The Floating Forest

by Linda Chapman

  “What are we going to do?” Luna asked anxiously. “We can’t let them be eaten. We just can’t!”

  “Why don’t we see if the orcas are still there?” said Marina. “They might have gone.”

  Using Naya’s light, they swam back down the dark tunnel to the crack in the rocks.

  “Who’s going to have a look out there?” said Coralie, staring at the entrance. “The orcas could be lurking, just waiting for something to appear.”

  Sami let go of Marina’s hair and bobbed towards the opening. He looked at it and back at the rest of them.

  “OK, you go, Sami,” said Marina. “If there are any orcas, they won’t be interested in eating a seahorse. You’re much too small. But be careful – they could squash you.”

  Sami nodded hard and swam out. They waited nervously. A few minutes later, he returned. He looked happy and relieved and motioned with his head that they should follow him.

  Swimming cautiously through the opening, they looked around and saw that there was no sign of the killer whales. They must have given up and moved on. Coralie noticed something else too.

  “The water’s lighter,” she pointed out.

  Naya looked up. “The orcas are so big they must have pushed a lot of the surface kelp towards the shore as they swam through it. The water is much clearer and the sunlight’s getting through again – that will help the kelp grow back.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take the forest to regrow?” Coralie asked Naya.

  “Kelp grows quickly, but it’ll take a couple of months for it to get back to how it was, and be thick enough to stop the orcas coming so close to the shore,” Naya said. “Until then, all the animals here will be in danger.”

  “Oh, I wish we could make it grow back more quickly!” exclaimed Luna.

  Coralie stared at her. “We can! Naya, can’t we use your growing potion?”

  Naya’s eyes widened. “Yes! That’s a really foam-tastic idea!”

  “It is but there’s only one bottle,” Kai pointed out. “That’s not going to be enough to grow a whole forest back, is it?”

  Coralie’s heart sank. That was true. They’d be able to grow some of the kelp back super quickly, but not enough to keep the orcas away from the seals, sea lions and otters.

  “I can easily make some more,” said Naya, looking round. “All I need is kelp and mermaid powder.”

  “But we don’t have any mermaid powder here,” Coralie pointed out.

  “Oh, yes we do,” said Naya triumphantly, holding up her light. “The lights have got mermaid powder in! I can get the powder out of the jars I made you and that should give me just enough to make the potion I need to regrow the whole forest!”

  Marina whooped. “Naya, you’re a genius!”

  Coralie swam in an excited circle. “Let’s get started straight away!”

  Naya made her way to the sea lions’ headland and pulled herself up on to the rocks. She carefully emptied the mermaid powder from the unused jars on to a dry piece of seaweed and found a sharp stone. While she got everything ready, the others raced around, collecting kelp. The pets helped too, carrying it back in their mouths. Naya used the stone to grind the kelp up, and then scraped the green paste into the jars. She put a large pinch of mermaid powder into each jar, mixed it with the paste and added some seawater. “Done!” she declared at last. She gave the jars to her friends and took the original potion bottle out of her bag. “We’re good to go!”

  “Let’s spread out across the bay,” Marina suggested. “That way we’ll cover a bigger area. Coralie, you and Dash are the fastest so why don’t you swim over to near the otters? Luna, you stay here, by the sea lions, and the rest of us will fill in the gaps between you.”

  “Sprinkle a few drops on the kelp at the bottom of the ocean, swim quickly out of the way and then repeat!” Naya instructed.

  “Until the potion has gone and the trees have regrown,” said Coralie happily. “Let’s go, Dash!”

  They streaked away. By the time they had reached the rocks where the otters gathered, Coralie could already see flashes of light coming from behind them as the potion worked. The kelp grew instantly from small plants on the rocky bed to fully grown trees with canopies of healthy green fronds. It was great fun sprinkling the potion and watching the kelp shoot up to the surface.

  “Whoosh!” exclaimed Coralie as a clump of kelp sprang up next to her. She sprinkled a few more drops. “And whoosh again!”

  Dash whistled gleefully and turned a somersault.

  When Coralie had used up her potion, she swam back to the others.

  “We did it! We regrew the forest!” Marina declared as they sat on the rocks at the edge of the rookery and looked at the kelp forest now spreading out across the bay once more. Dash, Octavia and Tommy were playing chase in the water beside them while Melly lay next to Luna on the rocks and Sami bobbed around in the water by Marina’s tail fin. Behind them, the mother sea lions and their pups had come out of the treasure cave and were basking in the sun, the pups’ muzzles resting on the mothers’ backs.

  “And now the animals here will be safe from predators again,” said Luna.

  Coralie sighed happily. It was an amazing feeling to know that they had been able to help restore the forest. She couldn’t wait until she was old enough to spend her days travelling round the world, helping sort out environmental disasters.

  “You’re so clever,” Coralie said to Naya. “Your inventions completely saved the day.”

  Naya shrugged. “Pity I wasn’t smart enough to remember what a rookery was last weekend! We could have finished the treasure hunt then if I’d remembered.” She flashed a smile at Coralie. “Thank goodness you worked it out!”

