Aloha

THE BIG ISLAND 

Common Name: Green Sea Turtle

Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas

The Green Sea Turtle is one of the largest turtles on earth getting up to 700lbs. Unlike most sea turtles, as adults Green Sea turtles are herbivores, consuming algae off of rocks. Sadly these turtles are endangered and much of the decline is due to human actives such as net fishing and encroachment on nesting land. (National Geographic 2012)

To The Sea
Our whole childhood we are asked what we want to be when we grow up. when I was five years old I wanted to be a gymnast, however as you get older and move on to high school the aspirations you had as a child begin to change and for the most part no one has a clue what they want to be when they grow up. My Sophomore year of high school I was introduced to biology and was hooked no longer in search of what I wanted to be when I grew up. The summer of my sophomore year I was invited to attend a marine science program on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Of course I accepted the invitation but quickly began to worry. How was I going to take a marine science class in which I was not only suppose to get in the water, but also go snorkeling and collect data, when I was afraid to even walk ankle deep into the mysterious waters that cover 80% of our earth surface? I was terrified. When I arrived in Hawai’i I realized I had two options, I could suck it up and get in the water or I could fail the class. So facing a fear I had harbored for my whole life, I got in the water and at that moment my whole life changed. The ocean was no longer a mysterious abyss to be feared but rather a magical world waiting to share its unfathomable beauty. I fell in love with the ocean, since that moment my path had been towards becoming a marine biologist. That moment is what has lead me to this next adventure in my life. For the next six weeks I will call Hawai’i my home and the Ocean my classroom.