Story Info

Kleinschmidt
Valerie Kleinschmidt
Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA
2012

Story & Experience

I participated in an Earth Exchange on Dauphin Island, Alabama, which is located on Mobile Bay and in the Gulf of Mexico. A major research facility is there, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and they have been involved in studying the impacts of the oil spill since it occurred. The island was definitely affected by the spill. I arrived at the island at 7:30 a.m. with my fiancé Justo. We were there on patrol for sea turtle nests as part of the Share the Beach Volunteer Sea Turtle Program; we didn’t find any nests that morning. We went on a two-mile run on the beach—a healthy way to honor the Gulf. Then I swam and wrote a message in the sand, “Vibrant Gulf!” I also said a prayer for the Gulf, that more and more people become aware of their connection to the Earth and their responsibility to take care of it. The Bible speaks of our dominion over the natural world and I prayed for more people to realize that with great power comes great consideration. Thank you for hosting a worldwide Earth Exchange; I had a beautiful morning on Dauphin Island!

I participated in an Earth Exchange on Dauphin Island, Alabama, which is located on Mobile Bay and in the Gulf of Mexico. A major research facility is there, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and they have been involved in studying the impacts of the oil spill since it occurred. The island was definitely affected by the spill. I arrived at the island at 7:30 a.m. with my fiancé Justo. We were there on patrol for sea turtle nests as part of the Share the Beach Volunteer Sea Turtle Program; we didn’t find any nests that morning. We went on a two-mile run on the beach—a healthy way to honor the Gulf. Then I swam and wrote a message in the sand, “Vibrant Gulf!” I also said a prayer for the Gulf, that more and more people become aware of their connection to the Earth and their responsibility to take care of it. The Bible speaks of our dominion over the natural world and I prayed for more people to realize that with great power comes great consideration. Thank you for hosting a worldwide Earth Exchange; I had a beautiful morning on Dauphin Island!

Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA

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