Believe it or not, Dylan is back on the map!  As most of you probably know from following her tracking map on www.seaturtle.org, the last signal we received from her was on October 30, 2008.  Well surprise, surprise…out of no where she transmitted 2 very good, high quality signals on Feb 25, 2009…in the Gulf of Mexico no less!

Here is another view from GoogleEarth5:

As explained in previous BLOGs, the loss of satellite transmission was probably due more to a problem with the transmitter (dead battery, broken antennae, internal malfunction and/or dislodged unit) rather than a problem with the turtle herself.  Dylan has always been a feisty juvenile sea turtle and juveniles are known to be tough on their transmitters.  So although we hope for 1-2 years of transmissions from any turtle we release with a transmitter, it was not a big surprise when she stoppped transmitting.

How did she get into the Gulf of Mexico from the east coast of Florida?  Glad you asked!  No, she didn’t cross over the peninsula by car, plane or train.  Nor did she crawl over land.  And it is highly unlikely that someone carried her.  The most logical explanation is that she swam south along the east coast of Florida, around the keys and out into the Gulf.  This migration may be the explanation as to why we haven’t received any good signals from her in a while.  If she was traveling and spending a lot of time underwater, the transmitter wasn’t being allowed enough surface time to transmit a good signal.
So for now, she looks like she’s doing just fine, behavinglike a ‘normal’ sea turtle and going where sea turtles in her size class go.  Let’s hope she keeps transmitting!  Click here to check out Dylan’s tracking page.

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

Last year, the GSTC put a call out for old and broken crayons to jump-start a recycling program. Crayons, you ask? How can you recycle crayons? We’ll show you what we’ve been up to! Crayons are petroleum-based, taking years to biodegrade like plastics and oils. Each year, thousands of broken, worn crayons are forgotten or thrown away when new crayons are purchased at the start of the school year. So where do they go?  We’ve been collecting cast-off crayons for over a year in an effort to reduce landfill and make a creatively unique crayon just for the GSTC!  Along the way, we’ve had help from several organizations and individuals that have set up crayon collection bins at their schools or businesses. What a response we’ve received!    Terry Aultman, a teacher at Savannah Christian Preparatory School is one such individual. Terry visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for the first time this past Saturday and brought along a car load of crayons.         This amount should keep us busy for a while!

 So what does our new creation look like? Check out a sneak peek at the photo below.

It will make its turtley-debut in the GSTC gift shop for the upcoming Jekyll Island Mother Nature Festival on April 18! Join the Jekyll Island Authority, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and many others for this day-long festival of earth-friendly fun! Check out www.jekyllisland.com/mothernaturefestival for more information of visit www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/specialevents/upcoming-events for photos from the 2008 pilot event, Shell-e-brate Earth Day. Be sure to stop by the GSTC Gift Shop to check out other eco-friendly goodies!

~Kelly O’Keefe, Green Crayon Queen

Since our opening in June of 2007, the treatment room has seen a hustle and bustle of activity. The floors were concrete with a layer of paint over them that had seen many turtles come and go. The paint had begun to scratch and wear away revealing the concrete surface underneath.

We decided that it was time to get new flooring in the treatment room and in early February of 2009 a work crew came and installed our new medical grade flooring. We had to move everything out of the treatment room and do our treatments in the pavilion for a couple of days, but it was well worth it.  

When we first stepped onto the new floors in the treatment room, they were so clean that we could lay on them. The new floors have been working out very well and have already gotten a ton of use.

Follow this link to the video highlight of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on CNN!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/02/21/wolf.sea.turtle.rescue.cnn

The segment aired this morning, February 21, and will be featured again this evening.

Pumpkin and Varun made their first television debut and captured the hearts of thousands, we’re certain! Great job to Dr. Terry Norton and Erika Kemler who were both highlighted in the clip.  

Did you have the chance to see it first-hand? Send us your thoughts!

~Kelly O’Keefe, Educator

G’day mates!  Finally got through the loooong lines to get back on the internet! :)  The conference is going very well!  The opening ‘Welcome Reception’ on Monday night included a demonstration from an aboriginal dance troop, which was super cool! 

 Tuesday, Wednesday and today have been filled with lots and lots of talks!  Although there are a lot about Australia conservation, rehabiliation, research and education programs, countries from around the world have been well represented.  I believe about half of the participants this year are from Australia and this is their first ISTS!  Crikey!

Wednesday night was the LIVE auction…boy was that a crazy time (as always!).  But it looks like they raised a good amount of money for next year’s Symposium!  The GSTC beach towel sold for $95AUS!!!