  “But if we’d figured that out last weekend then we wouldn’t have been here to help Barney find his mum and help regrow the forest,” said Marina. “So it worked out for the best after all.”

  “What do you think we should do about the treasure?” Kai asked.

  For a moment, no one spoke.

  “Um…” Coralie didn’t want to upset the others but she had to say what she thought. “I actually think we should leave it here.” She rushed on before they could speak. “The sea lion pups like playing with the treasure so it should stay put. It’s part of their lives and their habitat.”

  A look of relief crossed her friends’ faces.

  “I was thinking exactly the same thing!” said Kai.

  “Me too,” agreed Marina.

  “If we take it home, it’ll just be put in a museum. I’d rather we left it here for the sea lions,” said Luna.

  “It can be our secret,” said Naya. “No one else needs to know.”

  “The treasure stays!” Marina declared.

  They ate their lunch and watched the sea lions. As the sun started to edge downwards in the sky, the sea lions became more active again, diving into the water and playing games, sticking their heads up and barking at the girls and Kai.

  Barney came swimming over and stared at them. “I think he wants us to play with him,” said Luna.

  They dived into the ocean. Soon they were having races with the sea lion pups, weaving in and out of the kelp, then catching them and having whiskery sea lion kisses and cuddles. Coralie’s heart swelled with happiness. Treasure hunting had been good fun, but playing with the sea lions, her friends and their pets was even better!

  At last, it was time to make their way back to the reef. They all gave Barney a last stroke. He kissed Luna’s nose, then they said goodbye and headed back to the small whirlpool near where the otters lived.

  “I wish we didn’t have to leave the sea lions,” said Luna.

  “We’ll come back here,” said Coralie. “We’ll make sure we visit regularly so that if there’s another storm we can help repair the forest again.”

  Luna smiled at her. “Promise?”

  “Promise,” Coralie replied.

  Their work done, the friends dived into the whirlpool and came out by Mermaid
s Rock. After being in the cool green waters of the forest for so long, it felt strange being back in the warm, bright water of the coral reef. Shoals of fish were whizzing around and turtles were zooming through the water. Tired but happy, they headed for their homes. On the way they passed the cave where Glenda lived with her mum and dad. There were shrieks coming from inside.

  “I can’t go to school on Monday looking like this! Everyone will laugh. Do something, Mum!”

  Coralie glanced at the others and they swam closer, curiously.

  “There, there, sweetie,” they heard Glenda’s mum say soothingly. “It’ll soon fade.”

  Next they heard Glenda’s dad’s deep voice. “What I don’t understand is why you went into that cave, Glenda. Didn’t you see the cuttlefish?”

  “Only when I was inside, and then they all shot ink at me before I could get out! I told you – I went in because I thought there was treasure in there.”

  “But why did you think that?” Chief Razeem said, surprised.

  “I just did!” Glenda appeared in the cave entrance. “And now look at me!” she wailed.

  Coralie and the others gasped. Glenda’s blond hair and pale skin were now a dark grey. Hearing their gasps, she swung round and saw them. “You lot!” she exclaimed, swimming out of the cave and pointing angrily at them. “This is all your fault! It was your stupid map that led me into that cave!”

  Her mum and dad followed her out.

  “Map?” said Kai innocently.

  “Oh, Glenda, you didn’t find the map that we’d drawn, did you? It was just a game we were playing. It wasn’t a real treasure map, silly!” Marina added.

  Glenda shrieked in annoyance and the noise made the nearby merpeople look round. They started to point at Glenda and bite back smiles and chuckles.

  “Mummy! Everybody’s laughing at me!” Glenda wailed.

  “Let’s go back inside, sweetie,” said her mum, ushering her into the cave.

  Chief Razeem gave Coralie and the others a cross look and waved his hand at them. “Go on, move along! There’s nothing to see here.”

  They swam off. As soon as they were away from the cave, Coralie burst out laughing. “I guess our trick worked then!”

  “Better than we ever imagined,” said Marina. “I’ve no idea why Glenda went into the cuttlefish cave. We didn’t draw it on the map.”

  “She must have seen us going there the other day when she was spying on us and thought that might be where the treasure was hidden,” said Naya.

  “Poor Glenda,” said Luna. “She won’t like having grey hair for a few days.”

  “Maybe it will make her ink twice about spying on us again though!” said Coralie with a grin and for once everyone laughed.

  “It really has been an awesome day!” said Kai. “Regrowing a kelp forest, finding treasure…”

  “Escaping from orcas,” Marina put in.

  “And rescuing Barney,” added Luna.

  Naya’s eyes shone. “You know what, I can’t wait for our next adventure!”

  “If we work together, we can solve any mystery! The Save the Sea Creatures Club is the best!” said Coralie. She held up her hand and everyone high-fived her.

  “The very best!” they all exclaimed.

  Kelp forests are one of the most diverse environments in the ocean. They are home to a wide range of animals, including sea otters, gulls, sea lions, seals, whales and terns. The thick fronds provide shelter from predators, as well as food for hungry creatures!

