By Ann Zalokoski-Monroe
We are not a family with many traditions and those we have are subject to change at a moment’s notice. One of our longest lasting traditions though began over a decade ago and, like some of life’s most meaningful events, it began accidentally.
I’m not sure why we decided to go to Fortescue that Father’s Day, but we found ourselves there walking along the narrow beach. We were saddened to see hundreds of horseshoe crabs wedged into the crevices of the rock breakwater or upside-down on the beach. Unmoving, they lay, presumably dead, baking in the sun. I don’t remember who first discovered that they were alive. Was some lion-hearted horseshoe crab still trying to maneuver his tail to get enough purchase in the sand to right himself or did one of us nudge one with our foot? I don’t know, but the discovery that they were alive turned a casual amble down the beach into a full-on rescue mission. We spent several hours flipping horseshoe crabs right-side up and digging through the rocks to pull out those that were impinged.
My daughter, too young at the time to dig around in the rocks with the rusted metal rods sticking up at odd angles, would run each rescued horseshoe crab to the water’s edge to save them the tiring journey across the beach and so that they would immediately feel the water and know that they had a second chance. Each rescued horseshoe crab was exhilarating and we felt like small gods. It was hard to stop knowing that there were still many in need of help, but our movements became clumsier as we grew tired and the threat of a moved boulder smashing a thoughtlessly placed hand or foot was real. Even with the knowledge that we didn’t save everyone, we still felt triumphant. We had done a lot. That feeling brought us back year after year on Father’s Day. We didn’t keep track of how many we rescued and we didn’t know that anyone else was doing it, that rescuing horseshoe crabs was “a thing”.
During a trip to the Wetlands Institute, my daughter and I found a flyer for reTURN the Favor (http://returnthefavornj.org), a New Jersey organization dedicated to rescuing horseshoe crabs, educating the public, and collecting data. Participating in their walks, which last from May until July 14th, has greatly added to what we’ve learned over the years. We’ll go back to doing the walks on our own, but now that we know what data to collect and to send it to reTURN the Favor, a new dimension has been added to our rescue missions. I encourage you to visit the reTURN the Favor website and participate in one of their listed walks, some of which allow you to walk beaches that are otherwise closed. You might even decide to make it a tradition.
