Pupils
shell out aid to terrapins
By SCOTT BURKE Crownsville Staff Writer
It didn't take much for
Marguerite Whilden to get hold of 60 second-graders' attention at Millersville
Elementary.
A turtle specialist at the state Department
of Natural Resources, she held up one of the nine baby diamondback terrapins
she'd brought between her thumb and index fingers.
The students let out a chorus of
"oohs" and "aahs."
Thanks to DNR and the Severn River
Association, the turtle head-starting program has returned to Millersville
Elementary for the second straight year.
The students "adopted" the
baby reptiles on Dec. 13. For six months they'll care for them, feed them and
study them before releasing them into the
"It will give the students a chance
to study their habits," said Severn River Association member Jane
Sinclair. "The kids really enjoy watching them move around."
The students are not the only ones
benefiting from the project. The turtles, which were split among three
classroom aquariums, are given a safe home during the early part of their life
when they are most vulnerable to wild prey.
And when they are released, said Ms.
Whilden, they'll be strong enough to find food and survive on their own.
"There's a big fear that if they're
raised by humans then... they'll go (back) to humans (after being released),
but we've learned otherwise," she said.
Currently, DNR is studying the
population of the diamondback terrapins, whose numbers are declining. The
Millersville Elementary project is just one way officials there hope to reverse
that trend, Ms. Whilden said.
After she answered dozens of questions
from the curious students, she let the turtles loose in their assigned
aquariums.
"You're going to be known as
environmentalists now," said second-grade teacher Linda Wiles.
Millersville Elementary is no stranger
to helping preserve the environment.
In additions to participating in the
turtle head-starting program last year, students also raised Atlantic white
cedar saplings two years ago on school grounds. Severn River Association
members then transferred the endangered trees to a threeacre spot in the
But for the students, it's all about having
fun.
"I'm excited about how fast they're
going to swim when they get older," said 7-year-old Gregory Doyle.
Mrs. Wiles said the students will
measure the turtles' growth as well as monitor the water temperature and
pollution in the aquarium. They'll also be studying their behavioral patterns.
And of course, there's also the feeding.
"That's what I'm looking forward
to," said 8-year-old Danielle Quigley.
Published