It’s that time of year again: When the hard work that students and teachers have put into watershed education comes together in the annual Mokelumne Current. For those who missed it in the Lodi News-Sentinel, PDFs of each page of this year’s student newspaper are available here.
Every year, there are a number of students whose work is excellent, but simply can’t fit into the print version. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing their work here on the Lodi EEI blog.
Turtles were one of the topics this year’s student journalists gravitated toward. Page 8 of this year’s Current was turtles most of the way down, but here are some of the drawings and articles that we wish we could have included in the print edition.
Facts about turtles
By Kiley Bianchi / Reese Elementary School
Sea turtles have a carapace or upper shell that is streamlined to help in swimming. They have a lower shell, called a plastron. In all but one species, the carapace is covered in land turtles.
Sea turtles cannot retreat into their shell. They also have paddle-like flippers. Well their flippers are great for water they are poor for walking on land. They also breathe air, so sea turtles must come to the water surface when they need to breathe, which can leave
them vulnerable to boats.
Turtles at Lodi Lake
By Cristopher Colima / Heritage Elementary School
Have you ever visited the Lodi Lake Nature Area and seen all of the turtles that live there? If you haven’t, I recommend that you do visit.
Turtles have a hard shell to protect them from predators, and they use their shell as a shield. The turtle’s shell is called the carapace and the bottom half of turtles is called plastron. The shell can be made up of 60 bones, including portions of the backbone and ribs.
Turtles have existed over 215 millions years, and they can live longer than people and elephants. Some turtles are carnivores, while others are herbivores. Different turtle species can be very different sizes. For example, leatherback turtles can weigh 550 to 1,500 pounds, and be 6 to 7.2 feet long. On the other hand, the homopus signatus turtle weighs only around and is 2.4 to 3.1 inches.
Most turtles live in the water for their entire lives. Turtles use their jaws to cut food instead of teeth. Their jaws are covered by horny ridges.
Now that you know some facts about turtles, you may find your visit to Lodi Lake more interesting.