The 2018 Turtle Patrol Season will begin with the New Member Orientation and Kick-Off Meeting on Thursday, April 5 at the Lake House. The New Member Orientation will be held in the Osprey I conference room at 6:00 pm and the Kick-Off Meeting will be held in the Live Oak Hall at 7:00 pm. The New Member Orientation provides an overview of the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol activities and the Kick-Off Meeting provides an overview of the upcoming season and the opportunity to schedule beach walking days and order Turtle Patrol T-Shirts.
The purpose of the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol is to protect and preserve the sea turtles that visit our beaches. 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. The beach patrols begin in early May. 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 900 nests on our beaches and the number of nests has been growing. During the last 27 years, sea turtles have deposited over 100,000 eggs on Seabrook Island and over 80,000 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, siturtlepatrol.com or check out our Facebook page under Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol. You can also contact Patrol Leader Terry Fansler at terry@carettasway.com with any questions.
–Tidelines Editor