later, I called my best friend and
I wasn’t at the beach, I loved learning more about the ocean and
screamed, “I got in! I got in!” (Even now, two years later, that letter still
its inhabitants at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. My family has had
hangs on my wall.) Best of all, I learned I had been assigned to work
a membership for as long as I can remember, and we visit several
in a summer camp called Young Women in Science (YWS). I would be
times every year. So it was only natural that when I learned
among four other female TCL participants
about a teen volunteer program at the
TO KNOW THAT WHAT WE
acting as counselors and working with
aquarium, I jumped at the opportunity.
middle school girls from underserved areas
I was a freshman in high school when
I learned about Teen Conservation LeadTAUGHT MADE A DIFFERENCE— around Monterey.
After a two-week orientation in June,
ers (TCL) on the aquarium’s teen prothe
summer went by in a blur. The onegram web page. TCL is a competitive
BOTH FOR THE GIRLS AND THE
week YWS camps were such a different
volunteer program for high school
experience from anything I had ever done. I
students in Northern California who are
OCEANS— WAS A UNIQUELY
had been a camp counselor at sports camps
interested in conservation and learning
and scout camps before, but in the YWS
about the ocean—and in inspiring
REWARDING
EXPERIENCE
FOR
ME.
camps, we not only enjoyed the water on
that same interest in the public. TCL
boogie boards and kayaks, but also talked about the importance of
provides an important function for the aquarium by providing
the ocean and conserving it. From the first day spent learning about
volunteers to help educate guests. At the same time, it gives
sea otters to the last day discussing the broader role of the oceans
and our responsibility to conserve them, it was amazing to see these
girls’ faces light up with understanding. I could see that they didn’t
take the oceans for granted anymore. To know that what we taught
made a difference—both for the girls and the oceans—was a uniquely
rewarding experience for me.
Since that summer, I have pursued various other options through
TCL. I have served as a guide on the aquarium floor, answering
questions and educating guests of all ages about the different exhibits.
I have helped with events such as Otter Days and sleepovers, and I’ve
led conservation events for my peers, such as beach cleanups and
bay restoration projects. In addition, I have regularly volunteered
to clean the tanks of small invertebrates and was recently promoted
to helping maintain the big tanks of schooling fish like sardines,
anchovies, and mackerel.
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imagine
Jan/Feb 2015
On Another Shore
My experiences and connections
at the aquarium took me farther
than I could have imagined. Last
summer, I was fortunate to land
an amazing four-week internship
at NOAA’s Woods Hole Science
Aquarium in Massachusetts. A
staff member in the education
department at the Monterey Bay
Aquarium with whom I’d worked
closely in the YWS camps told me
about the internship and wrote a
recommendation letter for me. I
eagerly completed the rest of the application and was thrilled to be one
of only three students selected.
Some of my adventures at Woods Hole included taking tours of
the labs, where we met scientists researching everything from sea
turtle populations in the Atlantic to dolphin pod behavior to how
pinnipeds (flipper-footed marine animals) use their whiskers to
track prey. We attended seminars with scientists, performed
dissections and necropsies, and helped with husbandry chores such
as scrubbing tanks, cleaning equipment, and preparing food for the
animals. But probably my favorite activity involved running through
enrichment exercises with two harbor seals, Bumper and LuSeal.
We had them blow bubbles underwater, show their bellies for a
check-up, bob their heads, twirl, and even “speak” (which involved a
lot of grunting).
We also went on a couple of trips that
focused less on science but still deepened
our appreciation of marine ecology.
On one of my favorite trips, we went
kayaking at Chappaquiddick Island, where we spent a leisurely
day exploring the untouched ecosystems and munching on
pickle weed. On a weekend trip, we got a behind-the-scenes
tour of the New England Aquarium and went whale watching.
Seeing so many humpback whales swimming by with their
calves, I thought of the whales I watched back home. In
different oceans on opposite sides of the country, I had seen
living reminders of why the conservation efforts I was learning
about and helping with mattered.
Long-term Effects
When I returned to California, wanting to continue the
momentum of that internship, I reached out to a master’s
student I’d met at Monterey Bay Aquarium. I had worked with
her a few times during my TCL experience and knew that
she was researching the effects of a non-native species of tube
worm on native Olympia oysters. She was glad to take me
along as her “apprentice,” and I had a lot of fun. Waking up
early and squelching through mud while the tide was down
made me appreciate how difficult fieldwork can be.
I
don’t know who I would be today without the Teen Conservation Leaders program and all the opportunities it has
provided. Maybe I will pursue an education and career
in environmental studies—because no matter how stressed I
may be, I know that walking through the aquarium, taking a
stroll on the beach, kayaking through kelp beds, or getting
lost in the smooth flight of pelicans will always ease my mind.
But nothing compares to seeing a child’s face light up when
seeing a shark for the first time or feeling how squishy a sea
cucumber can be. TCL has not only strengthened my passion
for the oceans, but shown me how important it is to share that
with others. n
Meg Kikkeri, 17, is a senior at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, CA. In
addition to volunteering at the Monterey
Bay Aquarium, she spends her weekends
volunteering with kids with special needs. Meg
loves to play guitar, draw, and sing, and is part
of the Chamber Choir at school. Her pets
include many fish, a red-eared slider turtle named Lemon (after Liz
Lemon), and two red Pacific octopi named Morrie (after Tuesdays
with Morrie) and Jane (after Jane Goodall).
imagine
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