Happy World Turtle Day!

The purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.


Turtle Day is celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways, from dressing up as turtles or wearing green summer dresses, to saving turtles caught on highways, to research activities. Turtle Day lesson plans and craft projects encourage teaching about turtles in classrooms.

World Turtle Day was started to increase respect and knowledge for the world’s oldest creatures. Turtles and Tortoises are some of the most amazing and endangered animals on the planet. Armed with knowledge and passion for these gentle animals, we can come together to preserve Turtle and Tortoise species throughout the world.

Adults and children can do a few small things that can help to save turtles and tortoises for the next generation:

• If you are looking for a pet, purchase a captive bred animal from a reputable store or breeder. Do not take home a wild turtle as a pet.
• Never release a pet turtle into the wild. Turtles kept in captivity may not have the important nutrients they need to survive through the cold winter. In addition, pet turtles may not be native to your area and should not interbreed with wild turtle.  Join a local Turtle and Tortoise club to learn more.

• Never remove turtles or tortoises from the wild unless they are sick or injured.
• If a tortoise is crossing a busy street, pick it up and take it in the same direction it was going – if you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again.
• Help keep beaches and other natural habitats clean. Never leave trash and pick up garbage left by others.
• Write letters to legislators asking them to keep sensitive habitat preserved or closed to off road vehicles, and to prevent off shore drilling that can lead to more endangered sea turtle deaths.

Let's all do our part to keep these dignified and ancient animals safe!

Bella and Britt Remind us September 17 is International Coastal Clean-Up Day

All year long, organizations and individuals across the globe take part in Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, identify the sources of that debris, and change the behaviors that allow it to reach the ocean in the first place.
(See video at bottom of post.)

During the amazing event each September, hundreds of thousands of volunteers from countries all over the world spend a day picking up everything from cigarette butts and food wrappers to lost fishing nets and major appliances. Because trash travels to the ocean by way of storm drains and waterways, they don’t just work along ocean beaches; these dedicated folks slog through mud and sand along lakes, streams, and rivers, too, often working far inland.

It all began with one woman walking along the beach of South Padre Island, Texas. Appalled at the amount of trash she saw, Linda Maraniss immediately felt compelled to do something about it. As a former employee of Ocean Conservancy (then known as the Center for Environmental Education), she knew something about solutions.

 Teaming up with like-minded people, she organized a beach cleanup. In only two hours, 2,800 Texans picked up 124 tons of trash along 122 miles of coastline. Since 1986, that effort has rippled out across the globe, and over a quarter century has grown into a much-loved and much valued experience that nearly half-a-million people look forward to each fall—with more joining each year.

Nancy Stewart
Book Nook by the Bay
St. Petersburg, Florida

In 2009, 60 percent of the debris collected and cataloged consisted of single-use, disposable items. Volunteers picked up 1.1 million plastic bags. And enough cups, plates, knives, forks, and spoons for a picnic for 100,000 people. Each year volunteers collect more than a million beverage bottles from beaches, shorelines, and underwater in just one day.

Whether we live along the shore or hundreds of miles inland, we are all intimately connected to the ocean. It drives and moderates our climate. It is the ultimate source of much of the water we drink and much of the air we breathe. It directly feeds millions of people. It also absorbs a great deal of the air and water pollution generated by a world population approaching seven billion people. But our ocean is sick, and our actions have made it so.

Every year, countless marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and other animals are sickened, injured, or killed because of dangerous items we allow into the sea. They are poisoned, choked, or entangled in the trash we leave behind, from leaky paint cans to empty yogurt cups to cast-off fishing line. Trash also poses health threats to humans, contaminates marine environments, and clogs boat propellers.

Clearwater Beach--A Promise to World Ocean Day

My family and I are spending two weeks  at our home on Clearwater Beach, Florida.  It is paradise with with problems.  Problems that are mounting because of human intervention.

Clearwater Beach, Florida

Those of us who call this piece of paradise home, worry about trash on the beach.  We are concerned about the amount of litter, particularly clear plastic bags at the water's edge, ready for the tide to take them into the gulf.  There, sea turtles think they are jelly fish, eat them and die. 

We are concerned for the manatees that shelter in our bay to have and raise their young.  Too many people in too many boats go too fast, and many manatees are wounded or killed by propellers of boats.

We residents worry about the dolphins, pelicans and other seabirds trying to live and survive in a hostile environment of our making.  What can reasonable people do? 

As an educator, I am convinced that education is the answer.  Children, and sometimes their parents, need to be enlightened about the danger and damage such thoughtless actions cause.  In fact, the theme this year of World Oceans Day is:  Youth:  the Next Wave for Change.

We must share this planet and have to be respectful of all life.  As we get close to Oceans Day , let us not only give thought but action to helping preserve the oceans and all that call it home.

Clearwater Beach, Florida at Sunset