Levittown teachers keep conservation promise

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Jonas E. Salk Middle School Spanish Club advisers Kirsten Anderson and Veronica Miller followed through on the wishes of club members to raise money in order to adopt a turtle in late April.

For weeks, the students researched possible recipients for their donations and potential adoptions. After careful consideration, they narrowed their choices down to three, including the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater Beach, Fla.

The teachers donated a combined $60 to the nonprofit aquarium in Florida and adopted the turtle so the club could follow its journey to recovery. The students planned to raise money to donate to three aquariums by making and selling turtle charm bracelets and other turtle-themed items during school.

Anderson and Miller wanted to show the students they can still make a difference, despite the global pandemic. With their donation, the middle school adopted a three-year-old loggerhead sea turtle named Snorkel and received a video of him from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The conservation center rescues injured and sick sea turtles and nurses them back to health before releasing them back into their natural habitat.

“This aquarium does terrific work for rehabilitation of animals and education of visitors,” said Anderson. “We know we can’t fix the fact that we can’t go to school right now, and we can’t follow through with our club’s plans this year. But we wanted to show our students that we could think outside the box and follow through with taking action to save sea turtles, which was important to them.”