CEO CHATTER WITH JACK LIGHTON
Dear Friend of LMC:
Our campus is happily greeting guests and our beaches are happily welcoming nesting sea turtles, that means one thing, it must be Spring!
“Together we can” was the tagline of this year’s TurtleFest, and together we did! I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was involved in helping us host a very successful and fun TurtleFest. This wonderful annual event allowed us to welcome thousands of guests to our campus and thank the community for their unwavering support of our mission. We look forward to another fun TurtleFest in March of 2018 and hope you will join us.
Sea turtle nesting season is upon us here in South Florida, and our beaches are currently serving as some of the most important sea turtle nesting grounds in North America! To date we have 22 leatherback sea turtle nests on the 9.5 mile stretch of beach that we manage. Sea turtle nesting season runs from March 1 – October 31st and last year we had a total of nearly 17,000 nests on our beach! For information about sea turtle nesting season please visit our website.
“People protect what they love…” This iconic quote by Jacques Cousteau is a wonderful quote to remind everyone that Earth Day is quickly approaching. On Saturday April 22nd please take some time to celebrate one of our most favorite holidays by visiting LMC. We have exciting Earth Day specific programs planned from 9am to 4pm. I hope you will encourage your friends and family to join you as you take time to celebrate the beauty of our planet.
Making “Waves of Progress” the capital expansion campaign for Loggerhead Marinelife Center is underway. When we opened our current campus in 2007 we welcomed over 70,000 visitors. Fast forward to 2016 and we welcomed over 300,000 visitors. In order to continue accelerating and amplifying our conservation and education impact, we must expand and we hope you will join us! For a behind-the-scenes look at our Waves of Progress campaign, please have a look at our video: https://vimeo.com/201280900
Double your impact! We are humbled to report that LMC received a $250,000 matching grant from the Roe Green Foundation to accelerate our campaign. Now is the time when friends can help LMC receive a dollar-for-dollar match when you donate to our Waves of Progress campaign. This campaign is truly exciting and is designed to allow LMC to be recognized locally and internationally as the leading authority in sea turtle education, research, and rehabilitation. For more information on how to become involved in our campaign, please get in touch with Lynne Wells our Capital Campaign Director. Lynne can be reached via eMail at [email protected].
I thank you for your continued support of our mission and look forward to seeing you on campus soon.
With Gratitude, Jack E. Lighton
President & CEO
Save-THe-Date: LMC Events
- Earth Day 2017 Celebration. On Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., join us as we celebrate the earth at our Earth Day Celebration and remember that “the earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth” (Chief Seattle). Guests will gather for a beach cleanup, composting lessons and gardening activity. For more information and live updates, please visit our event page.
- Great American Cleanup. Join Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s Blue Friends on Saturday, April 15 at 8:30 a.m. for the Great American Cleanup. Following one hour of cleaning the beach, join us for a light bite sponsored by Whole Foods Market in Palm Beach Gardens. Help us keep the beach that our turtles call home free from trash and litter. Complimentary breakfast and coffee by Oceana Coffee will be served. Remember to please bring a bucket (if you have one) to collect the trash. This beach clean-up is sponsored by: Perez & Dubois Real Estate. Please RSVP to [email protected].
- Run 4 the Sea. Calling all runners! On June 17, 2017 from 7 am – 10:30 am, our 6th Annual Run 4 The Sea will be held in beautiful Juno Beach along the scenic Atlantic Ocean and A1A and celebrates ocean conservation and endangered sea turtles. The event features a fun one-mile run for children and a four-mile run for adults, as well as a post-race celebration with music and breakfast. Sign up to participate at: runsignup.com/Race/FL/NorthPalmBeach/Run4TheSea2017
- The Great Give is here! The Great Give is a 24-hour online giving event led by the Community Foundation for Palm Beach County, United Way of Palm Beach County and United Way of Martin County, designed to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in a single day. This community-wide event celebrates the spirit of giving and the collective effort it takes to strengthen our community by raising critical funds for local nonprofits. Every dollar counts. Save the date for May 17 this year!
Are you An Ocean Ambassador ?