Poster sessions have been going well too, with a number of people stopping by and asking lots of questions!  I have a few ‘hellos’ to pass on when I get home….

Today (Thursday) they have a special treat for us….a live Flatback sea turtle!!  They let you feel it and take photos!  It is very different from the other species in that it has a skin over it’s carapace!

Well, that’s it for now from ‘down under’.  I’ve got to get to my poster session! :)  Hope all is well ‘up over’!

Sincerely,

Stefanie
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

G’day mates!  For those of you who don’t know, I was fortunate enough to be sent to the 29th Annual International Sea Turtle Symposium in Brisbane, Australia to represent the Georgia Sea Turtle Center…and that’s where I am now!  The internet is more readily available and working much better than last year in Loreto, Mexico so I will try to BLOG throughout the week and keep everyone updated on the happenings in ‘turtle world’.  I will be presenting a poster titled “The Georgia Sea Turtle Center, 1 Year Later”, which summarizes all the accomplishements the GSTC has had since opening in June 2007.  It represents all 3 departments: Education, Rehabilitation and Research as well as other on-going projects such as the Diamondback Terrapin Conser. Proj., SEANET, international work and conferences we’ve hosted.  I also brought a number of items to donate to the silent auction that are representative of the GSTC.  The silent and live auctions help to fund the next year’s symposium (2010=India) and student travel grants. 

Stay tuned for more from down under!

Stefanie
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

Come one, come all to purchase your GSTC gear and items at discount prices at the Jekyll Island Campground Flea Market and the GSTC sidewalk sale THIS SATURDAY (2/14)! (*Discounts only apply at these two locations)

We’ll have a wide variety of items, something fore everyone….puzzles beach towels, adult and children sized shirts, bags, jewelry and more!

ALL WILL BE MARKED DOWN!

Locations and times are as follows:

Campground: 9am - 1pm

In front of the GSTC (Sidewalk Sale): 12pm - 3pm

Didn’t find what you’re looking for?  We have more items inside our gift shop at the GSTC (*discounts may not apply)!  While you’re there, why not tour our facility (admission fee applies), see our patients and attend some of our education programs?!  You may even get lucky enough to see a treatment being done on one of our patients!

As always, thanks again for your support!

Sincerely,

Stefanie Ouellette

Marine Field Programs Coordinator

On Friday January 6^th, 2009 a few of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s education staff and volunteers participated in Oglethorpe Point Elementary School’s (OPES) ‘Georgia History Day’. We joined a number of other exhibitors to deliver fun and exciting programs for the students. The programs started off at 9:00 AM and each one lasted around 30 minutes. We educated nearly 200 students and teachers about the history of sea turtles.

We started off our program by explaining how long sea turtles have been around. How long, you ask? 250 MILLION YEARS! We are lucky enough to have a replica of a dinosaur sea turtle’s skeleton hanging in our gift shop. This dinosaur sea turtle was named Archelon and his skeleton was found in South Dakota! This may sound weird, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about where the oceans used to be.

We weren’t able to bring Archelon’s whole skeleton to Oglethorpe Point but we did bring a replica of his skull. The students were amazed at how large his skull was compared to theirs.

The loggerhead is the most common sea turtle that we get here in Georgia, so we also showed the students some of our specimens. We took skulls and shells from two different loggerhead sea turtles, including the skull and shell of a 500 pound loggerhead sea turtle!

Our wrap up activity was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip. We used student volunteers to show the different lengths of Archelon, a leatherback sea turtle, and a loggerhead sea turtle. It took one student to make up a loggerhead, three to make up a leatherback, and 4 to make up an Archelon.

We were very excited to be invited back to Oglethorpe Point’s ‘Georgia History Day’ for the second year. We enjoyed all of the wonderful questions and unique personal stories. Thanks to everyone who made this day a success.

Can’t make it to Jekyll Island to visit the GSTC? Our Outreach Staff can come to you! For more information or to schedule an Outreach Program, please visit our website or call us at (912) 635-4076.

~Liz Jeyes
Education Intern

Check it out! The GSTC has been rated on TripAdvisor! CLICK HERE to go directly to our page where you’ll see our 4.5 rating (out of 5!), TripAdvisor Traveler Reviews, and photos taken by visitors just like you!

You can also access the page using the TripAdvisor badge on our website homepage: www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org

Thanks for all of your support!

Sincerely,

Stefanie
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

Become a fan of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center with our new facebook group. This will allow you to connect with other turtle supporters. We will post information about events and special programs going on at the center.