Stone Gossard, drummer of Pearl Jam, wrote an article in the S.W.O.T. (State of the World’s Turtles) report. He claimed that rock stars are like conservationists. Both types of people truly become their jobs…partly because their jobs require such dedication and introspection…partly because of the charisma of the individual. It’s interesting to ponder the idea that conservationists are rocks stars and role models of their field. Their two-part commitment can transform these individuals into more harmonious people.

Like musicians, not all conservationists are mainstream, by which I mean recognized on a national or global level. Notice, I did not add appreciated for quality of work in that definition. I speculated that maybe that is why the Grammy Awards occur. How would conservationists react if an equivalent award were to be created for them? Hmm.

Here’s a concept: mainstream musicians and conservationists are charged with the challenge of maintaining a positive role model presence for their peers and for, theoretically, the world. For those rock stars within their field, I have created the Roll Model Award as a means of honoring individuals who fit the criteria.

The Roll Model Award (Roll Model Award Crafter’s Guide) serves as a reminder of the responsibility of a metaphorical rock star. A positive role model is aware of the way in which he or she influences the behaviors or even emotions of other individuals. A skilled rock star can choose to control certain behaviors – possibly reactions – of others. This is achieved through experience and a genuine notion of humanity.

What I find truly intriguing is that both rocks stars and conservationists can seem super-human…intangible, different from everyday life. The irony I have witnessed and experienced is that pure humanity (qualities or characteristics that are distinctly human, like compassion for others) makes the conservationist a metaphorical rock star and certainly a role model. A conservationist redefines the term environmental stewardship, just as rock n’ roll tangibly changed music.

Here, at The Georgia Sea Turtle Center, we strive to make a difference.

Will you be a positive part of history?

The way you define yourself within your job helps others define you by your job.

Honestly,

Amanda Noble

Education Member 2009-2010

Thank you for reading and pondering!

As the day progressed the realization the that our grand adventure was coming to an end. The farewell luncheon with Alicia was filled with conversation of the week’s events. The final decision to name the new turtle Freedom, to represent the GSU teacher’s workshop, was made.
As we left Sea Jay’s, Alicia presented the class with a GSTC certificate and the “official” bracelet of turtle champions!

~ Cindy Dean

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

“The Return to the Sea”

After a very busy and rewarding week, we were given the opportunity to participate in the release of 8 sea turtles, 4 from the Georgia Aquarium and 4 from the Sea Turtle Center. We spent all morning helping the staff at the center to get ready for the release. We even delivered a patient update on 15 turtles for the public! The time came to finally pack up and head to the beach. Once we arrived at the beach, we were to go around and talk with the large crowd about the turtles and answer their questions. We were given signed farewell posters to display the four turtles from the GSTC. After having many pictures taken of our posters by newspapers and television news stations, it was time for the great send-off.

The first GSTC turtle to make their way to the sea was Carning. Carning is a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle. He was brought to the GSTC because he had air trapped in his body cavity, he was dehydrated, and he had epibiota (barnacles and algae) on his carapace. After approximately 3 months of treatment, he has fully recovered.

The second GSTC turtle to make their way to the sea was Caretta Hope. Caretta Hope is a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle. She was brought to the GSTC because she was found with debilitated turtle syndrome, and she was missing her rear two flippers. Debilitated Turtle Syndrome happens when the turtle has a large amount of epibiota on the carapace and/or skin. The flippers were thought to have been bitten off by a shark. During her year in the hospital, Caretta Hope has recovered and is adjusting to her life without rear flippers quite well.

The next GSTC turtle to make their way to the sea was Rostrum. Rostrum is a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle. He was brought to the GSTC because he was cold stunned and suffered from a nose injury. After approximately 5 months in the hospital, Rostrum was treated for his injuries and has now returned home.

The last GSTC turtle to make their way to the sea was Ed. Ed is a juvenile green sea turtle. Ed was brought to the GSTC because he was found floating, by the GA Department of Natural Resources. Initial examination of Ed showed that he suffered from swollen eyes and neck, and he had a hematoma on his lung. After 10 months in the hospital, Ed has fully recovered and was the first green sea turtle to ever be released from the GSTC.