  Kelp needs for light for photosynthesis. This means they are generally found in shallower water, of depths of around 12.5 to 40 metres. When conditions are good, kelp can grow up to 45 centimetres per day. Big storms can damage kelp forests. This usually happens over winter, and then the forest will start to grow again in the spring.

  It’s not just sea creatures that use kelp. We use it too! It can be found in everyday products such as shampoo, toothpastes and medicine.

  Bottlenose dolphins are playful, social and clever creatures! These speedy sea creatures can swim at over 30 kilometres per hour and communicate with each other using a variety of noises, including clicks and whistles.

  Dolphins use echolocation to see where objects are. They use their clicking sound to do this. Bottlenose dolphins can make up to one thousand clicks per second!

  Female dolphins are called cows, males are called bulls and young dolphins are called calves.

  There are over 35 species of dolphin of all different sizes – they range from one and half to almost ten metres in length!

  The blowhole on the top of a dolphin’s head helps it breathe.

  Sea lions, like dolphins, are social creatures. In the wild, they can live for around ten to fifteen years.

  Female sea lions weigh up to 115 kilograms and can grow to around two metres in length. Male sea lions can weigh up to 450 kilograms and grow to around three metres.

  Sea lions are rarely found alone. A group of sea lions on land is known as a colony. When they’re in the water, it’s called a raft.

  Sea lions’ bodies are perfectly designed for being in the water. Their smooth torpedoshaped bodies and powerful fins mean they’re quick through the water and can reach speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour. They can also walk on all four of their flippers!

  Orcas are sometimes known as killer whales but they are actually a type of dolphin.

  In the wild orcas can live for around fifty to ninety years.

  Orcas are one of the largest and most powerful creatures in the ocean and they are at the top of the food chain – there are no animals that hunt them.

  Orcas weigh up to 5,500 kilograms (roughly the weight of three cars!) and they eat around 227 kilograms of food a day.

  Orcas work together in a pod to hunt seals, fish, sharks and octopuses, among other animals, and they can swim at speeds of 48 kilometres per hour.

  Coralie loves telling jokes to her friends! Here are some sea-themed jokes that are shore to make you laugh… Can you think of any others?

  Why did the fish cross the sea?

  To get to the other tide.

  Why don’t crabs like to share?

  Because they’re shellfish!

  What does a dolphin say when its confused?

  Can you please be more Pacific?

  What does seaweed say when it’s stuck at the bottom of the sea?

  Kelp! Kelp!

  Where does a killer whale go for braces?

  To the orca-dontist.

  What do dolphins need to stay healthy?

  Vitamin Sea!

  Why are there fish at the bottom of the sea?

  Because they dropped out of school.

  Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?

  Because they spend years at C!

  How do a group of dolphins make a decision?

  They flipper coin!

  Why did the lobster blush?

  Because the sea weed.

  “Roll over, Tommy!” Kai said hopefully.

  Tommy, Kai’s hawksbill sea turtle, cocked his head to one side, his dark eyes puzzled.

  “Look, watch me, Tommy. When I say roll over, you do this.” Kai flicked the end of his red tail and rolled over and over in the warm turquoise water. “Now you try. Roll over and keep going until I say stop. Go on!”

  Tommy turned on to his back, pulled his head inside his gold-and-brown shell and stuck his stubby flippers straight up.

  “No! That’s playing dead,” Kai said in frustration. He pushed a hand through his thick dark hair. He’d been trying to teach Tommy to roll over for an hour now. It was the Spring Fair in just over a week and this year there was going to be a contest for the most talented pet. Kai really wanted to enter Tommy so he was trying to teach him some tricks.

  Just then a mergirl with a silvery-green tail came over. She had a little gold-and-yellow seahorse with her. Its tail was curled round a lock of her thick brown hair. “Hi, Kai. How’s it going?” she asked as Tommy righted h
imself and swam up to say hello. He nuzzled her with his armoured head.

  “It’s not going well at all, Marina,” admitted Kai as Marina gently scratched under Tommy’s chin. Kai and Marina had been friends ever since Marina had moved to Mermaids Rock with her father a few months ago. “Tommy just doesn’t seem to want to learn any tricks. So far I’ve tried teaching him to shake flippers, play dead and roll over and he’s not doing any of them when I ask, even though I know he can do them.”

  He suddenly realized that, although Marina was usually chatty and smiley, today she looked upset. “Are you OK?” he asked.

  Marina shook her head. “No. Not really. It’s my dad. He—”

  She was interrupted by a sneering laugh. “Are you seriously trying to teach that brainless turtle tricks, Kai Stormchaser? I don’t know why you’re bothering. You’ve got no chance in the pet talent contest!”

  Kai swung round. Glenda Seaglass, a mergirl with long blond hair, was watching them with her two friends, Jazeela and Racquel. Kai liked almost everyone who lived on the reef but not Glenda – she was as mean as a viperfish.

  “Tommy’s not brainless!” Marina protested.