what can we do to help?

Roy tries to tell his school friends about conservation and paying attention to the world around them, but they have no frame of reference. He gets really discouraged sometimes, which is why we want to help him with this project. He'll be so pleased that you like his pictures! He's already informed me that he's going to need lots of paper,pencils and markers.
 
Sounds as if your kid is going through some of the same things I went through as a kid, although conservation was less my thing than the more experimental, theoretical aspects of science.

Perhaps you can find a nature center in your community that has educational programs. I used to volunteer at one as a wee rugrat and there were programs for kids of all ages.

The disappointment is going to happen. Prepare him to encounter more of it as he gets older, if he's in similar shoes to the ones I'm in. This will not only help him conserve his energy, but will also steer him toward those who will be his allies. Help him learn to seek out those who care about similar things.
 
Sound like you are doing the right thing already, supporting him. Take him to you local aquarium and they have different kinds of support programs and later when he is older then he can volunteer part time to learn more about what his passion might be; save the whales or help the sea turtles. Good job! so few really care.
 
It's nice to hear stories of other people's youthful struggles. I'm going to let Roy read today's posts when he gets home today. We are making plans this summer to start taking him to are closest state park on the coast. Unfortunately, we don't have an aquarium close by, but I'm sure we ca locate some resources.
 
I take it he has been watching the Discovery channel lately? The had a show on about giant squids and the Whales that eat them. They caught one of the giants alive for the 1st time ever and showed it on film. They did kill it to get the proof they wanted and show it to the world, maybe that is what he is trying to save?
 
Yep...Architeuthis is pretty much a staple here at our house. Roy's ultimate dream would be to work with Steve O'Shea someday. Right now we're just working on getting through second grade though! I think Roy would rather do "field work" than homework. We have to keep telling him that he has to learn the basics now so that he can do bigger things later on.
Drawing the pictures is one of his ways to study the animals and sort of "get to know" them, I think.
 
I don't know if Steve O'Shea is coming to TONMOCON, but plan on coming to TONMOCON in October! It's in DC this year.

I am hoping at least one dissection happens, and I'm hoping they use a Humboldt squid from Squids4Kids. If nobody else more qualified steps up to do the dissection (because I'm still an undergrad), I will do it myself, since I've cut into seven of these things before. (I think it might also be fun, for those kids and young-at-heart adults, to make a tentacle print or, if there's enough ink, an ink blot.)

Has he expanded his interest to other cephalopods, such as the Giant Pacific Octopus or the common cuttlefish?
 
He is concerned about sea life in general, but I would say that the giant squid is his favorite. He actually ha been drawing them for a while now. It's only been recently that we found the Discovery documentaries. He's very worried about the squid and also the whales...no squid and whales can't eat. I
Actually think our conservation efforts may be leaning towards protecting open-ocean and deep water species. I found two really interesting orgs. this morning...'Global Bioderversity Initiative', and 'High Seas Conservation.org'. Anyone heard of them before?
 
Roy actually does like giant octopus, Humbolt squid and cuttlefish. In fact, he and his little sister have a model of a giant octopus that battle with their
giant squid and sperm whale models! We got them from "Leave Only Bubbles". By the way..TONMOCON us on the calendar. It would be awesome to do some squid dissecting!
 
I've never heard of those places. But, now that you've mentioned them I'm forced to look em' up. :tongue:

Wow, that's so cool that you care so much about this topic! *glares at own parents*
 
I think my last replies got lost...sorry! Great pictures, by the way. Archituethis and Mesonychotuethis are frequently sighted fighting undersea battles in our living room!
Roy and his sister also throw in a sperm whale and giant pacific octopus...just to even the odds. He loves all things "ocean", but definitely has a soft spot for the big squid. He's worried about open-ocean bottom trawling as it relates to the squid populations being able to have a safe place for their eggs...no squid leads to bad news for the whales.
 
Got your pm, and sent a message back. Guess I should have looked for
this morning's post on page 2.
Too much squid on the brain, I guess. Ha! Anyways, I spent some time researching online this afternoon and spoke to a nice young marine biologist at marinebio.org...it's a great sight...very informative! He gave me some leads to follow on open ocean conservation. Gonna check them out tonight.
 
That is a lot to be worried about for a 8 year old. Good that he cares but remind him that the sea and life have a way of working things out and that everything will be ok in the end. God has a way of making things work out!:wink:
 

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