A lesson in turtles

First-grader Nicole Salomon crouched down on her knees and peered into a glass window. Within moments she was face to face with a 305-pound loggerhead turtle recovering from a shell wound at the South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rescue Program hospital.

"It snorted at my face," Nicole said, as the loggerhead named DeBordieu brought its head to the surface of its tank.

Nicole and her first-grade classmates from Berkeley County's Daniel Island School didn't visit the aquarium on Tuesday for a traditional field trip. Instead, the kids and their teachers presented a $2,000 check to the hospital to help with sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

The Daniel Island School kids spent weeks selling pizza, cheesecake, coffee and collecting donations, all with the hope of "adopting" the hospital's injured sea turtles.

The hospital treats sea turtles found stranded along the coast in poor condition because of infections, animal bites and gashes from boat propellers.

In addition to raising money, the children participated in classroom lessons about conservation before their visit. Everything from cleaning up trash at the beach to turning off house lights can help protect the environment, teachers said.

Inside the sea turtle hospital, rescue program coordinator Kelly Thorvalson answered questions as the youngsters observed sharks, barracudas and baby alligators. The students also paid attention to several tanks where injured sea turtles of all sizes are recovering from their injuries.

"The kids are soaking it in," Thorvalson said. "It's so awesome that kids this age have the opportunity to support a conservation project like this."

As Nicole spent time with the sea creatures, she put a positive spin on the experience.

"It feels really sad to be with the turtles because a lot of them got hit by boats," she said. "But it feels good to know we are helping."

Reach Mindy B. Hagen at 937-5433 or mhagen@postand courier.com.