Turtle Power

EAST FALLOWFIELD --- Animal conservation can be fun.

That's what South Brandywine Middle School students learned this year, when their school became the first in the nation to take part in a long-term project to save Southeast Asian turtles threatened with extinction.

Sixth- and seventh-graders in the Chelonians -- an after-school turtle club -- were tapped by the Asian Turtle Consortium to raise 10 Vietnam Pond turtles, considered extinct in their home habitat of Hanoi. The consortium, an organization dedicated to addressing the plight of endangered Asian turtle species, is successfully breeding the animals to be raised in this country and eventually sent to a conservation program in Vietnam.

"We got our turtles in February and we have been feeding them and weighing and measuring them, and then writing it all down," said sixth-grader Chris Roldan.

Crowded around the large aquarium that houses the turtles at the Coatesville-area school, the students eagerly show off the small creatures in their care. Very scientific in their approach, they have given the turtles small distinguishing marks on their shells and numbers rather than names. They have also kept detailed records on the turtles and their development.

"When we were first asked to do this, our club had to vote on it. I don't think anyone voted ‘no,'" said sixth-grader Josh Taylor. "I was really surprised and excited when I found out the importance of this project."

Setting the largest of the 10 turtles on a small electronic scale, sixth-grader Dwayne Skiles announced that the largest turtle -- number eight -- weighs 89 grams. The smallest, number seven, weighs just 37 grams. The largest is about the size of the students' hands, the smaller about the size of their palms.

"We found that some of them were eating faster than others, so we separated them while they're eating so the smaller ones could get some food," explained Adam Saylor, also in sixth grade.

Janet Hochella, a South Brandywine library aide and a longtime turtle conservationist who belongs to 15 conservation organizations, participates in national and international workshops and works on various turtle projects in the field, mentors the Chelonians.

"David Lee (the founder of the Asian Turtle Consortium and the executive director of Tortoise Reserve) came by the school to see the turtles' progress and he was very impressed at how much they had grown," Hochella said. "The kids have put so much into this. It's a big responsibility."

Hochella said the turtles were about 1½ years old when they arrived at the school and the five largest turtles would be sent to a conservation program in Vietnam at the end of the school year. The five remaining turtles will be cared for over the summer by Kent Brusstar, the head of the science department at South Brandywine, and will be returned to the club for care in the fall.

The Vietnam Pond turtle is found only in a very small coastal area in Central Vietnam. No scientific studies have ever been conducted on the turtle in Vietnam and there is no specific protection for the species. Much of the animals' natural habitat was either destroyed by the chemical Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War or has been converted to rice production.

Next fall the Chelonians, so named because the Latin-derived word pertains to turtles, will also receive some hatchlings to be raised for the project. According to Hochella, the hatchlings will be about the size of a quarter.

In addition to learning all about the Vietnam Pond turtle, including its scientific name --Mauremys annamensis -- some of the students have been inspired to adopt turtles for personal pets. Chris Roldan and fellow sixth-grader, Marisol Herrera, have their own turtles at home.

"We rescued a box turtle that was almost run over by a car," Marisol said. "Sully lives in our garden. He likes Mexican food."

But probably the best part about the club's participation in the project was summed up when Chris said, "When I was little I thought about endangered animals and always wondered what I could do to help, but I didn't think there was really anything I could do. Now I know I can make a difference."

For more information on the Vietnam Pond turtle or the Asian Turtle Consortium, visit its Web site at www.asianturtle.org.