Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center

December Newsletter

A year of firsts.
This past year weve seen the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (NBSTCC) start to bring to life the vision carried in the thoughts and hearts of so many, for so long. Like every hatchling emerging from its nest, the NBSTCC emergence in 2013 brought many firsts. It began with receipt of our official non-profit, 501(c)3 charitable status. This opened new doors of opportunity for us to raise funds. We took our mission public with the launch of our Facebook page and were in awe at how quickly our fan base grew. This platform also gave us a chance to engage the community and update sea turtle lovers on Navarre Beachs 2013 nesting season. Our relationship with the community grew quickly and we were overwhelmed and humbled by the support, shared passion for sea turtles and interest in the NBSTCC. This encouraged us to open our doors, for a preview of sorts, on a limited basis so the community could enjoy the journey with us and watch us grow. Each week we enjoyed showing visitors our progress and newest interpretive displays. The Center became the hub of activity: we hosted many special visitors, like the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Destination TV, and the Boys and Girls Club of America. Another key component to the center introduced on July 24th of 2013 was the Seamore Store, the official gift shop of the NBSTCC. July was also the month we initiated monthly Trash-Bash Events, organized beach clean ups where volunteers and community worked together to help keep Navarre Beach beautiful and safe for all marine life. Forging this unique relationship with the community is a large reason for our success this year. With your continued support we can make even larger waves in the future. It is impossible to fully express how much the community has supported us, from those right down the road to those scattered throughout the U.S. (Tennessee, Georgia, Washington State, Michigan, and so many more.) We are truly humbled and invigorated by your support. Heres looking to a bigger 2014 and the moment when we can have our official ribbon cutting to introduce not only our expanded facility, but the new members that will call it home, our residential sea turtles.
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December Newsletter

2013 Nesting Recap

The 2013 nesting season on Navarre Beach endured double the normal rainfall, storm surges and cooler sand temperatures than usual. This past season Navarre Beach reported 12 nests compared to 15 in 2012. However, there was one nest that warranted special attention due to its rarity on Navarre Beach, a Green sea turtle nest, first one in over 8 years. The good news: Green sea turtle nesting is on the rise in Florida and we are hopeful that next year Navarre Beach will see even more Green sea turtles nests.
Photo Credit: Waldorff Photography

Nesting Season May 1st through October 31st

First Nest: June 3rd

Last Nest: August 18th

Typical Incubation Period 60-70 days 12 Total Nests

65-72 days

Actual incubation periods 58 to 68

9 successful hatches

3 nests lost

Typical egg ranges Loggerhead 100-120 per nest Green 75-200 per nest

Lowest number of eggs 56

*Highest number of eggs 169

*Green sea turtles typically will have larger nests with more eggs per nest than Loggerheads. This year the largest nest was the Green nest at 169 eggs! Thats a lot of baby greens and hopefully a lot of girls which will increase the probability that Navarre Beachs Green nests will be on the rise in years to come.

December 2013

December Newsletter

Name: Seamore Born: Navarre Beach, Florida Age: Old enough to surf the gulfstream alone, young enough to do it on my back! Favorite Foods: Crab and Conch sandwiches Favorite Song: Caretta Caretta (The Sea Turtle Song) by Ty and Emily Curtis Favorite TV Show: The Octonauts Favorite Movie: Finding Nemo Favorite things to do: Make new friends and swim the reef system on Navarre Beach. Seamore here and I am super excited to introduce myself! I am a Loggerhead sea turtle and have the very important job of representing a new not-for-profit conservation center, the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (NBSTCC) here in Navarre Beach, Florida. As their mascot I work to build relationships within the community to not only bring awareness to the Centers efforts but also the global plight of sea turtles. It is my goal to help inform the community so they know how to make a positive impact on our local sea turtle populations as well as the sea turtle survival endeavor as a whole. Mostly I spend my days hanging around the Center greeting visitors, talking turtle and encouraging others to become good stewards for our marine environment. When the opportunity arises, I also like to participate in community events, its always good to stretch the flippers a bit! The past few months have been busy for me. I was able to attend Boo at the Zoo with the Gulf Breeze Zoo in October and it truly tickled my shell to see all the turtle costumes! In December I hung out with my jelly-head friends at the Black Friday sale and recently enjoyed the brisk weather at Christmas in the Park, Jingle Fest on December 7th. Should have worn my turtle neck that day! Us Loggerheads like warm waters but it was good to see old and new friends.
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December Newsletter

he Seamore Store, opened its doors on July 24th and we were flooded with visitors and shoppers the entire day! We had visitors from Georgia, educators from Gulf Breeze, locals who have been anxiously awaiting a sneak peak! Weve been making tracks ever since!

One component that helps make the Seamore Store a success is the people who help us stock our shelves. Were more than a gift store, it is a showcase of the wealth of talent from our artisan community. We are honored of the relationships weve forged with our Seamore Store partners. We work diligently to buy locally and support the community that so generously supports us. When youre shopping at the Seamore Store, youre not only giving to the fight to save sea turtles but youre helping support those within our community. Additionally, all proceeds from the store go directly back into the Center to help us with improvements, expansion and the fight to save sea turtles. It is no surprise that the Seamore Store has proved to be one of our strongest, ongoing fundraising activities. This would not be possible without the support were received from our partners. The volunteers of the NBSTCC want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone that has supported us through the Seamore Store.

New Store Hours for January Saturdays Only: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To our Seamore Store partners whose support is a key ingredient to our success, thank you and heres to making bigger waves in 2014!!!

Chuck Chunn Holley Hill Pottery Lucy Jones

Foxy Boutique Linda DesRoches Expression Screen Printing

Jeff Waldorff Angie Guidry Brupbacher Lawrence Metz

Spoon Me Up
A Special Place

Jan Clark
Pelican Lane Arts

KT Bug Gifts
Turtle Bean

December 2013

December Newsletter
Find us on Facebook: Help grow awareness for sea turtles and conservation of marine resources by sharing our Facebook page.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Decembers Trash-Bash event will be postponed so volunteers and supporters can enjoy Christmas with their families. Well be back out in force January 25th so mark your calendars and help save sea turtles! Seamore Store: As the holidays come into view we will be closed to ensure our volunteers have the opportunity to enjoy this time with friends and family. The Seamore Store will close for the holidays making Dec 21st the last day to shop before Christmas. We will reopen again January 11th with NEW STIORE HOURS for January, Saturdays Only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Up-dated our website design! Check it out and stay posted to our site (www.navarrebeachseaturtles.org) and FB Page for the latest updates.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone at the NBSTCC .

Turtle Fun Fact: Spit Shine & Turtle Wax: Cleaning Stations for Greens The waters off of Hawaii are home to many green sea turtles and they are frequently seen around coral reefs where their food source is plentiful. This environment allows for a symbiotic relationship with reef fish. The reef fish eat the algae from the sea turtles shell. The fish get a free meal and the sea turtle gets a clean shell!
Photo Credit: http://mauisundivers.com/scuba/refresher/ December 2013 5