As if the release of these turtles wasn’t exciting enough, nest #3 had a surprise waiting. During the Turtle Patrol and Turtle Walk, it was discovered that nest #3 had hatched, which would be the first hatchlings of the season!

- Ashley Crosby and Carol Kahrmann

“Record Setting Turtle Walk”

Our first full day working at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center was set up for part of the group to be in Husbandry (helping feed and clean tanks) and the other part to be in Education (answering questions and providing educational presentations to the visitors). The husbandry group was busy preparing food, feeding the turtles, giving vitamins, cleaning tanks, assisting with patient rehabilitation and doing whatever the staff asked of them. Part of the education group was in the gallery, preparing a presentation that would be delivered at the turtle walk that night. The other part of the education group was walking around the gallery, answering questions and highlighting the displays.

After lunch, we met with Dr. Norton (Director of the Sea Turtle Center). He delivered a presentation on sea turtle rehabilitation. Dr. Norton is the man who turned a dream of a Sea Turtle Rehab Facility into reality. He described the different reasons turtles end up in the hospital, as well as their treatment and therapy options.

After a history tour of the island, it was time to show off what we have learned about sea turtles to the public. We met at the Sea Turtle Center and delivered a presentation to a record pushing group. The presenters tried their very best to instill “turtlely thoughts” within the group. Various age groups actively participated throughout the entire presentation. As the presenters were covering natural threats of sea turtles, a raccoon appeared at the rear glass door. How ironic??

It was finally time to head to the beach and search for emerging sea turtles or their tracks on the Turtle Walk. As the group was herded onto the beach and a ghost crab was sighted immediately, the phrase “TP1 to TP2, we have an emergence” came across the radio. As the presenters danced in celebration, the group awaited the location of the emergence. We went north to find the nesting sea turtle. We kept the group away from her while she built her body pit and egg chamber. Once she started to lay eggs, small groups of 3 or 4 were taken near her to see the process. Once she was done laying her eggs, she covered the egg chamber using her back flippers, disguised the nest, and made her way back into the ocean.

Thank you “July 12, 2010 turtle” for helping to add another record for “quickest emergence on a turtle walk” to our record breaking week.

- Ashley Crosby and Carol Kahrmann

Beach Patrol   Monday, July 12, 2010

It is now 3:23 am and we just got back from beach patrol, walking up and down the beach looking for nesting turtles and measuring them.  We saw not one, not two, but THREE! I guess our luck came from thinking all those “turtle-y” thoughts!  As part of the Turtle Patrol Team, we were allowed to measure them, as well as look down in the hole and actually see the eggs drop. Many organisms make their homes on the back of Loggerheads so the carapace or shell, felt fuzzy.  When you ran your finger across her back a trail of “glitter” followed……magical….. The glowing sparkles are caused by bioluminescence, a “living light” given off my tiny single celled organisms.

Turtle #1 showed up just in time for the Beach Walk tour group to join us. The 2nd turtle crawled around on the dune but did not make a nest so we had to try and keep her from going back into the ocean while trying to read her tag numbers and take her measurements.  That was amazing!  She was huge and strong, weighing about 300lbs.  We would try and keep her from moving, two of us holding her from the front as she just pushed us down the beach!  Turtle #3 was found laying her eggs on the side of a sand dune, good for her and the babies, awkward for measuring.  We found the markings of another nest but did not see the turtle herself.

What an experience!  It was truly a magical night.

~Betsy Frye, Richard Middle School

Day Two:  Sunday, July 11, 2010

A tour of the Tidelands museum and canoe trip began our Sunday morning here at Jekyll.  The looming heat (heat index over 100) had our team concerned about our afternoon plans of exploring the beaches
with local naturalist Georgia Graves. Being purpose focused, we coated ourselves with sunscreen and bug spray and headed out.  Heat did not turn out to be our biggest problem, the summer thundershowers moved in setting a record high for the amount of rain within an hour here at the island.  All the sunscreen rinsed off, we were completely soaked, but were no longer threatened by the scorching sun.  We must have been a sight looking like drowned rats seining off the southern end of the island.

