Nesting sea turtles face a large range of obstacles during their lifetime, but a couch should not be one of them… Did this couch wash ashore or was it left behind?
This piece of debris, removed by Loggerhead Marinelife Center, is just one example of man-made obstacles that sea turtles encounter during nesting season. Large items of debris on the beach can obstruct a sea turtle’s path and potentially prevent a successful nesting attempt.
While enjoying the beach this nesting season, please be sure to:
– Take all chairs, coolers, tents, and umbrellas with you when leaving the beach.
– Fill in holes and knock down sandcastles
– Remember to remove all trash from the beach – even if it isn’t yours!
Thank you for helping to keep our beaches clean!
Workshop attendees included leaders from state agencies, universities, NGO’s, and other organizations with the goal of developing a comprehensive, statewide action plan to reduce and prevent marine debris in Florida.
Following the workshop, representatives from NOAA visited LMC’s campus to see our marine debris conservation initiatives first-hand, including LMC’s Marine Debris Sorting Station – the first of its kind- funded by Bank of America.
Special thanks to NOAA for organizing this workshop to address one of the most serious threats facing marine life!
On April 10th, in partnership with Jupiter Dive Center, Loggerhead Marinelife Center held an underwater cleanup at the Juno Beach Pier!
In 60 minutes, six divers removed over 47 lbs of debris from under the pier- mostly consisting of fishing line! Each mile of line recovered eliminates the chance of entangling marine life, possibly resulting in flipper amputation, strangulation, or death.
Huge thank you to Jupiter Dive Center for their partnership on this cleanup!!
Follow these 5 tips for an environmentally friendly spring celebration!
1. “Green” your basket grass. Plastic grass used to line baskets never goes away in the environment and can pose a hazard to wildlife. Paper grass is a greener choice, especially if it’s recycled. You can also try making your own from construction or other colorful paper.
2. Reuse or re-purpose your spring baskets. Avoid buying prepared baskets wrapped in plastic. Instead, use the same basket year after year, or find a creative alternative—pretty bowls, boxes, and even big straw hats can all be fun to fill with treats.
3. Refill those plastic eggs. Plastic eggs can be stored and reused each year. The internet is filled with additional ideas for reusing plastic eggs ranging from mini planters to snack containers.
4. Reduce plastic candy wrappers. Instead of buying individually wrapped candy, opt for bulk packaging or larger sizes to reduce single-use packaging.
5. Plant Something Green. Earth Day is April 22—another reason to celebrate. Go outside and plant something green—a tree, flowers, or seeds. Then watch them grow!
Thank you for helping to make our blue planet a greener place to live!!
On Monday, April 22, 2019, as part of our Blue Table Restaurant Program, more than 50 restaurant partners will refrain from offering plastic straws to their patrons and/or use non-plastic alternatives. Our campaign includes restaurants adjacent to the nine miles of sea turtle nesting beach patrolled by LMC.
Join Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s Earth Day celebration by skipping the plastic straw! If you are in Palm Beach County, please visit these restaurants and thank them for going #StrawFreewithLMC and encourage your favorite restaurant to join our Earth Day celebration. Working together we can all help protect sea turtles and other wildlife by reducing straws and other single-use plastics.
Participating restaurants include:
1000 NORTH
Another Broken Egg
Baldino’s Restaurant
Bravo Cucina Italiana
BurgerFi
Café Sole
Calaveras Cantina
Café des Artistes
Carve Surf & Coffee
Chili’s Grill & Bar
Chowder Heads
The Corner Café & Brewery
County Line Pizza
Dive Bar Restaurant
Duke’s Lazy Loggerhead Cafe
Fresh Nation
Little Moir’s Food Shack
Garden City Cafe
Golden Pavilion Restaurant
Guanabanas
Hog Snappers
Hurricane Café
Jersey Mike’s (PGA)
Jersey Mike’s (West Palm Beach)
Jetty’s Waterfront Cafe
Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club
Johnny Swirls
Judy’s Highway Café
Jupiter Beach Resort
Jupiter Hills Golf Club
Juno Beach Café
Krave Restaurant
Lighthouse Diner
Lou’s Bar & Grill
McCarthy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
Oceana Coffee
PapiChulo Tacos
Papa Kwans Coffee Shop
Phat Panda Street Food
Rancho Chico
Rock Steady Juice Joint
Schooners
Subculture Coffee
Surf Taco
Tequesta Brewing Co.
The Cooper Restaurant
The Crafty Crust
The Juno Beach Fish House
The Woods Jupiter
Time to Eat Diner
Tommy Bahama
Too Bizaare
U-Tiki Beach
Vulcano’s Italian Restaurant
Thank you for going Straw Free with LMC!
Read below for 4 ways you can keep celebrating World Water Day at tomorrow’s TurtleFest!!
1. Bring a reusable water bottle and visit our water station for free refills throughout the day!
2. Help protect our oceans and marine life by picking up and disposing of trash properly! Most storm drains empty into the nearest body of water, meaning most garbage thrown on the ground near a storm drain eventually ends up in the ocean.
3. Try eating less meat to help conserve water! Instead, choose options that require less water to farm- like locally grown fruits and veggies.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
4. Visit our Conservation Row to learn more about what different organizations are doing to help our ocean-planet- and what you can do to help!
“Any guesses on what this is?” A conservation volunteer asks a group of beach-cleanup participants?
A gray plastic cylindrical tube is passed around the group, each person examining it closely.
“It’s a boat fender!” Someone exclaims. “No, it’s from a car!” Another chimes in. “Is it a protein powder container?” A third adds.
“All good guesses, but not quite right,” our conservation volunteer says, “this is an octopus trap.”
Loggerhead Marinelife Center beach cleanup participants have found two of these odd-shaped plastic containers on Juno Beach, Florida, and were curious about what this mystery piece of marine debris could be.
We reached out to FWC and discovered that this was not only an octopus trap, but that it had traveled all the way across the Atlantic from West Africa, over 4,000 miles.
At Loggerhead Marinelife Center, we sort and record every piece of debris collected during beach cleanups, and we have found that most trash items have a story to tell. The ocean currents act as a conveyor belt, moving trash from one shore to another, and depositing items far from where they originated.
Stay tuned as we discover more mystery marine debris.
During last week’s Blue Friends beach cleanup, 232 volunteers helped to removed 74.9 pounds of trash!
Can you spot some of the odd items found during the beach cleanup?
In the picture look for:
- A note in a bottle
- A penguin in a top hat
- A blue plastic strawberry
- Fake teeth
- A gift wrapping bow
- A turtle toy
- A toy doll
Conservation 