Mermaid Echo promotes water conservation through shows at Discovery World

Swimming along with the underwater creatures in Discovery World’s Reiman Aquarium, you may see an unusual sight: a person with lavender hair, covered in blue and purple scales and sporting a shimmering tail.

“A mermaid!” screamed children at the show, their faces lighting up.

It's Mermaid Echo, or Pierce VanValkenburg, a freshwater sciences graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, promoting environmental conservation through underwater performances — and making children's imaginations come to life.

Lessons 'Under the Sea'

Throughout the show, a narrator read from a script written by VanValkenburg. The goal: to spread environmental awareness to the audience in a fun and creative way.

At one point, Mermaid Echo sneezed, showing that she — and the fish around her — were feeling sick. The children had to wave lights in the direction of floating objects to help her pick up the trash and clean the ocean.

"Oh, look, what did Mermaid Echo find?" asked the narrator, as Mermaid Echo picked up an object.

"A fork!" the children replied. And, for one child, "a dinglehopper" in reference to "The Little Mermaid" movie, where the mermaid Ariel used the fork as a comb.

As the kids helped Mermaid Echo find the trash that was polluting the water, Echo also interacted with the children by playing "rock, paper, scissors" or waving and giving high-fives.

A love for the water

VanValkenburg's love for the water stems from an early age. Growing up on the St. Croix River, on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, VanValkenburg said they and their family spent “every spare moment” on their family boat called “Messing About.”

“We spent more time on the back of the boat than we did on land,” VanValkenburg said. “It was, I think, an infatuation with water, everything about it since a very young age, and it just certainly hasn't gone away.”

While their family would go to the shallow waters of the river to relax, VanValkenburg said they remember asking to anchor out deep.

“I wanted to dive off the boat and dive as deep down as I could, hold my breath for as long as I could and spend as much time underwater trying to find the big, scary fish,” VanValkenburg said.

One of VanValkenburg's favorite childhood memories is learning how to sail on her grandparents' boat, "Murmur."

“I'll always remember the sound of the waves coming up against the bottom of the boat and the wind in your hair and just spending time with your parents. It’s all so exhilarating," VanValkenburg said.

Becoming a mermaid — and a scientist

VanValkenburg said they decided to pursue an education in freshwater sciences at UW-Milwaukee, as they wanted to teach children about conservation, but didn’t have the science background.

“I used to joke and say, ‘Well, I can't be a scientist so I'll just become a mermaid’ and get kids to care about aquatic environments,” VanValkenburg said. “I thought it wasn't for me, but now I've sort of proven myself wrong.”

Once VanValkenburg graduates in December, they will be able to call themselves a scientist.

Making connections through the MerNetwork

VanValkenburg said they have been in the mermaid community for over 10 years, and have been running their own business — Mermaid Echo Entertainment — since 2016.

When VanValkenburg started performing in 2012, they made connections through the MerNetwork website, which they described as "Facebook, but for mermaids."

"It was just like hundreds of different threads and a big forum that you could go and learn about what everyone was doing," VanValkenburg said.

VanValkenburg said her biggest inspiration was Mermaid Reina, now a friend and mentor.

"At the time, she was just a stranger on the internet. I bought all of her books," VanValkenburg said. "And she had a website series on YouTube called 'So You Want to Be a Mermaid.' I consumed that like candy. I was just addicted to it."

Mermaid friendships

As the Mermaid Echo company grew, VanValkenburg began making new friendships and connections through events and social media.

VanValkenburg met one of her best friends, Rachal Kennedy, when they connected on TikTok. Kennedy performs as a mermaid for some of Mermaid Echo's events, and is certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.

"We just got to interact a little bit more one-on-one and just kind of became fast friends behind each other on social media. And it kind of just kept going from there," Kennedy said.

Kennedy said her favorite part of performing is seeing the joy on everyone's face, especially when they are "buying into the magic of it all."

How does Echo perform underwater?

"A lot of people ask me how I hold my breath or am I breathing? And the answer is I'm not breathing underwater," VanValkenburg said.

VanValkenburg practices "free diving" — building tolerance to the carbon dioxide levels in their body. They also practice dynamic apnea — another term for holding your breath underwater. They said they can typically hold their breath for about one minute to one minute and 30 seconds.

"The biggest struggle that I face is 'How can I put on a show that looks like I'm completely comfortable and under the water is my home?' when really I'm struggling to hold my breath because I'm shivering or it's just all around a very difficult job," VanValkenburg said.

VanValkenburg has a safety team of four to five people who look out for their safety, such as "mertenders" who work behind the scenes.

"I act as a set of legs when Pierce (Echo) is in tail," said Aidan Livingston, one mertender. His tasks can include acting as line manager, photographer, providing snacks or assisting with transportation.

Another difficulty VanValkenburg faces is not being able to see or hear while underwater. While the announcer reads from the script — with games and tricks incorporated throughout — VanValkenburg has no way of knowing where the other person is.

"If you've ever been on a stage during a performance and you have the lights on you and you can't see the audience, that's exactly what it looks like underwater," VanValkenburg said. "If it looks like it's easy, if it looks natural, then I'm doing my job right. If it looks hard and you're seeing the struggle, then you kind of lose the magic and the immersion."

Lasting effect on kids is what it's all about

Livingston said his favorite part of the job is leaving a positive impact of these kids.

"Whether it comes from like, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm seeing a mermaid in real life' or actually passing on the lessons about environmental conservation, I've been able to see not only that impact in the moment, but also how it reverberates," Livingston said.

For example, Livingston said he will sometimes connect with someone who has seen Mermaid Echo perform.

"Sometimes they'll say like, 'My kid still reminds me I have to use reusable bags and not the plastic ones at the grocery store,'" Livingston said. "Having that much of a positive impact on the future generation has to be one of the most gratifying things about this job."

VanValkenburg said they plan to continue building their business by creating a traveling tank show, which they are working on with the Madison School of Engineering.

“I hope to continue doing it as long as it's fun,” VanValkenburg said.

Contact Skyler Chun at schun@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @skylerchun_.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mermaid Echo performs at Discovery World, promotes water conservation