We made stops at a couple different beaches, exploring and learning a wealth of information from our knowledgeable guide.  We were fortunate to have a live, in the wild, sea turtle sighting.  Swimming down the channel at the northern end of the beach, we saw a dinner platter sized juvenile green sea turtle.  Apparently, this is a rare experience.  I found the bone-yard beach the most interesting, having never seen a beach littered with giant driftwood pieces.

The evening beach walk, although informative, was turtle-less and therefore disappointing.  We will continue thinking “turtle-y thoughts” in hopes of seeing some nesters tomorrow.

~Betsy Frye, Richard Middle School

July 10^th, 2010

Thinking Turtley Thoughts…

Today six teachers entered the Georgia Sea Turtle Center with a youthful joy and excitement. As we were greeted by Archelon the giant prehistoric turtle and the friendly staff at the center, we were eager to do or see anything they were willing to give us! Although it seemed overwhelming at times, the amount of knowledge that the staff at the center has is amazing and as teachers we are willing to learn! As we toured the center, met the patients, and learned about this amazing animal, we couldn’t help but think about the night cap…would we see a turtle….but all we could do is think positive turtley thoughts that we would be blessed with the sighting of a healthy female playing her part in the creation of life.

As the night fell, in came the thunder and lightning. We couldn’t help but be gloomy about the possibility that tonight our turtle walk would be canceled. But through the sprinkles and gorgeous flashes of lightening over the ocean, we continued our walk! Our wonderful guide (Alicia Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator) led us down the beach to discover ghost crabs, knobbed whelk egg casings, and even a dead horseshoe crab! Believe me these things were great to see but lets be honest, you could feel the groups burning desire to see a turtle. As our guide said goodbye, we heard the words that would change our course of the evening… “TP1 TO TP2, we have emergence…” And we all knew what that meant….a turtle!

We rushed into our cars and drove down to another part of the beach to see a female nesting in the dunes. What an exciting event! Nothing can prepare you for the beauty and grace of the dance of a female nesting turtle. And after midnight, as we laid our heads on our pillows, turtley thoughts filled our heads and you couldn’t help but smile and be thankful that we are able to be a part of their story, a story more than thousands of years old! Thank you turtles and thank you staff at GSTC!

~ Breanna Young, Oglethorpe Point Elementary School

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Stayed tuned to read more first hand accounts from our other 5 Teacher Workshop Participants!

~Alicia B. Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator

Greetings sea turtle enthusiasts!  I apology for the delay in posting the remaining blogs from our June Teacher Workshop.  The GSTC Education Department and I have been extremely busy with Sea Turtle Camp (more blogs to come soon), Intergenerational Elderhostel Sea Turtle Camp, Turtle Walks…and the list goes on.  Quite an exciting time for us!

Please read below to learn about Johnetta D. Moore’s (Risley Early College Academy) experience at the GSTC.

“Ring, ring, ring…was the only sound in our hotel room, it was 1:37AM. Startled we answered the phone but to our amazement this call would change our experience as educator interns at the Sea Turtle Center. Our precious coursemates and our wonderful professors alerted us that a loggerhead sea turtle came to the beach shore to nest. We jumped out of bed and literally ran down the beach to the only lights on the beach, the red lights of the beach patrol. After being let down with our beach patrol all night with no sites of a turtle, we could not believe that we were actually seeing “Taramie”-(loggerhead). To see it was truly a dream, after a week full of learning and hands-on activity, the nesting truly topped the cake! The precision of the flippers to cover her nest, and to rotate her body back towards the ocean was truly amazing. Hearing a pant never sounded so good! After all of the excitement, we returned to our rooms for a few hours of sleep!

We started the day teaching the general public the amazing adaptations of sea turtles. After giving examples of how the sea turtles carapace, beak, flippers, eyes, and more help them survive in their environment, we wowed the crowd with a chant. Give me a T-U-R-T-L-E what does that spell….turtle!  Feeling great after completing our last act at the Sea Turtle Center, we trekked over to view more of nature’s finest ecosystems. We had a nice walk in the maritime forest, which was led by 4-H educator Donna. We saw several different species, especially spiders and their webs and she even taught us a nice little jingle to help us remember lichens are both a fungi and an algae. After eating a filling lunch provided by the 4-H cooks, we went to the dock to catch the Eco and Dolphin tour. We saw several dolphins, an osprey, and different parts of the islands including Jekyll and St. Simons. Art was plastered in the Goodyear Museum in many different forms whether through paintings, jewelry, or ceramics.

