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Save the Manatee Club's Adopt-A-Manatee program is an excellent way to get students involved in manatee conservation efforts and become "intimately" acquainted with a member of this remarkable species. As a result of this special relationship, students open up their hearts and get "turned on" to the issues affecting manatees and the environment as a whole. Steve Van Matre, an environmental educator, put it perfectly when he said: "Wisdom does not come from understanding, it comes from caring about the things we understand." Much learning also takes place. As students follow the adoption updates on their manatee throughout the school year, they learn a great deal about the life cycle of a manatee. Migratory patterns (through seasonal movements and through adoptees that are tagged with radio and satellite transmitters), collisions with boats, pregnancy and calving, entanglement in monofilament fishing line, behavioral accounts, winter gatherings in warm water sources - these are just a few examples of manatee life that come to the attention of manatee "parents". School groups or classes can adopt an endangered manatee through the Save the Manatee Club. With each annual membership, classes will receive an adoption certificate, an underwater photo and case history of their adopted manatee, and a variety of educational materials. In addition, classes will receive the SMC Newsletter five times a year, complete with adoption updates, education articles, and information on manatee-related issues. Contact the Save the Manatee Club's to adopt a manatee. |
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