By Juliana Riverin
Staff Writer
Costa junior Nico Heyning is making quite the splash in the South Bay’s ocean-loving community.
Heyning recently began to pursue his passion for the sea by volunteering with a variety of whale-watching programs throughout Southern California.
“When I am by the ocean, it is relaxing. I don’t think about school or what I am going to do afterwards, and I am really carefree and happy,” Heyning said. “Whale watching is fun, and it’s great that I get to do so much of it.”
Heyning is a photo identification intern at the Aquarium of the Pacific, is affiliated with Harbor Breeze whale-watching tours, and is a naturalist for the American Citation Society and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium tours. He spends about five and a half hours a week on whale watching tours, narrating excursions, providing private commentary or answering passenger questions.
“It is nice to be able to narrate and just talk to people,” Heyning said. “I have talked to people from Norway and Denmark, and I got to ask them about their experiences in their environments, which is always really interesting and fun.”
Heyning’s experience with the ocean and his interest in marine life have been prominent since he was young. During his childhood, Heyning participated in camps and activities at the Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium. He found this passion in large part due to his father, who was a marine biologist.
“I would say that my dad definitely got me into the ocean and marine life in general,” Heyning said. “Unfortunately, he died when I was really young, and since then it’s been up to me to stay in this loop and keep learning.”
In order to become involed with the programs, Heyning attended informational meetings, where volunteers compare notes and sightings in order to improve their knowledge of marine life. He also learned from people he knew that were already involved professionally.
“At first I was just hanging around and talking to some friends who actually worked in the field, and as time went on I realized that I really wanted to do more, so I started to go to meetings to get involved,” Heyning said.
According to Aquarium of the Pacific guide Eric Austin Yee, Heyning’s dedication to and love for the ocean and its wildlife is evident due to the quality of his work at the Aquarium.
“Nico is a highly valued asset in this area,” Yee said. “He is very well read, he knows what he’s talking about and is great to have along. He is also an example of a young person excelling in prospective fields early.”
In addition to his basic duties, Heyning utilizes his involvement in the whale-watching programs to help him find subjects for his photography. His subjects include whales, dolphins, sea birds and other animals he sees while on excursions. His pictures can be viewed on his personal Facebook page.
“I really wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do in that kind of setting,” Heyning said. “When you’re out on the water, you never know what you’re going to see, so being able to capture that moment is both really challenging and really fulfilling to me.”
Heyning plans to pursue an ocean-related career, such as a marine-life photographer, professional whale-watch tour employee or ocean researcher. He believes his involvement as a photo identification intern and naturalist will help him achieve his goals in the future.
“Even though I’m not sure what exactly I want to do, getting involved with these programs has made me realize that the ocean is my natural element, and I really want to work in a field relevant to that,” Heyning said.
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