Finally we went back to the hotel, and we took the post exam which covered turtles, ecosystems, tides, shells, and all other marine life. Little did we know what started out as what seemed to be a never ending week of being in the stick southern heat, turning 3 shades darker, scooping turtle poop, walking long distances, ducking webs turned out to be quite a learning experience. We actually got to see life in a different form. The entire Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Georgia Graves, 4-H, History/Trolley tours, Dr. Martha Schriver, Dr. Karen Chassereau, and many more you all really helped open my eyes to see Jekyll as more than Summer Waves. I never knew such a quaint town had so much history and life existing on it, and I honestly cannot wait to take the new information I learned and share my knowledge with my 8^th grade physical science students! Parting is such sweet sorrow, but we all must return to our own lives and see if we cannot help educate them about the wonders on Jekyll.”

We too were humbled by the experience and are honored for the opportunity to have worked with these talented individuals.  The GSTC anxiously awaits our July Teacher Workshop participant’s, whose journey begins this Saturday, July 10, 2010!

~Alicia Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator

“Well, day after day, new experiences are encountered!  Even though we saw a nesting loggerhead sea turtle Wednesday morning at 1:15 am, the fun did not stop here! (By the way, we unofficially named the nesting sea turtle Elizabeth II after her founders!).

Today, we started helping in husbandry at the GSTC where we experienced a new sea turtle arriving.  It was a green sea turtle that was found by the DNR that had been washed ashore.  According to X-rays by Dr. Norton and his staff at the GSTC, it was determined that the turtle has a broken wrist (part of its left front flipper).  It also had barnacles on its carapace, which had to be removed, and a hole in its plastron, in which the infection had to be removed.  The sea turtle was in great spirits though!  It ate well and enjoyed swimming in its temporary pool-like tank!

Our next stop was to Driftwood Beach, a boneyard, at the northern end of Jekyll Island.  We saw the dead oak trees that lie toppled over and their dramatic root systems that have been uprooted due to erosion. It is intriguing and dramatic, yet eerie!  These dead trees have been preserved by the salty air and the ocean.

Our next stop was Clam Creek.  This area includes marshland and a large covered fishing pier.  Dr. Schriver gave us an overview of this area and introduced us to organisms such as the moon snail, the arc shell, the plumed worm, the speckled crab, the razor clam, and so many more!  We now have a great shell collection to show off!

Our third stop of the day was for ice cream!  What better way to complete a nice, hot, and sunny day than to have some cold, refreshing ice cream!”

~Elizabeth Lozano, Newnan High School

Only one day left and there is more excitement to come!

~Alicia Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator

“There’s not a day yet that has been the identical, routine, or boring at the Sea Turtle Center. This morning we went in with the thought that we would be doing the “usual” while on duty. We logged what the sea turtles would be eating for the morning and began to feed and give the sea turtles their vitamins and daily medicine regiment when we were told that we would be helping the husbandry staff take Caton, one of the sea turtles at the center, to the beach today to help with the release. The Sea Turtle Center has tried to release Caton before but the turtle had other plans. The staff members loaded Caton up and we all jumped in the van. Everything happened so quickly. I could hardly believe that we were invited along!

Once at the beach, it took ten of us to carry Caton down in a tub. With help, Dr. Norton put Caton on the beach….nothing. Then Dr. Norton moved Caton into the water a little bit. Dr. Norton gave Caton a little pep talk. You know the usually sea turtle advice-watch out for boat propellers, look for crab to eat, etc. Still, no movement from Caton. Eventually, Caton began to swim in the ocean. We stayed out there watching Caton swim parallel to the shore for over an hour. After more time had passed and much patience from Dr. Norton, the decision was made to bring Caton back to the center. I guess that Caton likes the Sea Turtle Center just as much as we do!”

~Jamie Carson, Rising Starr Middle School

Thanks for reading!

~Alicia Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator