“My heart pounded as I stood up from my chair and headed to the front of the dimly lit hotel conference room to stand behind the mic’d podium. I could feel eyes on me, wondering what the 18-year-old girl who hadn’t even started university yet was going to share at a symposium where the most renowned sea otter researchers and conservationists convene to present their research and work.
My ten-year-old self, the “Doctor Sea Otter” making YouTube videos about random sea otter facts couldn’t believe that I was now about to present my research to people I would read about in books and articles. I looked out into the audience and saw Gena Bentall, Michelle Staedler, Karl Mayer, and Dr. Melissa Miller, people who mentored me when I was just an interested kid, now watching me present my own research. I took a deep breath and began.
Last summer, in partnership with Sea Otter Savvy (SOS), I investigated the frequency, nature, and outcomes of surfer-sea otter interactions at two surfing hotspots on the Santa Cruz coast, Pleasure Point and Lighthouse Point. With the mentorship of Gena Bentall, the director of SOS, I collected data, analyzed it, and created a research poster summarizing my findings. These findings are what I shared at the Southern Sea Otter Research Update Meeting (SSORUM) this last April.
I am now a 19-year-old Freshman at California State University Monterey Bay studying Biology so that I may continue my passion for sea otter research and rehabilitation. The experiences I have had, such as the SSORUM have given me even more drive to follow my goals. I am grateful to the people who have believed in me and who helped me believe in myself. “ – Dakota Peebler, 19, H2OO Co-Founder & Global Youth Leader
DAKOTA
CALIFORNIA, U.S.