Oceans 4Ever

Skylar Fielder-Jones is a tiny six year-old from Southern Pines, North Carolina. But you’d be hard-pressed to describe her as such, we think, when you read what she did with a BIG idea she had last month to help wildlife affected by the Gulf oil spill.

It all started, as one might expect, as Skylar, whose favorite ocean playground is Myrtle Beach, viewed TV coverage of marine life swimming in oil last month. Then she saw the Dawn Dishsoap commercial that features volunteers cleaning oil from a baby penguin.

That was enough for this little engine that could become an activist to roar to life. Skylar rushed to her mother with her desire to wash the wildlife with “the blue dishsoap,” and knew if she asked, she would receive the help she needed.

“It was not very scary for me to help the animals and I knew if I asked, my mom would help me do it,” Skylar tells O4E.

For her mother, Kim Fielder-Jones, Skylar’s request was, perhaps, just a touch scarier.

“I took me awhile to understand what she was trying to tell me.  All I could understand was that she was shipping our dish soap to the Gulf Coast.  It took me a minute, because she was talking so fast and trying to show me the Dawn commerical on TV.  Once I put two and two together, I was ready to do anything that she wanted me to do.”

And so the Fielder-Jones family got to work – with one condition – that Skylar herself lead the effort whenever she could, including being her own communications department, while Kim and the rest of the family backed her up behind the scenes. “I told her that she had to do all of the talking to the groups at her school, church, and anyone else to listen.  She had make her posters and make sure that she thank everyone personally that donated.  I was the taxi driver and the adult that spoke for her to other adults.”

So Skylar herself got up and spoke to her class at school, her church, and everyone she could to get donations and began collecting bottles of Dawn®, rubber gloves, paper towel rolls and toothbrushes – along with cash donations – to send to oil spill cleanup workers in the Gulf.

Then it was time for Kim to find somewhere to send it. Surely, BP would be graciously accepting any help they could get. 

Not exactly. When Kim finally got ahold of  a BP company representative, the reception was a bit…unenthusiastic. Kim was told by the representative that BP was handling everything and didn’t need her help.

 ”I think I was in total shock that someone on the other end of the line was being so abrasive,” Kim says. ” I called the volunteer line and thought I was taking all of the right steps in being able to help.  I was so surprised when we were told that they did not want our help.”

Skylar minced fewer words: “”I felt, like, really sad when my mom talked to the lady on the phone, she told my mom that they did not need our help.  I stopped and wanted to know what was wrong with them people.”

Kim and Skylar eventually did find help, in the form of Riverlink, a non-profit organization that works to revitalize the French Broad River in western North Carolina. Riverlink served as courier for the load, sending it to the Western North Carolina Nature Center for transport to the Gulf. 

Skylar, family and friends with her motherload of dishsoap and supplies.

They’re still collecting, too: “Yes we are still collecting more, because we need to make a second trip - the spill is really really bad, says Skylar. ”I just saw two birds on TV that were very sick and sad from all the oil. I think one was dying, so I know I need to keep on working to help the animals with oil on them.” Riverlink received eight bags of supplies just yesterday, and Kim hopes they can duplicate the 80+ bottles of dishsoap, 30+ rolls of paper towel, countless toothbrushes, multitudes of rubber glove pairs and more than $300 in cash for the next load.

We asked Skylar how it feels to have so many adults listening to and taking her direction: “I feel different, but everyone is doing the right thing by helping me help the animals and the earth.  I know it is better to give than to get.  I feel really good about what I have done and I am really proud of myself.  I can’t believe that I am doing this and adults are listening.”

And we had to ask both Skylar and Kim for their views on our country’s future in oil: “I would like for the United States to find another way to handle the oil that is not dangerous to us or to all of the animals,” says Skylar.

” I would love for our government to really step back and take charge in making sure that something like this will never happen again,” Kim echoes. ” They need to pay more attention to the oil companies and have more regulations that protect our environment.”

It can be daunting to figure out what to do when your little one has a big idea, but we like Kim and Sklyar’s family example that underscores the power of a child’s voice in ocean – and any – activism. We asked Kim for her advice to parents with kids who want to help:

I would advise them to listen to their children, and never shoot a child’s dream down.  You may not think their idea is doable, but it is your job to support them while they try to accomplish what ever their goals maybe.  Children learn best by watching those around them.  If we continue to show respect for our oceans and earth, then they will grow up and respect them also.  This huge project has brought the entire family closer.  Kevin (Skylar’s dad), Skylar, Zoie (sister, 5), Zander (brother, 4), and I have bonded over this experience in a way that we have never experienced.  We have always been a team of 5, but now we are all stronger as a family thanks to Skylar and her wonderful idea. 
  

