Every tuesday from 10:30-11:30am bring your hatchlings(2-4yrs) for Turtle Tales, an hour of turtle inspired stories and crafts. Join us on November 6th as we read Turtles and make turtle nests! Space is limited and reservations are required.
For more information or to register for a Turtle Tales program please call (912)635-4444.
~Sarah Mathias, Education Intern
Looking for a way to get into the Halloween spirit? Well, put on that costume and head on down to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center! This Sunday, October 28th from 12-5pm you can trick or treat with the sea turtles at the first annual Turtleween!
We will have turtle-inspired games and crafts for kids of all ages, including face painting, cookie decorating, pumpkin painting, and more!
Come in costume and get $1 off admission! All kids wearing their most creative, original turtle costume will be entered in our costume contest.
Bring your treat bucket or design one here, and come trick or treat with the GSTC staff. We will all be in costume and we hope you will too! You gotta come check out our costumes! We’ll give you a hint… what do sea turtles eat?
This event is free with paid admission to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. For more information, call (912) 635-4076.
~Alicia Marin, Public Outreach Educator
Two beautiful loggerhead turtles, rescued after stranding on Northern Florida beaches, are now receiving care at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island.
Bailey (top photo), a 95-pound turtle was found on the beach near Mayport Naval Station on Thursday, October 18. Allen Foley of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission retrieved her from the beach and transferred her to GSTC Aquarist Michelle Kaylor and GSTC Director Dr. Bill Irwin. She was then rushed to the center for tests and treatment. Similarly, Marina (bottom photo), a 75-pound loggerhead, was found on Jacksonville Beach Monday, October 22 and was transferred from Foley to Irwin in what has become a model example of inter-agency and inter-state cooperation resulting in these turtles receiving immediate state-of-the-art treatment.
Both patients are very lethargic with low heart rates and very little peripheral response. Each had very little new epiobiota load (organisms growing on their skin) and blood tests showed that they were not severely debilitated suggesting that they had only recently succumbed to their illnesses. Though definitive tests are still pending, a neuron-toxin, such as that produced by the recent Red Tide events in Northern Florida waters, is the most likely candidate as the cause of the turtles’ condition. Both turtles are now under the care of Dr. Terry Norton at the GSTC where they are receiving fluid treatment to flush the toxin from their system as well as medications to maintain their cardiovascular function and to fight potential secondary infections that are common with stranded turtles.
People often ask where we get our turtles here at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center…the answer..from all over, but a lot of the turtles that have come in are brought to us by community members that came to the center and remembered we were here to help!
Most recently we had two turtles, Cheese and Captiain Hook(less), that came in and were able to be released. Both of which were brought to us from residents of Glynn County. We were then lucky enough to be able to work with both of them for their release.
Cheese, a Florida softshell, was hit by a car on St. Simons Island and Natalie and Barb Murrah scooped him up and met a volunteer half way and Cheese came to stay at the center. With a course of antibiotics, wound cleaning, and some tasty fish under his belt, we took him back over to St. Simons and released him in the Murrah’s pond.
Captain Hook(less), a diamondback terrapin, was brought to the center by Jane Dale and Peggy Edmonds. They had been at their dock and watched a local fisherman accidentally hook her. They brought her to the center and staff removed the hook. After a few days and some antibiotics, super volunteer Jane met them and released her back into the marsh!
These are just two of the numerous injured turtles brought to the GSTC from members of the community. Even though we specialize in sea turtles, we will help a wild turtle of any species in need of medical care and look forward to continuing to work with community members throughout Southeast Georgia.
~Jeannie Miller, Aquarist
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center now looks like the destination landmark that it is. Check out our new lettering!
Every tuesday from 10:30-11:30am bring your hatchlings(2-4yrs) for Turtle Tales, an hour of turtle inspired stories and crafts. Join us on October 16th as we read How the Turtle Got Its Shell: Tales from Around the World and make our very own shells to wear! Space is limited and reservations are required.
For more information or to register for a Turtle Tales program please call (912)635-4444.
~Sarah Mathias, Education Intern
This past weekend the GSTC participated in the 2007 Coastfest! It was a beautiful, fun-filled day with people of all ages stopping by to visit the GSTC tables where staff and volunteers were on hand to represent the GSTC. Visitors could learn about various sea turtle species from our preserved specimens, see live terrapin hatchlings, read posters about sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation, learn about our education programs, and pick up information & handouts! 
Especially for the kids, we provided 2 craft options: make a paperplate turtle and make-your-own get well cards out of recycled paper for our hospital patients. Many children also played the Sea Turtle Survival Game and learned how tough it is to be a sea turtle! 
On behalf of the staff, I’d like to send out a special thanks to the dedicated volunteers: Jane Bryson, Melissa Allen, Joelynn Miller, Pat and Jack Overholt, Tiffany Flavell, and Brooke Bearden. And to our amazing interns: Ashley Fisher and Sarah Mathias. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Stefanie Ouellette
Education and Field Coordinator
Planning a field trip to Jekyll Island? Bring your school group to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center! The GSTC is excited to offer educational programs to school groups of all ages. Our programs consist of an exciting, 30 to 45 minute presentation, full of specimens, and interactive activities such as role playing and games! We may even turn YOU into a sea turtle! The presentation is then followed by a guided tour of the Exhibit Gallery and the Hospital with one of our Educators.
Can’t make it to Jekyll Island for a field trip? The Georgia Sea Turtle Center can come to you! The GSTC Outreach Staff brings learning about sea turtles and their marine environment to life for your group! Teachers can choose from a list of programs, or we can create a program to accommodate your students and your teaching goals.
The GSTC has become a popular destination for school groups. We had over 300 school children attend our programs during the month of September, and October is booking up fast! Teachers from Burroughs-Mollete Elementary School commented that “the GSTC exceeded our expectations, excellent presentation and we loved the visuals!” Our enthusiastic Education Team make learning Turtle-rrific here at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center! For more information on school group programs, please refer to our webpage under Education Programs/School Groups or call the Education Team at (912) 635-4076.
~Alicia Marin, Public Outreach Educator
Canebreak rattlesnakes at a sea turtle center?? Other than have they lost their minds, you may be thinking why on earth would rattlesnakes be at a sea turtle center?
The answer is…having surgery of course!
Kimberly Andrews is doing her graduate work on how development effects the movements and behavior of the canebreak rattlesnake. This brave young woman caught two beautiful snakes at her study sight in Bluffton, SC and transported them here to recieve their transmitters. She will then track them over the coming months and document their behavior. After the development that is taking place where the site is located is completed, she will continue to track them and monitor any differences.
This was another especially exciting day for staff and volunteers as many of us have not had the chance to work with these amazing animals. It also provided us the opportunity to work with some other close cousins of our turtles in support of our mission to promote total ecosystem health and overall wildlife conservation!
Both surgeries were successful and after a few days of recovery both snakes were returned to the wild.
Jeannie Miller Aquarist
The GSTC team is excited to support Jean Beasley, director and founder of The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center as a candidate for the 2007 Animal Planet Hero of the Year.
Jean has worked tirelessly for over 10 years protecting and rehabilitating sea turtles the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southern states at her facility on Topsail Island, North Carolina. She is currently working towards building a new larger and more comprehensive facility where her team will be able to continue and expand their incredible work.
You can vote for Jean by going to http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/hero_of_the_year/poll/poll.html
and you can check out the turtle hospital at
Please join us in supporting Jean!
- The Georgia Sea Turtle Center Staff