Episode 3

This world was so very big and frightening, thought the tiny turtle, as she hid beneath the plastic cup left on the beach. She’d been considering how to get to the water without being eaten by the huge Gulls, which were circling overhead.

When the tiny turtle’s hiding cup suddenly disappeared, to be replaced by the face of a large creature of some sort, she lay frozen in fear! Unsure of whether or not she was about to be eaten, or even trampled into the sand , the turtle found herself unable to flee!

The old man was just as taken aback, by discovering a turtle beneath the garbage he’d been collecting! For several moments, the two simply stared at one other, unsure of what came next. The old man wondered why the turtle hadn’t bolted for the water when he’d lifted the cup? Was she injured? The old man sat down beside the little turtle, to observe her further, before deciding whether or not to get involved. He’d always had a strong commitment to let nature be, allowing wildlife to exist the way they were intended, without humans changing the rules of nature. Now, for the first time in all these years, he was not so sure that walking away was the right thing to do.

Normally, these turtles all hatch at approximately the same time, covering the beach with thousands of little creatures, all running for the water at once. Even though one understood the theory of safety in numbers, the old man still chose not to visit the beach on those days, as it was sad for him to watch this part of nature. The hatching that usually took place on this beach had ended almost a week earlier, so he was perplexed at seeing a brand new baby cowering in the sand now, all by itself. Thinking back on things, the old man remembered seeing a flurry of Gulls near this area, just the day before; now it made a bit more sense, as to what they’d been doing over in these bushes. It occurred to him that this turtle was a very late arrival, most probably the last to emerge from the nest.

Unsure of how to proceed further, both the old man and the tiny turtle just sat there on the sand, side by side, one observing the other in an effort to make sense of things. He was considering whether or not to assist the baby in her dash for the water, or maybe he shouldn’t do anything at all. The old man began to consider picking up the frightened turtle, taking it home with him and calling the nearest wildlife rescue.

At the same time, the little turtle was thinking on things, the way a turtle might. She was pretty sure that she should head for the water, but where was everyone? She’d been hiding under her cup all morning, waiting for other turtles to make a run to the water with her, but no one came. Sitting here now, she realized that she must choose to either run or be eaten! The turtles instinct told her to curl up inside her shell, and await the creatures departure. Hopefully, it would think her dead and wander off down the beach.

Will the old man help the tiny turtle? Should he? What’s one turtle’s fate going to do for the species itself? Would it be a better fate for the tiny turtle, to simply let the Gulls do their work, thereby providing food for them and their own offspring? The odds were already stacked against her reaching adulthood, anyway.

There is such a fine line between helping and interfering that many choose to do nothing, for fear of making a thing worse, rather than better. Will the old man follow his heart and help this turtle, or will he put the cup back down over her and walk away? Can he throw out the rule book, just this once?

You know, I think we’re all faced with a choice, to actively help in our planet’s conservation, or simply do nothing. I realize that it seems daunting, trying to undo generations of global overuse, in hopes of restoring it for our future. We often feel overwhelmed with the big picture, feeling feeble and useless in making any difference at all, so we just don’t look or think on it.

Perhaps the change we need, is to do good even if we don’t think we’re enough… one person at a time, one small act after another. Something as small and miniscule as putting your wrapper in a bin, rather than on the back seat floor of your car, or worse, on the ground. Tiny things add up!

What if the important thing about helping the turtle, is not so much whether she will reach adulthood, but more so about the old man’s willingness to do the right thing? Even if he doesn’t realize it, the old man is helping! Our global warming issues, along with our wildlife conservation efforts are daunting, to say the least! We cannot expect an overnight fix, nor a rapid outcome of what has taken generations to cause! Every little act or effort toward furthering our planets recovery, takes us all, one step at a time.

Tune in next Tuesday, as we learn the fate of our tiny turtle…