Our education department is calling all ocean ambassadors to join us for a month filled with ocean conservation programs for all ages.
- Fish ID & Snorkel: April Eco-Adventure Series at Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Join Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) biologists on a local eco-excursion to the Blue Heron Bridge Snorkel Trail for a guided tour of one of Palm Beach County’s newest artificial reefs and best kept secret. Guests will enjoy an introduction to the Blue Heron Bridge and local ecology before heading down to Phil Foster Park for a late afternoon snorkel to test (and see) what they have learned! To register for one or more of these brand new Eco-Adventures, please visit www.marinelife.org/eco.
- Travel for the Turtles: Serving the World’s Imperiled Marine life 2017. Travel with LMC and make your next vacation look (and do) good for sea turtles and the environment by joining one of our 2017 SWIM destination eco tour programs! The Serving the World’s Imperiled Marine life (SWIM) program gives you the opportunity to experience hands on sea turtle research, rehabilitation, and conservation efforts while experiencing a unique vacation to some of the world’s most unique marine ecosystems. Take a glance at your itinerary here. Read up on our 2017 destinations (including Hawai’i, Nicaragua) and detailed itineraries at www.marinelife.org/SWIM or contact Hannah at [email protected] to decide where you want to SWIM this year!
Photo Courtesy of Stephanie A. Smith - Calling all High School Students! Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity – Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity – Counselor-in-Training (CIT). Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s Education staff is currently searching for enthusiastic, eco-minded high school students to join our Counselor-in-Training (CIT) program to assist with our popular Junior Marine Biologist Summer Camp program. CITs will gain valuable experience in the marine science fields as well as real working experience to prepare them for the future. Interested applicants may apply for our CIT position by completing the CIT application found at www.marinelife.org/camp. Deadline for submission is Monday, May 2 to [email protected].
- 2017 Junior Marine Biologist Summer Camp. Reserve your camper’s spot in our popular Junior Marine Biologist Summer Camp before we are sold out! This year, we have added two new sessions for aspiring marine biologists and we have seen a record-breaking amount of children ages 6-17 that want to spend time with the turtles this summer. For more information on our exciting, “hands on, feet wet” summer camp program, check out our website at www.marinelife.org/camp.
- Homeschool Workshops. Loggerhead Marinelife Center now offers workshops exclusively for homeschool students! This workshop series focuses on various marine science topics, including marine biology, coastal ecology, veterinary science, water quality, oceanography, and ocean conservation. These workshops include hands-on activities and lessons for students ages 6-13. Cost is $10/student for the two-hour program. To register for one or more of these specialty workshops for your student or homeschool, please visit our website.
- Nesting Season Beach Program Registration opens May 1! It’s that time of year again and the sea turtles have begun their annual trek to our beaches for summer time nesting and you can watch them! Join LMC staff and volunteers on our unique Turtle Walk program that brings you up close to nesting sea turtles in a safe and responsible setting to experience a sight you won’t soon forget. Guests will enjoy an educational presentation prior to walking down to the beach to watch a nesting sea turtle lay her eggs. Registration for our Turtle Walk program begins May 1. Tickets sell out quickly, so please visit www.marinelife.org/turtlewalk to reserve your spot then!
- Last Science for Seniors cycle begins April 25! It’s time for seniors to get out of their shells! Don’t miss the final series of this program beginning April 25 at 2 p.m. This four-part series touches on health, happiness and life in the Golden Age (and sea turtles, too) and is wrapping up for the season. No RSVP required and all seniors are welcome to attend this free program!
Conservation Corner
- TurtleFest 2017 Recap. Over 10,000 people attended Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s 14th Annual TurtleFest: Together We Can for a day to celebrate the ocean at Palm Beach County’s largest seaside conservation festival. The theme, “Together We Can,” highlighted how everyone can make a difference for the ocean. As such, TurtleFest featured only compostable cutlery and plates, reusable water bottles and stainless steel beverage cups. Because of these changes, LMC reduced the use of thousands of single-use plastic cups, bottles, utensils and plastic bags. For the first time, TurtleFest hosted morning beach cleanups, removing debris from local beaches that was later used to create a beautiful mosaic. Also new to the festival was the Seek Zero Conservation Pavilion & Social Media Lounge. In the space, guests relaxed, joined the #TogetherWeCan conversation and learned about various conservation efforts being implemented by LMC and local partners. Please view our event album on our Facebook page.
