Remorse comes out of its shell

June Casagrande

Somewhere in the sparkling depths of Corona del Mar’s tide pools is a

hermit crab that won’t have to go homeless thanks to one little girl.

City officials were surprised and touched recently when they

received an envelope from a Riverside County schoolgirl identified

only as Katherine. The envelope contained some plastic bubble wrap

carefully protecting its contents: two small seashells. There was

also a note.

“Dear friends. I am sorry I took these shells from the Corona del

Mar tide pool on April 12, 2004. I know that a hermit crab might need

these shells, so my teacher is sending them back to you. Can you

forgive me? Sincerely, Katherine.”

Hundreds of schoolchildren each year visit the city’s tide pools,

tiny and very fragile marine habitats home to starfish, sea anemones

and other creatures. Most children who tour the tide pools take part

in school tours guided by city tide pool experts who explain basics

of the delicate ecosystems and who emphasize Rule No. 1: Leave

everything alone. If every person who visited Corona del Mar’s tide

pools in a year each took a single shell or star fish, life there

could be destroyed in a short period of time.

“To me this says that we’re making an impact and that people are

realizing the importance of the tide pools and of not taking things

out of them,” said Cherie Schonfeld, who heads the tide pool

education program for the city.

Life in these habitats is very fragile. For example, if a person

innocently picks up a starfish to look at it, then carefully replaces

it, the starfish dies. The creatures have tiny suction cups that hold

them in place while they filter food from the water. When they are

picked up by humans, their suction-cup feet are torn off, killing

them.

What’s more, every little shell has a role to play in these

habitats: Empty shells provide homes for hermit crabs, the tour

guides explain.

“This little girl must have realized what she had done when it was

too late,” Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said. “It looks like she

got her teacher to help with the note. It was very cute.”

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.