Jenny is excited to go to school these days. The 13-year-old girl from South Gate Middle School in Los Angeles, US, is taking care of three green abalones(鲍鱼) at school.
The students of Violeta Llamas' science class, including Jenny, have cared for the sea animals since January. The science class has eight teams. Each team takes turns to care for the abalones. Team Five—Jenny, Alexis, Jennifer and Ricardo—have now got their turn.
The abalones are kept in a box of seawater. Every day, Alexis checks if the water has too much salt. Too much salt is bad for the health of the abalones. Jenny makes fresh seawater. Then the four students work together to clean up the waste in the box and give some food to the abalones.
"Sea life is like a baby. You have to clean them and care for them. " Jennifer said.
Nancy Cruso, a scientist, leads the project. She said the number of green abalones is going down because people have caught too many of them. She said protecting the sea lives now depends on the young students.
"The students love taking care of the abalones. " said Llamas.
"Taking care of the abalones could open the door for those who want to be a sea life scientist or an environment protector," she said.
The students' time with the abalones will end this school year. Cruso and a team of volunteers will record the abalones and then let them return to the sea.
