Sylvia Earle: Extraordinary Explorer and Marine Biologist
As an advocate for the ocean Earle works to protect the sea and its many inhabitants its life-forms even the ones that live far from ocean waters Through her dedicated work Earle has become an ambassador for the ocean She teaches the world about its amazing environment and inhabitants 6
Fascinating Finds The wildlife Sylvia saw on the New Jersey shore fascinated her It came in many shapes colors and sizes And the creatures were active in different ways She enjoyed watching the horseshoe crabs their shiny brown bodies disappearing into the sand as they burrowed Sandpipers a type of bird skipped on the water along the shore She even observed tiny sand fleas little creatures similar to shrimp and crabs jumping around on seaweed 7 Discovering Her Love of the Ocean Sylvia’s interest in nature began when she was a young child The second of three children Sylvia grew up on a farm near Camden New Jersey As a young girl she explored the woods by her home She was always curious about the nature that surrounded her Sylvia’s family vacationed at the New Jersey shore during the summer It was there that Sylvia developed a love of the ocean She saw all kinds of interesting creatures on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean When Sylvia was 12 years old she and her family moved to a very different environment
Encouraged to Explore Sylvia’s mother Alice played an important role in helping Sylvia become a scientist Alice encouraged her daughter to investigate and appreciate the world around her She even encouraged Sylvia to get dirty and touch wild things At least once Alice brought a snake into the family’s home Alice helped young Sylvia understand its beauty and encouraged her to touch the snake explaining to do so carefully because the animal was fragile 8 Her family’s new house was in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico She did not have to wait for summer vacation to enjoy the ocean She could explore and play in it whenever she wanted Sylvia investigated the beach just as she had wandered the woods in New Jersey For Sylvia her surroundings were a paradise She saw many different life-forms both animals and plants and wanted to learn about all of them While living in Florida Sylvia often saw dolphins Sometimes dozens of them would swim near the shore by her house She wanted to join them in the water She liked how they swam quickly
As a young girl Sylvia longed to swim like dolphins free i n t h e w a t e r and beautifully Young Sylvia wanted to see well underwater just like dolphins could instead of feeling the sting of saltwater in her eyes And she wanted to be able to breathe without having to lift her face out of the water Sylvia got her wish She quickly learned she could see underwater by wearing a diving mask It kept the 9