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Today’s Pick/Protect 21 candidate comes in all shapes and sizes, and even boasts the largest living animal on the planet: the blue whale.

We’ve been talking about cetaceans a lot lately, and with good reason – they’re a fascinating order of animal – rolling, flipping and diving through our seas, exemplifying the energy, majesty and mystery of ocean life.

But it’s with heavy hearts that we are including ALL species of whales in today’s Pick/Protect choice.

In 1986, a moratorium was adopted to stop the commercial hunting of whales, which has helped protect them from extinction since.

Next month, however, whales’ protection could vanish, as President Obama is considering lifting the moratorium on whale hunting, and granting some countries limits for the number of whales they kill. The biggest whaling nations, Japan, Iceland and Norway, could see rewards if they stay within their killing quotas under the new proposal.

In June, the International Whaling comission (IWC) will meet to discuss this proposal in Morocco. You can read more about it and the proposal in this April 23rd article on MSNBC.

Should whales be left hanging out in the wind? Here are several places you can go to learn more and make your voice heard to stop the lifting of the moratorium:

• Anti-whaling Crusaders on Facebook has a petition you can sign AGAINST lifting the moratorium.
• Visit Save the Whales to find out ways you can help protect these creatures – from daily conservation habits to letter writing and helping to raise awareness among your family, friends and in your community. 
• If you live near or can get to the California coast this weekend, Sunday, May 23rd is a Save the Whales rally day – here is a list of rally locations up and down the California coast.
• Sign the International Anti-Whaling petition.

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Today is Manatee Monday for Pick/Protect 21.

This is a very special post, because the endangered Manatee is my favorite sea creature. I love all sea creatures, but I encourage you to Pick/Protect this one.

Try and watch this without your heart melting:

Why you should pick them

• I already said it’s my favorite ocean creature, but here are some additional reasons to pick the manatee:
• Their only enemy: boat propellers (in other words, man).
• Manatees stay and travel near the coastline of the ocean, but they like to live in rivers near the ocean.
• They are noisy plant eaters, and eat up to 60-plus pounds of water plants per day.
• They usually give birth to one calf per year (sometimes they even have twins). It’s also been said that they make great parents.
• Now here’s a really weird fact: manatees used to be called mermaids. Looking at manatees in the video, they don’t look like mermaids AT ALL. Hundreds of years ago, when sailors first saw Manatees (including one famous sailor named Christopher Columbus), they somehow thought, with their wacky imaginations, that they were mermaids.
• Manatees grow to be between 800 and 1200 pounds, and 8.2-9.8 feet long. They have paddle-shaped tails, and shorter snouts than their cousins, the dugongs.
• They spend their days eating, sleeping and travelling, and they swim very slowly.
• Manatees are nicknamed “sea cows,” because when you look at a manatee grazing under water, they look a lot like a cow grazing on land. They’re messy and noisy eaters!
• The land animal the manatee is most closely related to is the elephant.
• Thousands of years ago, Manatees used to graze on land with cows, but over time, they entered the water, and their front legs evolved into flippers, their back legs into a paddle-shaped tail, and they became water animals. But, they still have fingernails on their flippers to prove that they were once land animals.

Why they need protecting

Once again, their main enemies are boat propellers. While in the water, a Manatee might hear the buzzing noise of a boat propeller and get curious. As Manatees have literally NO fear, one might swim up to the propeller out of curiosity, and BAM! The boat propeller hits the Manatee. Some drown, some are badly injured as a result.

In 2009, a record number of Manatees were recorded in Florida (3809), but unfortunately, a record number were also killed in the same year (419), most by humans, and 30% of those deaths from boat strikes. That equals 12.5% of the whole population killed, which is not good.

How you can protect them

Spread the word to boaters you know to pay attention to Manatee zones in the water. That means turn off your engine.

You can also donate to the Manatee cause. One way is to join the Save the Manatee Club. You can click on the ad in the sidebar here on O4E to find out how you can adopt one for your dad for father’s day, or for yourself or someone you love, anytime.

You can also help the STMC by voting for them in the Pepsi Refresh Project as they compete for a grant to study Manatees in Florida (vote now – the contest ends May 31st).

I encourage you to find all you can about the Manatee and tell ME some ways you can protect it – unless I already know.

~Alexa

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