Turtle Talk – Dr. Roger Wood and the field crew of The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor released 24 turtles at the Strathmere Boat Ramp last week.
Because of the decline in the number of turtles in southern New Jersey, the Terrapin/Recovery Conservation Project began in 1989 at the Institute. Under the direction of Dr. Wood, the program developed procedures to incubate and hatch undamaged eggs taken from turtles killed on the roads. After hatching, they are head-started at the Stockton College Turtle Farm and then released.
The turtles released in Strathmere were less than one year old and “every turtle released is micro-chipped,” said Wood.
Dan McLaughlin, coordinator of Research and Conservation at the Wetlands Institute, was also present at the release. McLaughlin, who grew up in Seaville and was a 2003 graduate of Ocean City High School, remembered “going to the Wetlands Institute, and it left a lasting impression.” He graduated in 2008 from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Environmental and Marine Science.
Students from the Jordan Road School in Somers Point assisted in the release of the terrapins, naming the turtles as they placed them in the water and watched them swim away. The event was an educational and fun experience for the large crowd, which had gathered.
If you would like more information about this fascinating project, visit the website at www. wetlandsinstitute.org.
I dedicate this song to everyone who helped to make the event so memorable.
Turtle Tune
Home by the Bay
(Sing to the tune of “Home on the Range”)
Oh, you gave us a home
In Strathmere to roam
Where we’ll happily live by the bay
Incubated and hatched
And now we’re dispatched
To the boat ramp to live out our days.
Home, home by the bay
Where we’ll happily live day to day
When you drive in your car
Check for us near and far
As we cross roads when our eggs we lay.
Touch Tanks are turning up at local libraries – The Atlantic City Aquarium will present a two-hour program sponsored by the Cape May County Library. Children, ages four and up, will learn about sea stars, whelks, spiders, horseshoe crabs, and more.
One of the presentations will take place on Tues., June 29, at 2 p.m. at the Upper Township Recreation Center, 1790 Route 50, Tuckahoe. For further information about the program, call 609-628-2607.
Creative contests – Free family fun begins at the Music Pier, on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, with a Saltwater Taffy Sculpting Contest on Mon., June 28. French Fry Sculpting will take place on Tues., June 29. On Wed., June 30, contestants will try to create a sculpture from a large over-sized cookie in That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles Contest.
All events begin at 11 a.m. A Super Hero Impersonation Contest is also set for Wed., June 30. Participants of all ages are invited to dress up in their favorite Super Hero costume and compete for prizes.
No pre-registration is required for any of the events. For more information, call 609-525-9300.
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If you would like to make the public aware of events happening in your town, classroom, group, or club, please email me at laladyw@aim.com.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