- Marinelife Day 2017. Art Contest & Science Fair Deadline Extended – This year, at Marinelife Day at the Gardens Mall on Aug. 19, Loggerhead Marinelife Center will hold an art contest and science fair for students grades 3 – 12. Artwork and science projects focused on the top five deadliest marine debris items will be showcased at the event. Select projects will have the chance to work with LMC staff to make their project a reality! The project proposal deadline for both programs has been extended to April 28. For more information, please email [email protected].
- Monofilament Recycling in Palm Beach County. Monofilament is a single strand of thin, durable plastic commonly used as fishing line. It is designed to be nearly unbreakable and invisible underwater. Like any other plastic, it takes hundreds of years to decompose. As such, it often accumulates and can wrap around boat propellers, pier pilings, and other structures in the water. Monofilament is sometimes ingested and can cause entanglement for many marine animals, and sea turtles are no exception. The good news is – we have some solutions. Read more about our efforts to recycle monofilament fishing line here.
- Juno Beach Pier Conservationist of the Month. Gary, our Conservationist of the Month, likes to fish for mackerel and bluefish at the T of the pier. He often helps other fisherman and can be found educating visitors on the rules and regulations of different types of fish.
- Juno Beach Pier Conservationist of the Month. Deep Blue Yoga and You! classes will be held on the beach next to the Juno Beach Pier on April 29. Join us at 7:30 a.m. for a FREE 45-minute, slow-flow yoga class followed by a 15-minute beach cleanup. Please be sure to bring your own mat or towel, water bottle and any props you need. For more information on either program, please contact [email protected].
What’s New in Rehab?
- Visiting Veterinarians. In recent years, over 150 stranded sea turtles have been reported along the coast of Chile (Medrano et al., 2016). Local biologists believe the number of stranded cases is significantly underestimated as there is no established protocol for stranding response in the country. For the cases that are reported, there is no network of volunteers to assist with assessment and transportation and no rehabilitation facility in Chile equipped to treat sea turtles. Two veterinarians from Chile have visited Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s facility to gain experience working with sea turtle rehabilitation. In 2013, María José Brain worked with our staff for several months. This past February/March, Beatriz Brito worked with Dr. Manire and his team for just over a month. They both brought back skills of doing manual white blood cell counts, slow bolus parenteral nutrition administration, and an array of unique treatment techniques. LMC has been work with María and Beatriz to establish the country’s first sea turtle rehabilitation facility and network of volunteer responders. The upcoming intiative will include educational outreach to local anglers, community members, volunteers and students to promote responsible practices and habitat protection.
- Join the Rehab Staff. Our rehab department is seeking a self-motivated, passionate individual to fulfill the role of a Commissary Technician. The Commissary Technician is a member of the rehabilitation staff that implements the best practices to achieve and maintain the highest standard of care for our sea turtle patients. This posting is for a part-time (approximately 15 hours/week, 7-10 a.m., Monday-Friday) position responsible for carrying out the orders of the veterinarian and the Hospital Coordinator in regards to turtle feedings, oral medications and food preparation. For more information, please visit our career page.
RESEARCH REPORT – Meet Our Seasonal Field Technicians
Research Report. On March 23, Cavache Inc. construction completed sand placement at the Jupiter Inlet and we ceased nightly survey for nesting sea turtles. No nests were laid within the project area this year, so our biologists did not have to relocate any nests. Sand was dredged from both the Inter-coastal waterway and the inlet this year. The sand was pumped onto the northern section of Jupiter Beach and graded to a natural slope to extend the width of the existing beach. Our biologists will be collecting data to evaluate for possible impacts on sea turtle nesting from this nourishment project.
