Meet Our Members:
Katherine Wolf and Stephanie Trautmann are Manatee BFFs
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| (l-r) Working together, Stephanie Trautmann and Katherine Wolf raised funds for manatee protection, wrote letters to their U.S. representatives, donated books to their school library, and helped educate others about manatees. (Photo courtesy Katherine Wolf & Stephanie Trautmann) |
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Katherine Wolf and Stephanie Trautmann might be described as BFFs (Best Friends Forever).The Oklahoma students have known each other for eight years and enjoy talking on the phone and other activities such as cooking, bike riding, fashion design, and swimming. But Katherine and Stephanie are not only friends to each other. They are best friends to manatees, too.
It was about three years ago when Katherine’s aunt told the girls about manatees. A St. Petersburg, Florida, resident, she would see manatees in a canal while running near the ocean every day. “When I heard about the cause, I was definitely interested,” said Katherine. “I visited the SMC web site every day and then decided I wanted to adopt Whiskers to keep him and other manatees safe. Animals are very close to my heart – especially manatees. I care about them so much!”
In addition to adopting Whiskers, a winter resident at Blue Spring State Park, near Orange City, Florida, Katherine also adopted Flicker, a manatee frequently seen in the Tampa Bay area. Stephanie chose to adopt Brutus, another Blue Spring manatee. Fascinated with the topic of manatees, the two students collected manatee photographs, articles, and poems. But in addition to learning about manatees, they were determined to do something to help protect them.
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By hosting a walk-a-thon (top photo), Katherine and Stephanie raised over $400 for manatee protection efforts (below with the donation box from the event). (Photo courtesy Katherine Wolf & Stephanie Trautmann)
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Putting together a notebook with all their manatee-related materials, Katherine and Stephanie wrote down their ideas about public awareness and research projects. They decided to start by teaching other students about manatees and to help raise funds for their protection. They made posters and flyers, and did presentations at their school to encourage other students to learn about manatees and join the Adopt-A-Manatee program.
“One of our biggest accomplishments was a walk-a-thon,” said Stephanie. “We invited all our friends and fellow students. We had food, drinks, and a good time.” The two girls created a donation box and ended up collecting $445 for Save the Manatee Club’s manatee conservation efforts.
In addition to the walk-a-thon, Katherine sold cookies and beverages door-to-door in her neighborhood, and both girls have supported Save the Manatee Club’s efforts by purchasing merchandise from the manatee gift catalog. “Over these three years with all of our fundraising together and separately, we have raised $822,” said Stephanie.
In addition to their fundraising projects, Katherine and Stephanie donated three books on manatees to their school library. They also wrote letters to their U.S. representatives, encouraging them to keep the Endangered Species Act strong for manatees and other endangered animals, and they encouraged other students to do the same.
A Manatee Poem
In shallow waters they live,
But not for long,
For they are endangered,
(Why I am singing this song)
These big friendly creatures,
With a flat paddle-shaped tail,
Are all dying off,
So please choose to sail!!!
For motor boats are hurting them,
Scarring them for life,
Cutting them with motors,
Which feels like being
stabbed with a knife.
Something has to be done,
To help these creatures in the blue,
Everyone can pitch in,
Including me and you.
--Stephanie Trautmann |
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Last winter, Katherine got to travel to Florida to see manatees in the wild for the first time. She visited Blue Spring State Park and also Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Homosassa, Florida. “I loved the serene feel of Blue Spring,” she says. “The first thing I saw was the bubbles of the manatee breathing out. When I actually saw their bodies, it was amazing. I met a lady there who worked by tracking manatees that had been released from captivity. She was tracking Rocket at the time, and I got to hold the tracking device!”
Energetic, hardworking, and industrious: these are all words that could be used to describe Katherine and Stephanie in their quest to help endangered manatees. And they’ve grown closer in the process. “We have done many things supporting the manatees these past three years,” says Katherine. “Our conservation efforts for the manatees have definitely made us become better friends.”
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| At Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida, Katherine got to see manatees in the wild for the first time. At right, she holds a manatee tracking device after meeting a manatee researcher at the park. (Photo courtesy Katherine Wolf) |
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