Ashley's story

I am having so much fun working at the Aquarium. It's sad for me to think it's almost over. I do plan to volunteer because I love it here. I have met a lot of interesting people, people who act as if I am their family.

A really cool, fun experience I want to share is when we were picking up trash around the Aquarium for a beach sweep. Believe it or not, it was a lot of fun because we weren't thinking about the dirty trash we were touching, we were thinking about cleaning the environment and making the area around the Aquarium beautiful.

A funny thing happened one day when I was doing an animal program. I decided to use a turtle this time and picked a spotted turtle. It was one of the smaller ones we have in the Mountain Bog. Anyway, a girl came over the pet the turtle and decided to name her Spotty, the spotted turtle. She said it was the cutest thing she had ever seen and then the turtle pooped right on her shoe! The little girl's face was too funny. She was horrified by the act of the turtle. She almost cried, but I got a towel and cleaned it up for her. The last thing she said before she walked away with a smile was, "I'm naming her Poopy instead." Her mom was laughing the whole time. She said it wasn't the first time an animal had pooped on her.

I love turtles! - Ashley Mantilla