Looking for some family fun this summer? Join the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for Arribada Adventures!
  
Arribada Adventures is a family program designed for turtle enthusiasts both young and old! These two hour programs will introduce you and your hatchlings to Georgia’s turtles! Become an expert Turtler through hands-on activities, games, crafts, and outdoor exploration.
 
Saturday Mornings, 9:00am -11:00am
 
Cost: $10* for each participant**
  
*GSTC Members receive an additional 10% off.
 
**Please note that price includes general admission to the GSTC.
  
July 11
Cracking the Crawl – Become a sea turtle detective and learn how to identify tracks in the sand and who they belong to. Sea turtles are not alone out there on the beach. Explore the beach environment and discover other critters who call the dunes home.
  
July 18
Turtles on the Move – Where in the world do sea turtles go? They begin their lives on the beach and then spend the majority of their lives in the ocean. Sea turtle biologists use a variety of methods to follow sea turtles as they migrate through the ocean. Learn about the different tags we use and how you too can follow sea turtles online!
  
July 25
It’s Tough Being a Sea Turtle – Discover the not-so-glamorous part of being a sea turtle and the difficulties they face. Through interactive role play and games, participants will simulate how humans contribute to the pollution of the marine environment.
  
August 1
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 8
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 how we rehabilitate a turtle!
  

Space is limited and reservations are required. For registration and location information, please call (912) 635-4444.

Tags: arribada adventures, Beachscape, family learning, georgia beaches, georgia coast, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, georgia's jewel, jekyll island, Jekyll Island Events, kids science, sea turtle hospital, sea turtles
Posted in Beachscape, July 2009, Uncategorized | No Comments »

From Dr. Terry Norton, Direction and Veterinarian
  
For the past 2 weeks, Uzma Noureen has been working with us at the Center. Uzma is a turtle and wildlife conservationist and currently works for the Ministry of Environment’s Pakistan Wetlands Program. Her efforts in Pakistan have been focused on developing a conservation program for eight species of freshwater turtles. There is a serious illegal trade of many of these turtles, which are used for food and medicinal purposes in China. Additionally, she is involved with 2 freshwater otter species that are found in Pakistan. Poverty is the biggest obstacle to overcome with development of a conservation program for wildlife. Creating alternatives to exploiting turtles and other wildlife is a major challenge for conservationists like Uzma.
  
Uzma was selected to participate in the Asian Scholarship Program for in-situ Chelonian Conservation (www.ASPin-situCC.org) for 2009. The program sends its students to work with several turtle conservation organizers around the globe. This is the first year that the Georgia Sea Turtle Center has been involved with the program. Of the many great ways to conserve wildlife, the ASPin-situCC chooses students from Asia. All participants have a vested community interest in their local native turtles, primarily freshwater and brackish water inhabitants. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center was Uzma’s first training opportunity within the US. She was exposed to a wide variety of activities during her stay; loggerhead turtle nest monitoring on three Georgia barrier islands, night patrol for the saturation tagging program on Jekyll Island, diamondback terrapin conservation (rehabilitation, release, road mortality surveys, egg extraction, hatchling rearing, PIT tag plaements and shell notching,) observation of education efforts at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, 2 satellite transmitter placements, blood drawing, PIT tagging and flipper tagging sea turtles, and participation in a loggerhead sea turtle necropsy. She also participated in the release of three rehabilitated Georgia Sea Turtle Center patients on Amelia Island, FL. It is our hope that her experiences here will help in Uzma’s efforts to protect turtles and other wildlife in Pakistan.
  
We wish Uzma lots of luck as she travels to several other conservation organizations over the next few months while she is in the US. Her next stop is the Wetlands Institute in New Jersey.

Tags: coastal turtles, coastal wildlife, diamondback terrapin, Georgia, georgia coast, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, golden isles, jekyll island, loggerhead, pakistan wetlands, sea turtle conservation, sea turtle hospital, Sea Turtle Rehabilitation, uzma noureen
Posted in Beachscape, July 2009, Uncategorized | No Comments »

By Dr. Terry Norton, DVM

I am often asked: How many sea turtle rehabilitation centers are there in the southeastern US? How is the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) unique?

