The Jekyll Island Authority is celebrating the two year anniversary of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and the 2009 sea turtle nesting season with a week-long series of family-fun activities. Advanced registration is required for some of the events and can be found at www.jekyllisland.com/nestfest.
Monday, June 8
Georgia Sea Turtle Center - Two Years Later and Beyond
5:30-7:00, Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Meet the staff at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for a private tour of the Center and a discussion with Dr. Terry Norton, Director of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, on success stories and accomplishments from the past two years plus their vision for the future.
FREE with paid admission to the Center. Reservations Required.
Tuesday, June 9
Turtles Are Not the Only Animals that Nest on Jekyll Island - A discussion with Jim Gertis, Beekeeper, and Lydia Thompson, Birding Enthusiast.
5:30 - 7:00, Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Learn from Jim Gertis and Lydia Thompson about other animals that nest on Jekyll Island. Jim will give information on bee keeping and the natural benefits of honey. Lydia will speak on Wilson’s Plovers, savvy little birds that nest on Jekyll Island’s beaches and have a unique social structure.
FREE with paid admission to the Center. Reservations Required
Wednesday, June 10
Movie Night, Finding Nemo
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Join staff from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for a movie night at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Bring you favorite sea life stuffed animal, blanket or sleeping bag, and watch this classic under-the-seas movie.
FREE. Reservations Required
Thursday, June 11
Beach Sweep
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Jekyll Island Beachdeck
Help us clean the Jekyll Island beach so that the sea turtles have pristine nesting grounds.
FREE
Friday, June 12
Breakfast with Scute and Pajama Tour
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM, Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Join the staff from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center along with Scute the Sea Turtle for a delicious breakfast and tour of the Center - in your pajamas! All kids are invited to wear their pajamas as they watch the turtles rise and shine for their day.
$11 per person. Includes admission to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Reservations Required.
Saturday, June 13
Nest Fest Party at the Beachdeck
12:00 Noon - 4:00 PM, Jekyll Island Beachdeck
Join the staff at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for an afternoon of interactive educational activities, arts and crafts, and fun on the beach. Vendors and exhibitors from various organizations in the Brunswick-Golden Isles region will also be present with hands-on exhibits. Kids can test their skills in the always popular Turtle Crawl obstacle course. Plus, one or more of the rehabilitated patients from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center will be released.
FREE
In addition to all these great activities, kids can visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and have their picture taken with Scute or vote on their favorite sea turtle patient to win Patient of the Year. Votes are accepted throughout the month of June. The winner will be announced online on July 2. For more information on any of these activities contact the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at 912-635-4444 or visit www.jekyllisland.com/nestfest. Be a fan of Nest Fest on Facebook.com.
Tags: Georgia Sea Turtle Center, georgia sea turtles, green sea turtles, jekyll island beach, jekyll island beachdeck, Jekyll Island Events, jekyll island hotels, jekyll island sea turtles, Jekyll Island vacations, kemps ridley sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, Nest Fest, sea turtle nesting, sea turtle nests, terrapin turtles, turtle conservation
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Marine debris and derelict fishing gear have severely negative impacts on sea turtles and other wildlife, locally and throughout the world. Recently, I assisted in a Northern Right whale disentanglement effort. Right whales spend the winter months in Georgia and northeast Florida waters. In the wild, only 300 of these amazing creatures remain. Many become entangled in fishing gear where they reside in northeastern Atlantic waters. This particular whale had become entangled in derelict lobster pot gear wrapped around its head and mouth. The ropes were embedded very deep into the skin. Two days of intense efforts by a number of experts have been unsuccessful in removing the entangled gear and the whale’s survival depends on it’s removal. This amazing disentanglement team consisting of several individuals, including three local GADNR staff, will continue the gear removal efforts. Like the Northern Right whale, Leatherback sea turtles become entangled in lobster pot gear and the outcome is often fatal. Another example of fishing gear that has huge impacts on a population level is crab traps and their effect on diamondback terrapins. Traps are often abandoned and left in marsh waters where diamondback terrapins reside.
Baited with fish, the traps become a significant threat to foraging diamondback terrapins that find their way into the traps and drown. A simple clip, known as a Terrapin Excluder Device, helps keep these terrapins out of crab traps and part of a viable population. Our colleagues at the University of Georgia recovered a trap in a coastal Georgia creek containing 90 drowned terrapins. This is only one trap and there are thousands more out there.
Jekyll Island volunteer citizens have teamed up to coordinate the first annual Easter Egg Stroll on April 11. The Stroll is a laid back alternative to the Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Festival previously held. It is geared toward young children ages 6 and under. All eggs will be numbered and will have to be redeemed for prizes at the Easter Egg Stroll Information Booth located near the Sweet Shoppe. One unspecified number will merit a grand prize. There will be 12 of these lucky grand prize eggs hidden. Otherwise small prizes will be awarded based on the number of eggs found, with a limit of 20 per child. Once the eggs are redeemed for prizes, they will be re-hidden for other children to find throughout the afternoon. The event is free; for more information, contact the Jekyll Island Visitor Information Center at (912) 635-3636.