Turtle Time to present at the Mound House

Turtle Time volunteer Cindy Johnson will be giving a presentation at the Mound House on Thursday to discuss the threatened loggerhead sea turtles who migrate to the beach every year.

Johnson’s presentation will focus on the nesting habits of the threatened sea turtles, their importance to the environment, and how the public can help make beaches safer for them. Johnson will also discuss the challenges threatened sea turtles face in the wild, and the important work being done on Fort Myers Beach to protect them.

“We’re going to talk about the interesting world of sea turtles and how interesting they are, and how they have made it millions of years to this point, and what we can do to continue that,” Johnson said. “We will be discussing what they do and their behaviors.” The discussion will touch on their importance to the ecosystem, including their part in controlling the jellyfish population in the Gulf.

Turtle Time, the local nonprofit dedicated to the recovery and conservation of sea turtles, monitors the sea turtle nesting activity on Fort Myers Beach. Stewards for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission, the organization works to protect the nests and identifies hatchings and disorientations. They check on nests after they hatch to ensure all the turtles have made it out or if any eggs didn’t survive.

Johnson said she will discuss why all of the work between Turtle Time and FWC is important to ensure that the sea turtles survive. The turtles face many threats in making it out of their nests, out to the Gulf and then surviving long enough to reproduce. “We are going to discuss what we can do to make sure they continue coming to Fort Myers Beach,” Johnson said.

The event will start at 5 p.m. with refreshments, followed by the presentation at 5:30 p.m.

The Mound House is located at 451 Connecticut Street on Fort Myers Beach, with offsite parking available off Connecticut Street.