Sea turtle nesting and hatchling season on Anna Maria Island ended Oct. 31, and Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers are preparing an expanded educational outreach program for the offseason.
Educating children in Manatee County is a focal point of AMITW outreach, according to executive director Suzi Fox.
“They are our future,” Fox said of the students.
Previously, Fox and AMITW volunteers worked with students at Anna Maria Elementary School.
They taught students about sea turtles and nesting shorebirds, and students drew pictures of the animals that were used for printed materials.
“The program has been very popular — the kids learn and have fun, and everyone loves the drawings they made for us,” Fox said.
This encouraged Fox to conceive a broader plan — to spread their wings.
AMITW will expand its outreach off the island to include additional schools in the county.
She also said volunteers will form “a working group of educators from different backgrounds that will come together regularly for brainstorming sessions.”
The new shoreline and marine wildlife educational program will include a set of curriculums tailored to suit all grade levels, according to Fox.
The group also will develop a program for winter visitors.
A record-breaking number of loggerhead sea turtle nests were laid on island beaches this season, and Fox says public education is one of the reasons numbers have increased.
Throughout the year, AMITW provides turtle-safety information to the public through printed materials, including door-hangers, booklets and stickers.
The materials inform residents, business owners and visitors of the importance of turtle-friendly lighting and practices during sea turtle nesting and hatchling season — May 1-Oct. 31.
“We start preparing our information when the season ends, so that we are ready for the influx of winter visitors — they want to know about our turtles, too,” Fox said.
Recently, Manatee County agreed to allow inclusion of the county logo on AMITW signs placed in the dunes to designate nesting shorebird areas.
The county also has agreed to fund the cost to print 1,000 “Turtle SafeLight Guide cards,” containing a small, blue filter that when held up to a light-source, can show if a bulb is turtle-friendly.
The cards will be distributed to the public.
Lighting on or close to the shoreline can distract nesting turtles and disorient hatchlings away from their home in the Gulf of Mexico and can lead to death.
“It is our top priority to let people know about turtle-safe lighting practices while the turtles aren’t here so they are prepared when they arrive to nest,” Fox said. “These cards really help people see where the problem is so it can be fixed.”
AMITW also is working with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to spread information. The BACVB agreed to print materials to be distributed to island resorts. Fox said AMITW volunteers also will be speaking with resort and rentals managers in person about turtle-safe practices before sea turtle season begins.
Additionally, AMITW hosts a series of free, informational “Turtle Talks.” The next series of Turtle Talks will begin after the new year, according to Fox.
For more information about AMITW, contact Fox at suzilfox@gmail.com or 941-778-5638.