Early Risers Can Enjoy Hatchling Walks

These tours offer a look at the sea turtle conservation efforts and research programs on Jekyll Island. Early morning risers will explore barrier island ecology while visiting the island’s active turtle nests. The tours include opportunities to assist with data recording and to witness a nest excavation of a hatched nest!
Walks will be conducted on Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday throughout August, and September (Walks after mid-September are tentative based on hatching and may be cancelled). Time varies between 7am-10am, depending on the tide. Location will also vary depending on which nest has hatched and is ready to be excavated.
Participants will be asked to meet at the designated site 15-30 minutes prior to the walk to check-in (you will receive a phone call a couple of days before your walk with directions to the site) and gather as a group with the Walk Guide to begin the walk on time. The walk will consist of a 30-minute beach ecology walk/talk leading up to an active nest that has been hatching on its own for a minimum of 5 days. The group will be met by the Turtle Patrol Interns who will conduct the post-hatching excavation on the nest. Group size is limited in order to maximize the experience for participants and in compliance with Georgia Department of Natural Resources permit restrictions.

Cost is $10 adults (ages 13+), $5 children (12 and under). Price does not include general admission to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center)
*Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, visit www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org or call the Georgia Sea Turtle at 912-635-4444.

Arribada Adventures

Looking for something fun and educational to do as a family this summer? Come join us for Arribada Adventures at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center! While sea turtle biologists typically use the term “arribada” to describe the mass nesting of hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center Education Team is using it to introduce our new summer programs! Arribada Adventures is geared toward families and has been designed for turtle enthusiasts both young and old! These two hour programs will introduce you and your little hatchlings to Georgia’s turtles! Become an expert Turtler through hands-on activities, games, crafts, and outdoor exploration. Space is limited and reservations are required. For registration and location information, please call 912-635-4444.

Cost: $10/adult, $5/child*. Saturdays 9:00am -11:00am
*Please note that price does not include general admission to the Center.
August 2: Lend ‘em a Flipper
Learn how YOU too can help our fine, flippered friends by participating in a beach sweep and creating
recycled sea turtle art.
August 9: Giving Sea Turtles a Chance
Come learn what the Georgia Sea Turtle Center is doing to help sea turtles. Participate in a mock sea turtle rescue and learn what we do to rehabilitate a turtle!

Education and Conservation

Georgia Sea Turtle Center Educators Alicia Marin and Sarah Mathias had the opportunity to attend and present at the National Marine Educators Association Conference, One World, One Water held in Savannah this year. Sarah presented “Swim into Learning with Sea Turtles,” an update on the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and the education programs we offer children. Alicia presented her Masters Thesis, “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtle: Educating Caribbean Youth through Nonformal Environmental Education.”
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center Education Department is proud to announce that during their first year of operation, approximately 4500 children from 78 individual schools! With that in mind we greatly look forward to the upcoming school year and encourage teachers to bring their students to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for a visit.
If you are an educator interested in arranging a trip and lesson at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, contact the Center at 912-635-4444.

Tags: arribada adventures, conservation, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, hatchling walks, jekyll island, jekyll island georgia, nature tours, sea turtle education, sea turtles
Posted in August 2008, Beachscape | No Comments »

On Jekyll Island, conservation is paramount. Great golf courses are pretty important, too. It has not always been easy for golf course managers to balance the demands of golf with their responsibility to the natural environment. Now, the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP) offers golf courses a way to protect the environment using low or no cost management practices. The ACSP for Golf Courses is an education and certification program that promotes ecologically sound land management and the conservation of natural resources on establishedgolf courses.John Niedhardt and Jim Curry, golf superintendents for the Jekyll Island Authority, have used the program to blend environmentally responsible maintenance practices into their day-to-day operations. They followed the Standard Environmental Management Practices set forth by the ACSP, which are the basis of the certification program. They include six major areas of attention: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management and Outreach and Education. Because of the steady efforts of Niehart, Curry and others, major progress has been made. This includes everything from reducing pesticide and fertilizer use to monitoring water quality, to adding bird nests along the golf course. As a result, the Pine Lakes Golf Course on Jekyll Island is very near to being certified. Golfer support of a course’s environmental management program is essential to its long term success, making Outreach and Education an important component of the certification process. Christa Frangiamore, conservation manager for the Jekyll Island Authority, has been working as part of the Jekyll Island team to complete these requirements of the certification process. As a means of educating the public while also improving the landscape, a wetland demonstration garden is being planned for the Pine Lakes Golf Course. “We are going to use a runoff retention pond to create an attractive wildlife garden that will host native plants and wildlife,” Frangiamore said. Several things will be accomplished using this educational tool. “We can show people an attractive and effective way to deal with rain water runoff,” said Frangiamore. “The garden will hold native wetland plants, and people can get ideas for their own landscaping projects.” The garden will naturally attract birds and butterflies thus aiding those volunteers who are compiling native species lists for butterflies, birds and “herps” (amphibians and reptiles). Most of the work to make the Pine Lakes Golf Course a top notch, environmentally responsible golf course has been done. The addition of the wildlife garden and several other planned Outreach and Education initiatives will help push the Pine Lakes Golf Course a step closer to certification.

Tags: conservation, environment, green, Jekyll Island gold, pine lakes
Posted in Beachscape, June 2008 | No Comments »