Hello, my name is Cherilyn. What do a sea otter pup, a captive octopus and a wild humpback whale have in common? Me!
I’ve held a 3-day-old sea otter pup in the palm of my hand, taught a captive octopus to open a jar for food, and snorkeled with a humpback mother and calf, among other ocean animal adventures.
I started this blog in October of 2009 when I was pregnant with my daughter and on full bed rest.
He came to me out of the blue, my muse, Ollie the Octopus. When I wrote as him, I knew I had found that ever elusive writing voice. I have since expanded to writing as other marine animals, and have given them a voice on the many changes happening to their watery world.
My background as a marine biologist is as an aquarist—someone who takes care of aquatic animals living in aquariums. I currently take care of a 13,300 gallon freshwater tank that’s 20 feet wide and 12 feet deep. Yup, it’s so big that it has to be cleaned by scuba diving!
I’ve also worked at the world renown Monterey Bay Aquarium, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, and the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center.
I try and take a scuba diving or snorkeling vacation each year and have visited the heavenly coral reefs off of Indonesia, went diving with the gentle and intelligent manta rays off of Hawaii and went snorkeling with the other gentle giants of the ocean, the whale sharks off of Cancun, Mexico.
Who knows what other wonders I’ll see in the ocean in the coming years? You can be sure I’ll share my experiences here!
I’m currently writing children’s books and stay tuned here at Ocean of Hope for updates!
To get in touch with me, email: ollieoctopus (at) sbcglobal (dot) net
You have a real talent for writing. Thank you for getting the message out about protecting the oceans and all its creatures.
Hello,
I am really impressed with your blog as well as the contents in your blog. I would say your posts are really excellent. I appreciate the way you are maintaining it. Since I am impressed with your blog, I am keen on to submit my content on your blog (as guest post) along with my website link. I normally write in accordance with academic and non-academic related topics. Please tell me if you can accept guest posts and I will be so happy to share my content to publish in your blog. I guarantee you with 100% original and good quality content.
Regards,
Vanessa
A new book “beneath the surface: tales of a sailing marine biologist” tells stories of adventure in Pacific islands and threats to marine species, particularly those on which we depend for seafood. 94 illustrations of marine species and ocean systems. Available on bookdepository.com
Dear Cherilyn,
Falmouth Water Stewards has launched a campaign against the use of plastic straws due to the pollution they produce in the oceans and the harm they cause to sea life. “Save the Seas, Skip the Straws”: https://netivist.org/campaign/plastic-straws-pollution Since you are someone highly concerned about water pollution and marine life we wanted to ask you if you could share with your readers and followers this campaign in case they want to give their support (no donations, simply signatures to raise awareness). We strongly believe it is important to bring this topic to the center of public opinion as plastic straws are really harmful for the environment and in particular for our seas.
Thank you very much for your collaboration,
Best wishes,
Jose