Meet our Seasonal Field Technicians. These recent graduates and post-graduate students will be assisting LMC biologists with our morning nesting survey as well as The Leatherback Project. These seasonal positions extend for four to seven months and our technicians are a crucial part of our research staff. They will be collecting data out on our beaches throughout the summer, so make sure to say hello if you see them on our beaches conducting surveys.
I received a Bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in Aquatic Sciences in 2014. While there, I did nesting research on a smaller scale with painted and yellow mud turtles. After graduation I relocated to South Florida and accepted a position as a nesting season technician at LMC. I currently work full time as a field biologist at DB Ecological consulting firm. In addition to my full time job, I will be working at LMC for my fourth consecutive season. Last year was a doozy with over 16,000 nests documented. I can’t wait to see what the turtles have in store for us this year.
Elizabeth Kantra | Aurora, Ohio
This May, I will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in English from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. Last summer, I spent an amazing three months interning at LMC. My first day, there was a stranded female on Tequesta Beach; after that, I was hooked. I loved every minute of releasing hatchlings, marking nests, identifying tracks and everything else that came with the intern position. Thus, I jumped at the chance to come back and work as a Nesting Season Field Technician this season. I look forward to another season working at LMC!
I received my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 2009 and finished my Masters of Science at Georgia Southern University in 2011. I am currently working on my Ph.D. at Florida Atlantic University. I have worked with turtles for over 14 years and worked with marine turtles for over eight years. My research at FAU focuses on the reproductive behavior of marine turtles nesting in South Florida. Specifically, I am examining the number of male loggerheads, green sea turtles and leatherbacks across multiple nesting seasons to determine their breeding sex ratios. This will be my second field season working as a Leatherback Field Technician for the Leatherback Project, but it will be my 5th field season working in Juno. Here’s to a great season!
I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Organismal Biology and a minor in Psychology from Kent State University in 2014. As an undergraduate student, I participated in various internships, completed individual research projects, and studied abroad. Since then, I’ve relocated to South Florida as an aspiring research biologist, currently working for FWC. In the future, I plan to further my education in a graduate program specializing in marine vertebrate behavioral ecology and conservation research. I’ve been volunteering with LMC for over a year now in the rehabilitation department and am excited to participate in sea turtle research this season as a Nesting Season Field Technician!
Karen Lohman | Post Falls, IdahoI received my bachelor’s degree in Biology from Stony Brook University in 2013. I have worked on a variety of projects since graduating, including floral surveys in Northern Ecuador, vegetation surveys in Utah and Colorado, and pika surveys for the USGS throughout the Northern Rocky Mountain region. I worked the 2016 record sea turtle season as a nesting technician for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. I’m looking forward to my first season of night work with nesting leatherbacks as a Leatherback Field Technician.
I received a Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in Zoology with a concentration of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology in 2016. I finished my degree with an internship at the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge as their Student Conservation Association (AmeriCorps) intern. Last summer, I had the opportunity to be a sea turtle nesting surveyor for Hobe Sound NWR. Being from Michigan, I was thrilled to be able to be on the beach and see beautiful sunrises every morning. My love for sea turtles grew more and more as the season went on. Earlier this year, I was very excited to learn that LMC was looking for surveyors for the 2017 season and jumped at the opportunity to apply! I am very thankful to be a part of an amazing facility and staff. I can’t wait to see how the turtles do this season!
I graduated from Flagler College in the spring of 2016 with a bachelor’s in Coastal Environmental Science, and a minor in Economics. While attending Flagler College, I worked on a project that compared the biodiversity and abundance of aquatic species between two sites within the St. Augustine Intracoastal Waterway. In addition, I worked on a short term study seeking to determine if microhabitats existed in the St. Augustine Intracoastal Waterway based on water quality parameters and seine net surveys. My love and respect for coastal waters is what fuels my desire to research coastal organisms and their habitats, so that appropriate conservation efforts can be made. I am very excited to start my first nesting season as a Nesting Season Field Technician with LMC, and honored to be a part of such an incredible organization.
