Something random about me? I LOVE sea turtles. Seriously. Back in college, I was active with Alternative Breaks, a sweet volunteer program. I traveled to Romania with Habitat for Humanity, to New Orleans to help with clean-up post Hurricane Katrina, and even rescued sea turtles with the Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island, Florida.
Awesome, right? You see, sea turtles are endangered, and often don’t make it to the ocean alive thanks to us humans, pollution {especially from lights along the beach}, commercial fishing, and of course their natural predators. My job while volunteering was to travel the beach at 4 a.m. looking for eggs hatching and help the little ones make their way into the ocean.
I fell in love with these amazing creatures, so I got a tad bit excited when I learned Benson, a rescued green sea turtle was coming to live at SEA LIFE Michigan, the aquarium at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills.
We had fun re-visiting SEA LIFE to see him and I enjoyed telling my girls all about my passion for sea turtles!
ABOUT BENSON
Benson was stranded in 2014 at Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County, Fla., after being hit by a boat, which caused a shell fracture and induced a hypothermic reaction called cold-stunning. Benson was rescued by the doctors at the Georgia Sea Turtle Hospital in Jekyll Island, Ga., who have spent the last year nursing him back to health. While Benson is much healthier and stronger now, due to his injuries he will never be able to survive in the wild.
Benson will continue to receive monitoring as he adjusts to his new environment, and his food, consisting of cucumbers, green peppers and brussels sprouts, will be donated by The Kroger Co. of Michigan.
To learn more, visit this link.
VISITING BENSON
You can see Benson swimming around in the largest tank at SEA LIFE. When you visit, you may notice a black box on his back. This is a weight to evenly distribute the weight of his shell and help him swim properly. Due to his injury, he used to buoy up to the top of the water, which would have made him more susceptible to more boat injuries if he were still in the wild. {Poor baby! So thankful for science!}
WAYS TO SAVE ON YOUR VISIT
There are a few ways you can save money on your visit to SEA LIFE.
- Get buy one adult admission, get one child free with this Kroger deal {Thanks, B2B!}
- 20% off admission with the D Discount Pass {valid on up to four tickets}
- Check out a Michigan Activity Pass from your local library and receive $5 off standard entry up to six total tickets
- Buy tickets online and save 10%
Plan an adventure to the aquarium with these tips this summer and say hello to Benson!
What places are on your to-do list this summer?
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