There are actually several facilities in Florida that do sea turtle rehabilitation, some focus solely on sea turtles, while some work with a variety of wildlife and captive animals. There are no other sea turtle rehabilitation centers in Georgia but one in South Carolina and North Carolina and a few more further north. The sea turtle rehabilitation community is very close and we often collaborate on a variety of levels.

Although there are many unique aspects of the GSTC including rehabilitation, education, research and training, the most unique feature of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center is our engaging education program. The entire staff educates the general public starting with our gift shop personnel, then the education area where educators and volunteers engage the public, then our treatment room window where our veterinary staff can talk and show people how we care for the turtles and deal their injuries, next to the pavilion where our educators and interns do patient updates and our visitors can read about and see our patients and learn about their problems. I am a veterinarian and a scientist. Until now my career has been focused on clinical medicine and surgery and publishing scientific manuscripts. The GSTC has allowed us to continue to do the veterinary care and science but to go a step further and actually educate children to adults from all walks of life. This has a huge conservation impact. The more people we engage in our work, the more things will change for the better. The driving force behind all of this excellent work is our educators and they should be commended for the fantastic programs they have created in just over one year. I am totally amazed how the GSTC has blossomed in so many ways. Alicia Marin heads our education program as the education coordinator. Kelly O’Keefe came to us with a wealth of experience and knowledge. Sarah Mathias was one of our first interns who we decided to employ as a permanent staff member. These three individuals have done so much to enhance our programs and mesh science and education. We have had numerous education interns train with us in our short existence. All of them have left with a new perspective on education and sea turtle conservation. The sea turtles that come through our doors are ambassadors of the marine ecosystem. A turtle that has severe propeller injuries and is being treated gives us the opportunity to explain the impact boat strikes have on sea turtles and other marine wildlife. This is how we can really make a difference. Please come visit the GSTC and support our staff and our overall vision.

Education Update

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center was full of holiday spirit last month, hosting two holiday events and attending the Brunswick Christmas Parade. On Wednesday December 3rd, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center hosted the Atlanta Southeast Airlines Santa’s Sleigh event. 30 children from the Atlanta area were flown down to the Brunswick Airport and then bused over to Jekyll Island for a field trip to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and our Amazing Adaptations program. After a trolley ride to the Convention Center, the group visited with Santa and were presented with Jekyll Island gift bags. Santa made another special appearance on Saturday December 20th for our 2nd Annual SEA-sons Greetings Event. The children each received a mini sea turtle toy from Santa himself, and listened to a special Georgia Sea Turtle Center-inspired version of “Twas the Night before Christmas.”

Tags: , Dylan the Sea Turtle, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, georgia sea turtles, jekyll island nature, jekyll island sea turtles, marine ecosystem, sea turtle education, sea turtle hospital, sea turtles, south east sea turtles, turtle rehabilitation, turtle science
Posted in January/February 2009 | No Comments »

Beachview Club staff member Cindy Smith recently visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center when her family came to vacation on Jekyll Island. Cindy’s sister Tammy and Tammy’s children, Nicole and Cody, were visiting from Detroit and had the opportunity to take in all Jekyll Island to offer. The entire group was so captivated by our flippered friends at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center that they wrote in to share about their trip:

My sister Tammy, her daughter Nicole and son Cody had such a good time at the Turtle Center during their visit from Detroit..it was the highlight of the vacation. Nicole was amazed when she saw the viewing window where they were actually patching up a sea turtle that had been cut by a boat, after which we observed the team feed this turtle by feeding tube. What great care is given to one of God’s most precious creatures. We also took a picture of Dylan. Nicole and Cody were sad they would miss her release, but I sent them the Islander and newspaper articles and called to let them know what time Good Morning America would air the story.

Thanks so much Cindy and Tammy!

Tags: Dylan, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, jekyll island, sea turtle hospital
Posted in Diversions | 1 Comment »