I attended Florida Institute of Technology where I received my Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology in 2012. While there, I did undergraduate research on scrub jay predation by yellow rat snakes. I also interned with the Student Conservation Association where I collected data on shorebird breeding populations in the northeast and became interested in coastal ecosystems. I moved to the west coast for graduate school and received my Master’s degree in Zoology from Washington State University. My thesis was on grizzly bear hibernation physiology and metabolism. After graduating, I worked as a wildlife technician for the National Forest Service in California and helped to manage Northern Spotted Owl populations. I love being involved in the conservation of threatened or endangered species, and I am very excited to be returning to the east coast to work with Florida’s wildlife again. This will be my first season as a Nesting Season Field Technician with LMC.
I graduated from Bemidji State University with my bachelor’s degree in Biology with a wildlife management emphasis in Dec. 2015. After graduation, I worked as a Deer Capture Technician with the University of Delaware for a season. After that, I wanted to be somewhere warm; I was done with winters so I took flight and moved to the sunny state of Florida in 2016. I became passionate for sea turtles when I witnessed a hatchling being released back into the ocean in Ft. Lauderdale. Last summer, I volunteered with Sea Turtle Oversight Protection in Ft. Lauderdale to rescue and release disoriented hatchlings. I currently work at the USDA in Ft. Pierce working with a citrus breeding program and just got hired on as a Nesting Season Field Technician. I am super excited and I can’t wait for the season start!
In 2014, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Drury University, a small private school located in Springfield, Missouri. While there, I did aquatic research focused on the connectivity of the diverse waterways in southwest Missouri. Since graduating, I held an internship position at Mote Marine Laboratory with their Sea Turtle Nesting Program and came back the following year as a seasonal field technician. During my time at Mote, I really became interested in sea turtle nesting. This interest continued last sea turtle season when I was selected to be a a field technician for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s Sea Turtle Nesting and Tagging program in Naples, Florida. This sea turtle season, I jumped at the chance to work as a Nesting Season Field Technician for LMC and am thrilled to experience a sea turtle season on the east coast of Florida!
VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH
We would like to congratulate longtime volunteer Laura Bruce on being named March’s Volunteer of the Month. Laura, a volunteer at Loggerhead Marinelife Center since March 2010, has spent the last seven years educating guests in the turtle yard and helping the hospital rehabilitate sick and injured sea turtles.
Over the course of the last two months, Laura has volunteered at LMC for more than 91 hours. She has helped our sea turtle hospital facilitate parenteral nutrition for a number of chronically debilitated loggerheads. In addition to all of that, she has picked up hatchlings discovered on Palm Beach Island and helped release washback sea turtles by boat.
Her devotion and passion for sea turtles has been evident since she started volunteering at LMC seven years ago. Laura is also one of the best scouts in our Turtle Walks Program. She is an invaluable member of the sea turtle rehab team and we appreciate everything that Laura does.
Thank you for all your hard work, Laura!
MASCOT CORNER: I Love A Clean Ocean!
Hello friends,
Fletch here, the loveable and huggable Loggerhead Marinelife Center mascot. I need your help on a very important issue, “Trash in my ocean home!”
On any given day, marine life are exposed to plastic bags, monofilament fishing line, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, sixpack rings, tin cans, foam containers and the list goes on. Trash in my ocean home is left by humans not reptiles, birds, fish or other marine life.
Suzanne Tate’s Nature Series for children, classifies humans as Helpful or Careless in many of her books. YOU have the power of choice to be either. We can only hope YOU make the choice to be a “Helpful Human,” to keep my ocean home “Clean and Blue, Trash Free.”
You can help, by taking the “Marinelife Guardian Pledge” and live its principals as part of your daily life style.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect and Cleanup!
- Reduce the amount of waste you produce
- Reuse something instead of throwing it away
- Recycle something old and make it into something new
- Respect the ocean, don’t trash it, and…
- Cleanup the ocean where others have trashed it
To take the pledge: Click here “Marinelife Guardian Pledge,” print it, sign it and live it. Then share it with family, friends, co-workers, teachers and classmates. Let’s work together, to keep my ocean home “Clean and Blue, Trash Free.” Protecting the ocean is our responsibility. Let’s get started!
Support Sea Turtle Conservation!
