World Sea Turtle Day: How Alabama celebrates + how you can help
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World Sea Turtle Day is June 16, celebrating the birthday of Dr. Archie Carr, the founder of the Sea Turtle Conservancy and a pioneer in sea turtle biology.
Here in Alabama, several organizations are growing their efforts to protect sea turtle species.
Keep reading to see how they’re celebrating the annual holiday + how they’re asking the public to help with the cause.
Gulf State Park’s sea turtle release
On Friday, June 13, Gulf State Park hosted a full day of events dedicated to sea turtle education + conservancy.
The day included:
- Sea turtle rescue demonstration
- Sea turtle nesting education
- Sea turtle fossil discovery
The events were free to attend after entering the park + open to all ages.
Alabama Coastal Foundation donation matching
Each year, the Alabama Coastal Foundation helps celebrate World Sea Turtle Day through a fundraising campaign.
You can make a tax deductible donation to the Alabama Coastal Foundation and select the “All at Once Match” option to have your contribution matched dollar for dollar.
As a special treat, ACF is waiving shipping/delivery fees for its merchandise through June 22 so you can order your flashlights, totebags, decals, or any of the other items.
How you can help sea turtles in Alabama
According to Outdoor Alabama, there are six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters. All six are listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
In Alabama, sea turtle season runs from May 1st, when mom sea turtles come to nest, through October 31st, when nests have finished hatching. Sea turtle nests can be found on all of Alabama’s beaches from Dauphin Island’s west end to Alabama Point.
That’s why experts have put together recommendations for how we can all help the sea turtle population in our state:
- If you see a stranded sea turtle:
- Call the stranding network immediately
- Do not return the animal to the water
- Do not remove any entangling line or gear
- Keep crowds and noise to a minimum
- Limiting coastal lighting
- Turn off lights visible on nesting beaches or use wildlife-friendly lighting
- Tint windows that face the beach
- Close opaque curtains or blinds after dark to cover any windows that are visible from the beach
- Do not use flashlight or cell phone lights while walking on the beach at night
- If you need lighting, use a sea turtle friendly red flashlight as red, orange or amber lights are less disorienting for sea turtles
