Under the Sea
As aquarium director, Peggy Sloan is dedicated to conservation and educating the public about the state’s water worlds
Keeping the ocean healthy for future generations while providing a fun experience for families is a juggling act that Peggy Sloan, director of North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, does gracefully and gratefully.
Sloan marks her five-year anniversary as director in February, a position she embraced after working as the aquarium’s education curator for ten years previously. This unique perspective guides her mission as director.
As education curator, she spent time expanding the aquarium’s school and public programs.
Sloan who studied environmental science as an undergraduate and received her master’s degree in marine biology from University of North Carolina Wilmington has spent more than two decades in a career working with animals.
That includes time at the Dolphin Research Center and Brevard Zoo – both in Florida – before coming to the Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
While the aquarium director’s post involves overseeing its multimillion budget and exhibits, Sloan’s experience in conservation education influences her work now.
“With my education background, I’ve sort of chosen a field of communication and collaboration, and in a director’s role, I focus on trying to listen to all the stakeholders: our audience, our visitors, and internally, our staff,” Sloan says.
Engaging the public while educating them on critical issues of environmental concern is a balancing act that Sloan is tackling with a team that is ready for the challenge.
“We have an extremely talented staff who are just superstars. I get out of their way and support them because they are smart, passionate, and motivated, and I work to support them as best as I can,” she says.
According to Sloan, this means visitor experiences that educate and engage beyond the confines of the aquarium itself.
Fort Fisher’s Outreach program allows education staff to bring interactive programs to classrooms, groups, or events. Each program is adapted to fit the needs, age, and focus of a group with live animals and hands-on learning activities.
“It’s important to engage people on-site, but education comes in more critically off-site,” Sloan says. “We exist to foster an appreciation and educate about North Carolina’s aquatic environment. That’s our inspiration, and our outreach is a fantastic way to do that.”
Although the aquarium offers fun and entertaining exhibits, for Sloan, its tells a larger story about the mission-driven work that’s critical for the health of the ocean and all of its species.
“I believe what we do is important and that people come for the animals and choose to come to the aquarium because it’s a fun place to be, and we try to provide the most fun, engaging experience, but it can also be a transformative experience,”
Sloan says. “When they leave the aquarium, they know it’s important. And we want to move in a direction to use our community resources for a new exhibits to engage people with an animal that needs attention, so we can care for that animal, save that animal, and we include in our promotions and in our programs a conversation that we are saving a species, saving animals.”
Sloan understands there is a delicate balance when educating youth about such critical issues.
“It causes me a little anxiety because these are overwhelming problems of how you share that message and at the same time, make people feel good. We don’t want to scare them or make them feel bad. We’re not in a position to advocate, but we can inform,” Sloan says.
Providing stories like the bald eagle, having been delisted from the endangered species list, and focusing on such success can create a culture of conservation and stewardship, Sloan says.
“Fostering critical thinking skills in our auditorium presentations and conversations with a diver, such repeated contact through summer camps and our adult and teen programs, educating our board, staff, and public – all these layers of understanding builds a culture of understanding and empathy,” Sloan says. “These are all positive things we can do, simple things we can do that change the culture of caring and greater stewardship. Impacting the ethic and culture is a larger conversation and a larger decision, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Being a Wilmington resident for the past fifteen years enhances Sloan’s perspective and perception.
“There’s not a day that goes by when I pass the ocean on one side, the river on the other that I don’t think ‘I’m so lucky. I can’t squander this opportunity,’ and it is an opportunity,” Sloan says. “I don’t have any children of my own, but I have young family members, and there is so much beauty in the world, it has to be there for them. That is a responsibility.”
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher recently came to the aid of sea turtles injured by a dip in water temperatures.
The local aquarium was one of many facilities in the state that helped nurse sea turtles back to health after more than 600 were rescued off the North Carolina coast in early January. They had become sick from prolonged exposure to cold water.
Known as cold-stunning, it happens when sea turtles, which are reptiles and can’t control their internal body temperatures, are in frigid water temperatures over several days, affecting their circulatory system.
“Cold-stunned turtles become lethargic, experience decreased circulation and heart rates, and may die. They are susceptible to respiratory illness, animal attacks, bacterial, and fungal infections. Serious cuts and abrasions may occur if the animal is washed ashore,” aquarium officials say.
Though the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is not a sea turtle rescue facility, its staff had the expertise to help out, aquarium curator Julie Johnson says.
“This type of critical situation could negatively impact the vulnerable sea turtle population,” she says about the endangered animals.
With the large number of turtles, aquariums, wildlife groups, and rehabilitation facilities around the state took them in after the January event, including The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Surf City.
The Aquarium at Fort Fisher took care of eleven sea turtles, providing them medical care, special diets, and close monitoring. The aquarium scheduled special, behind-the-scenes tours last month so visitors could learn more about the patients during their recovery.
-Vicky Janowski
To view more of photographer Terah Wilson’s work, go to timelessfotographie.com