- Adoption Spotlight. Nothing says spring quite like bright and vibrant prints, and we think Lilly the sea turtle agrees! Lilly, named after our amazing partner Lilly Pulitzer upon the turtle’s arrival on Oct. 11, 2016, has been receiving hydrotherapy treatments to help the turtle improve its ability to use an injured flipper. Want to help Lilly and other LMC patients continue to receive important treatments? You can adopt Lilly at marinelife.org/adopt and get into the spirit of spring with a unique Lilly Pulitzer adoption certificate.
- Gift Store. We are egg-static that sea turtle nesting and hatching season is here! To celebrate, we designed a turtle-y cool egg-themed Easter basket to give to your little hatchling. Let them raise their own little “hatchling” with a Hatch and Grow egg or let them grow three Super Grow Eggs and explore a water animal kingdom. For your little biologist, give them a Sea Turtles Egg Fossil Set to dig out a glow in the dark sea turtle. Let your young hatchlings imagination run wild with our turtle-y cool Easter basket. All items can be purchased in our gift store or on our estore.
THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING SUPPORTERS!
Thank you to Ground Swell Surf Shop, Stream2Sea, Modern Juice Co., and Guanabanas for sponsoring Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s research program! Thanks to the support of local businesses like these, our research team is able to continuously monitor 9.5 miles of beach in Palm Beach County throughout sea turtle nesting season. To learn more about this sponsorship opportunity, please contact Veronica at [email protected]. Thank you to the sponsors of TurtleFest 2017, who helped to make this year’s event so successful: PNC; The Gardens Mall; Tire Kingdom; Jupiter Medical Center; Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa; FPL; Lagunitas; Naked Turtle Rum; Seagull Electronics; In Jupiter Magazine; Kool 105.5; Jersey Mike’s; The Gymnastics Revolution; Sandy James Fine Food & Productions; On The Mark Landscaping; Lighthouse Art Center; and Florida Weekly.
Thank you to our March and April Beach Clean-Up sponsors: Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce, P.A. (March) and Perez & Dubois Real Estate (April). We are so grateful to have the community’s support in keeping our beaches clean!
Thank you to Jeff Biege, a vendor at TurtleFest 2017, who donated a percentage of his sales on the day of the event back to Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Thank you for your continued support and beautiful photos, Jeff!
Fletch Visits Manatee Lagoon!
Last month, Fletch visited Manatee Lagoon – An FPL Eco-Discovery Center! We are very thankful to have this wonderful partner in conservation here in the Palm Beaches! During Fletch’s visit he enjoyed learning about manatee and ocean conservation. While attending the center, Fletch saw a few manatees in the lagoon and learned about how manatees play an integral role in the overall health of Florida’s ecosystems.
Fletch encourages you to take the time to spread information about the gentle sea cow, especially if you live in South Florida or a place where manatees congregate during manatee season. The Manatee Masters at Manatee Lagoon will provide you with all of the educational materials you will need to spread awareness. For additional information about manatees, please refer to Manatee Lagoon’s activity calendar.
As a proud partner of the facility, LMC was selected to manage the gift store and café. With a multi-functional educational center, a manatee webcam, two levels of observation areas and so much more, LMC is grateful to partner with Manatee Lagoon and is excited to watch the center grow as a world-class educational facility in Palm Beach County. Together, we can continue to raise awareness about the sea turtle and the manatee, and help inspire our neighbors, friends and family to be leaders of ocean conservation.
Manatee Lagoon Talk – Join us on a walking tour of our visitor center and learn about manatee anatomy, physiology and the importance of GPS tracking devices, as well as the Lake Worth Lagoon.
Mindful Moments Yoga (Adult) – Join Manatee Lagoon for yoga classes against the beautiful calming backdrop of Lake Worth Lagoon.
Rollology/Pilates Class – Join us for pilates classes against the beautiful calming backdrop of Lake Worth Lagoon.
Junior Aqua Lab – A series of four experimental activities that deal with some of the properties of water. Ages 9 to 14.
April Lecture Series: Every Sunday from 2-3 p.m., join the Manatee Masters and an expert speaker for a lecture to learn about a new topic every week!