Where Wildlife Cross

On April 20, I witnessed a terrible thing. A mother duck and her babies were trying to cross the freeway to get to Lake Los Carneros. My family tried to safely stop traffic, but it didn’t work. Only some people stopped, and I had to watch the baby ducks get run over.

After seeing this, I was extremely sad.

I feel that Goleta needs an animal crossing bridge for the wildlife to cross the freeway safely. Animals’ homes are being destroyed to make houses and streets for people. So we need our city planners to be aware of the impact that construction will have on our wildlife, and consider building safe passages for them.

I never want to see baby ducks get run over again! I would like people to drive safely and slow down when driving. I would also like the City of Goleta to build a wildlife bridge for the animals to cross.

Maile Valdez is 10 years old and a fourth-grader.