Amazing Sea Animals of Cape Cod and The Islands
Amazing Sea Animals of Cape Cod and The Islands is more than a coloring and activity book. It is full of information about our amazing sea animals. It also gives suggestions, #s 1-4 in the following list, for people who want to help the sea. Below, I give several additional suggestions. For websites of a few wonderful organizations that help the ocean and its animals and for reasons that we need to protect the sea, please go to my HOME page.
AT LEFT, top to bottom: book cover image, photo of author at Sandwich Arts Alliance in Cape Cod, photo of beach trash and the time estimates for its decmposition, from Florida Oceanographic Society.
15 WAYS TO HELP THE SEA AND THE PRECIOUS ANIMALS IN IT (from author's books):
1) LEARN ABOUT SEA ANIMALS AND THE OCEAN:
Learn as much as you can about the ocean and about sea animals, especially endangered animals. The most critically endangered sea animal today is the right whale.
2) SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE:
Share what you learn with friends and family so that they can also understand the importance of helping to save the sea and the animals in it. Talk to teachers and classmates about sea animals.
3) HELP KEEP THE BEACH CLEAN:
Take personal trash with you when leaving the beach. This prevents the trash from ending up in the water. If each person who leaves garbage on the beach stopped doing so, be amazing. Click on the photo at left to see how long it takes for the items listed to decompose, according to Florida Oceanographic Society. WOW!!
4) VOLUNTEER TO HELP CLEAN UP A SHORELINE in your area or in your vacation spot.:
For example, organizations in Florida, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket offer fun opportunities for the public to help. Marine debris or trash is harmful to animals and people alike. Sea animals end up needing rehabilitation when they swallow too much marine garbage that they cannot digest. Innocent sea creatures can’t prevent trash from landing up in their home, but we can!
5) REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE because PREVENTING MARINE DEBRIS is key:
Minimize your trash. Using recyclable bottles and shopping bags can PREVENT trash from becoming marine garbage!
6) VOLUNTEER TO HELP AT CENTERS THAT REHABILITE MARINE LIFE: With an adult’s permission, go on-line to research places near you that help rescue and rehabilitate marine animals. Many coastal states have important volunteer opportunities.
7) ADOPT A SEA ANIMAL IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE:
Non-profit marine organizations such as NOAA, www.noaa.gov and www.adp.noaa.gov, with its “Adopt a Drifter Program”, Save the Whales at www.savethewhales.org, and World Wildlife Fun at wwf.org have adoption programs for sea animals. Many other, and sometimes smaller, organizations such as National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, MA also have adoption programs and need donations because providing animals with medical care costs money.
8) BE RESPONSIBLE WHEN OUT ON THE OCEAN:
If you go out on the ocean in a kayak or boat, be responsible by paying attention to marine life that might be close and by not throwing trash into the sea.
9) HELP KEEP BALLOONS OUT OF THE OCEAN:
Make or download, distribute, and post a flyer about not letting balloons loose in the sky. Too often, balloons end up in the ocean and are dangerous to sea animals. www.savethewhales.org lets you download a pre-made flyer.
10) SING TO SAVE THE WHALES.
Find more information at www.savethewhales.org. You could also organize other similar activities.
11) PURCHASE PRODUCTS such as t-shirts, bracelets and other products specifically created for saving endangered marine life and protecting the ocean.
12) SIGN PETITIONS such as the one mentioned at www.savethewhales.org and get others to do so, too.
13) VISIT AQUARIUMS such as the New England Aquarium, Woods Hole Oceanographic, Mystic Aquarium, Florida Oceanographic, Loggerhead Turtle Hospital in Florida, and other organizations near your home or vacation spots. Your visit helps support important marine causes and research.
14) CHOOSE "SUSTAINABLE" FISH. This is the best choice for eating fish because it helps ensure that the overfished species are less likely to die out.
15) REPORT SEA ANIMALS IN TROUBLE in the ocean or on the beach. Parents can check online for numbers in your area. Again, always ask an adult for permission before using websites.
WE CAN EACH MAKE A DIFFERENCE to the future of our world by doing any of these important things! Be creative and find ways to help save the sea.