Ready? Set? NEST!!! That is what Sea Turtle Camp was all about today; sea turtle nesting and turtle tracks.  Both groups started their day with Scute’s Ocean Adventure puppet show.  Next, we learned about the nesting and hatching processes through an interactive presentation.  And then, it was off to the beach, to see real sea turtle nest (one from last night) and the tracks she left behind in the sand.  Our morning Campers played the Sea Turtle Survival Game, while our afternoon Campers participated in a mock sea turtle nest excavation.  Let’s see what our Campers learned today;

Morning Campers

“Baby sea turtles get eaten, so not a lot of turtles get to be adults.”  ~Hanna

“My favorite thing was walking on the beach, finding sea shells and learning about them.”  ~Faith

“I learned that it is hard for turtles to live!”  ~Reilly

“My favorite thing was when we saw sea turtle tracks at the beach.”  ~Sydney

“I learned that Loggerhead sea turtle tracks are zig-zags.”  ~Ashley

“”I learned that not all sea turtles become adults.”  ~Jackson

“I learned that 1 out of 4,000 baby sea turtles live to be adults!”  ~McEver

Afternoon Campers (and Maura Brown, former GSTC Education Intern ‘08)

“I learned that fire ants eat sea turtle eggs.”  ~ Alex

“I learned that 50% of sick or injured sea turtles get sick or injured because of boat accidents.”  ~Zoe

“When a sea turtle is in its eggs, it eats the yolk for nutrients.”  ~Emma

“I learned how to tell different turtle tracks apart.  The heavier turtles drag along the ground and pull with both flippers, but the lighter ones, waddle back and forth, using one flipper and then the other.”  ~Brooke

“I learned that most turtle that are sick and hurt, got hit by a boat.”  ~Juliana

“I learned that counter shading is when a sea turtle is a dark color on it’s carapace and a light color on its plastron.  This allows the sea turtle better camouflage from its predators.”  ~Jenna

“Sea turtles lay their eggs about 2 feet down in the sand.”  ~Colton

“Sea turtles depend on the movement of the ocean as one way to find their way around.”  ~Ciera

While it was extremely hot on the beach today, we look forward to heading back out tomorrow to become Dune Detectives and learn about the natural threats sea turtles face.

~Alicia Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator