Page 4 - Boca Club News - September '23

Page 4, Boca Club News

Record-Breaking Number of Sea Turtle Nests from page 1 Nature Center exists because of the efforts of a group of Public programming—including Gumbo Limbo Nature
concerned residents dedicated to protecting our coastline Center’s popular Sea Turtle Hatchling Releases and Turtle
from development.” Walks—allows the public to learn more about the endangered
Leatherback, Loggerhead and Green Sea turtles lay eggs animals and see them in their natural surroundings. The Team
on Boca Raton beaches every year. Each morning during also advises the public on what to do if they come across a
nesting season, the Sea Turtle Conservation Team surveys Boca nest or a sea turtle in need of assistance. Important reminders
Raton’s five miles of beaches for any new sea turtle activity include:
from the night before. New nests are recorded with GPS and - See a marked nest on the beach? Be mindful around the
marked off with stakes and signage to keep the area protected marked areas on the beach which identify a sea turtle nest, and
and the eggs safe during the incubation period. never disturb nesting turtles, nests or hatchlings.
Like the world’s 350 species of turtles—many of which live - Find a hatchling? If it is daytime, place it in a container with
on land, some in small ponds—sea turtles instinctively return damp sand (not water) on the bottom. Bring it to Gumbo Limbo
to the place where they were born to lay their own eggs, in Nature Center and place it in the cooler labeled “Hatchling
this case to our beaches here in Boca. It is fortunate that our Drop-off” located outside the front door. The drop-off box
mother turtles are spared from having to cross the roads and is checked by staff frequently. If it is nighttime, allow the
highways faced by so many in other urban locations who are hatchling to crawl to the ocean on its own. If it is injured,
often struck, often fatally, by cars before they reach the place follow the same steps, and bring it to the “Hatchling Drop-off”.
Sea turtle tracks in Boca Raton instinct leads them to lay their eggs. - See a sick or injured turtle? Contact the Florida Fish and
David Anderson, the City’s Sea Turtle Conservation Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Wildlife Hotline
News of the record-breaking number of nests this season Coordinator, manages the Team. “I can’t say enough about the at: 1-(888) 404-FWCC (3922) or dial *FWC or #FWC on your
reflects the city’s goal of creating a vibrant and sustainable hard work of our Sea Turtle Conservation Team, who spend mobile phone.
community. Boca Raton has long championed conservation countless hours on the beach each morning documenting the Founded in 1984, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center serves
of the natural environment with policies, initiatives and nests, nesting female crawls, hatched nests, and have also the community as a destination to promote environmental
outreach efforts that support plant, wildlife and marine released over 5,000 hatchlings so far this season. The increase education, conservation and stewardship of our coastal
life on the barrier island and mainland. Opportunities for in nest numbers gives us hope for the future of these amazing ecosystems. Activities to be enjoyed at the center include
community involvement are also an integral part of the animals, and it is important that we continue protecting every walking along a trail through the mangroves, kayaking local
city’s mission. nest and every hatchling moving forward.” waters and visiting gopher tortoises, aquariums, a butterfly
“The record-breaking nesting numbers seen all over The Sea Turtle Conservation Team has monitored, garden and exhibits. The city also organizes beach clean-ups,
the Palm Beaches this summer are a testament to over 50 recorded and studied sea turtle nesting activity in the city dune restoration, tree give-aways and other programs that foster
years of sea turtle conservation efforts in our community,” since 1977. The team works to ensure the protection of community participation and awareness around sustainability.
said Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Manager Leanne Welch. the coastal environment, providing guidance to the city For more information on sea turtle nesting and Gumbo
“Sea turtle conservation in Boca Raton is an ‘all hands’ on issues such as coastal construction, nighttime lighting, Limbo Nature Center, visit: www.myboca.us/GumboLimbo.
effort encompassing employees and volunteers from beach renourishment, mechanical beach raking, shorebirds For more information on the City’s commitment to
multiple departments around the city. In fact, Gumbo Limbo and dune vegetation. Sustainability, visit: www.myboca.us/Sustainability.
Boca Environmental Program Restoring Native Plants At

Red Reef and South Beach Parks; Volunteers Welcomed

The City of Boca Raton Public education
is taking steps to revitalize and participation are
the environmental health of integral parts of the
its coastal parks with a native City’s restoration efforts.
plant restoration project at Volunteers of all ages
Red Reef and South Beach carry out the work of
Parks. In collaboration with removal, digging holes,
the Institute for Regional replanting, watering
Conservation (IRC), the and more, allowing for
city is working to remove large areas to be restored
invasive plant species from quickly. Upcoming
beach dunes and hammocks, volunteer opportunities
replacing them with native include Sat urday,
vegetation. This initiative is September 30th, 9 a.m.-
part of a multi-year strategy 11 a.m., South Beach Park. For more information and to
to improve the resiliency and volunteer, visit the city’s Beach Sustainability webpage and
biological diversity of the The Institute for Regional Conservation.
city’s beachfront parks and will be completed with active
participation from community volunteers.
Invasive species, due to their rapid growth and spread,
can take over native plants, resulting in diminished
biodiversity, habitat loss and food sources for native insects
and animals. This ecological imbalance also jeopardizes the
strength of dunes and other coastal ecosystems.
“The city’s partnership with IRC for managing the
ecosystems at Red Reef and South Beach Parks is an
exciting endeavor,” stated Lindsey Roland Nieratka, the Do you know a family member,
city’s Sustainability Manager. “By eliminating invasive
exotic species and replacing them with native plants, we are friend or a neighbor in need of
enhancing the dune systems and providing a better habitat
for native wildlife and pollinators. We are grateful for the Home Health Care?
dedication of our community volunteers, who have invested
hours of their time in these efforts.”
The invasive species targeted for removal can often be
introduced as ornamental plants found in landscaping or
as house plants, like the beach naupaka, oyster plant and Home Health Aides / Certified Nursing Assistants / Registered Nurses to assist you with:
bowstring-hemp. They will be replaced by an array of native
coastal strand and beach dune plants, including two endangered • Personal Care • Companionship • Respite Care • Alzheimers & Dementia Care
and threatened species in Florida: sea lavender and inkberry. • Medication Management • Transportation • Meal Preparation
• Light Housekeeping • Grocery Shopping • Post Surgery Care

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