The 2017 Turtle Patrol Season will begin with the New Member Orientation and Kick-Off Meeting at the Lake House on Thursday, April 6th. The New Member Orientation will be held in the Osprey I conference room at 6:15 PM and the Kick-Off Meeting will be held in the Live Oak Hall at 7 PM. The New Member Orientation provides an overview of the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol activities and the Kick-Off Meeting allows members to sign up for the various volunteer opportunities and order their Turtle Patrol shirts.
Volunteer Opportunities
As always, there are many opportunities to volunteer. Here are some of them:
– Walkers – walk a section of the beach on an assigned day each week
– Inventory Team – assist in inventorying hatched nests
– Social Committee – assist with Patrol Social functions
– Education Committee – prepare and present educational materials
– Pre-Hatching Activity Team – maintain nests due to hatch
The purpose of the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol is to protect and preserve the sea turtles that visit our beaches. In order to accomplish this, members of the patrol walk the beaches every morning during the nesting and hatching season. The season typically runs from May until October. Generally, the beach patrols begin (appropriately!) on Mothers Day. During these walks, members identify and locate nests. The nests are then protected with screening and are recorded and monitored. When evidence of hatchlings occurs and sufficient time has passed to allow all hatchlings to emerge on their own, the nest is inventoried to collect data for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Since 1990, the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has identified over 850 nests on our beaches and the number of nests has been growing. During the last 26 years, sea turtles have deposited nearly 100,000 eggs on Seabrook Island and over 75,000 live hatchlings started their life journey on Seabrook Island sand.
To learn more about the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol and how you can help, go to the Patrol web site, or check out our Facebook page under Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol. You can also contact Patrol Leaders Terry Fansler at terry@carettasway.com or Beautsie Zahrn at beautsie2@gmail.com with any questions.
-Submitted by Gary Fansler