Day 7 - The End...?

Whelp, it's our last day of our Alternative Spring Break Experience and boy what a week it was. But before we get into our final day, let's get past the whole sad that it's almost over stuff in the form of a sad turtle.

Pretty sad huh?







Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get into our last day. Jean and the other volunteers were very grateful for all of the help we had given them over the week, so they gave us a special treat. During the morning shift at Sea Turtle Bay, we were able to take pictures of us feeding the sea turtles their breakfast. As you'll be able to see, each turtle gets a bowl of diced fish and squid, some of the turtles favorite foods.

 The left picture is Nicole Moy feeding some fish and squid to one of the younger Green Sea Turtles, Lewbart, who a favorite of the group. This little guy also got some lettuce and peppers after his seafood, since the Green Sea Turtle is omnivorous, something that is unique to this species of turtle. You can tell this is a Green Sea Turtle due to its green tint and its starburst scute design on its shell.
The right picture is David Yim feeding a Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Gunner, which can be identified by its log-like head and its yellow and brown color.

When the later group came in to work, they made use of the nicer weather and stayed outside to do some yard work. This consisted of pulling weeds and collecting trash. The work group also got the chance to help replace the carbon filter of the water system, which is integral to filtering the water used in the sea turtle tanks.

When our work was all finished, Jean allowed us to say goodbye to our favorite turtles (*cough cough* October) as well as get some tee shirts and souvenirs at the gift shop. Here's the group photo we took with Jean right before we left the hospital.

All of our nametags in order of awesomeness
(Just Kidding)








Once we left the hospital, we geared up for a beach clean up of the shore just outside our house. With plastic collection bags and trash bingo cards in hand, we began our search. We split up into two groups and scoured the sand about a mile in each direction, throwing away plastic wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic utensils, metal scraps, and I kid you not, a piece of tire. Once we gleaned the shore and tallied up the damage, we left the beach happy to know that the beach was a little cleaner.

For those of you who are wondering, the quote on the Alternative Break Shirt says this:

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."

- Mark Twain

After the beach clean up, we met up with Jean at a restaurant she recommended, called Daddy Macs. This place had some pretty amazing seafood such as the crabcakes, salmon, fried oysters, shrimp, and scallops. Icing on the cake? Some great stories from Jean Beasley. Icing on the icing on the cake? Hugs from Jean Beasley. Seriously we're putting that on our resumes.

<-- The arm of the majestic Moaz-arrati




After dinner, we all met together and had our *sniff* final reflection. The big question was why do we serve, and we got some pretty interesting responses. Really makes you wonder the reasoning behind the good things we do. After that, we finally got our Warm Fuzzies, little messages of kindness we wrote to each other since the beginning of the week. You can probably guess how we felt after we read them.

Now it seems that our time in Topsail, North Carolina has come to an end. But this Alternative Break Experience is far from over. UMD always tells us that we'll always be Terps, even after we graduate. So if we'll always be Terps, I guess that means we'll never stop helping Turtles either huh? Even after we all go our separate ways and resume our busy lives in College Park, we'll always remember the time we spent together. In fact, we also plan on meeting at a later date to have a post trip party, as well as additional service in Maryland. And who knows? Maybe some of us will return to Topsail as Experience Leaders, or even interns over the summer. What really matters, is that this experience changed the way we see conservation, and that will carry on for the rest of our lives.

So instead of the end, how about:

P.S. Purple Badgers, Bow-Wow, and Praise the Helix Fossil. #ILSbeachhouseyolo

Day 6 - Another Unforgettable Day of Sea Turtles

Today was an average morning of turtle care - feeding, tank cleaning, medical treatments, and bathing. The exercise pool, larger than the normal tanks, was lively with turtles enjoying the open space. There the turtles can swim in pairs and receive some social interaction, which is an important skill to maintain for successful release and integration into wild sea turtle populations.

The group in the sick bay cleaned and bathed all of the room's turtles, but a notable mention is October, the hospital's first surgery patient. She is very particular about who treats her injuries and is very conscious of all the people in the room. While her anxiety has made treatment difficult on occasion, her personality and capability to recognize the volunteers is very interesting. She is a prime example of how each of these sea turtles is a unique individual with different traits and needs, even with a very small brain (only a few centimeters in diameter!).

After thoroughly cleaning the interior of the building, we also helped to spruce up the outside of the building for the hospital's upcoming opening to the public. This largely involved clearing the flowerbeds and gravel parking lot of weeds.

We ate a quick lunch outside the hospital before driving to University of North Carolina Wilmington. There, we had the amazing opportunity to witness a necropsy on two sea turtles performed by biologist Sarah Finn. We got a hands-on look at sea turtle anatomy and were fascinated by its uniqueness and the striking similarities to our own internal structure. It was very interesting to see and feel the internal organs of the turtles. The goal of the necropsy was to discover the cause of these turtles' deaths to identify possible threats to other turtles, but unfortunately there were no obvious signs of injury, gastrointestinal blockage, or parasites. It is likely that one or both of the turtles was cold stunned, but we did not find definitive evidence. It is not uncommon for the cause of death to be unclear even after a necropsy. This was an awesome experience that we would not have been able to have without this trip!

We enjoyed a dinner of hamburgers cooked by Pat and David once we got home, then we celebrated Nicole's birthday with surprise cheesecake!

Day 5- How do you make a good impact by making no impact?

While this morning was much like the others- early wake up to get to the hospital, feeding turtles, cleaning their tanks, assisting with medical treatments, as well as finishing up our task of cleaning the drains that we started on Day 4, our afternoon and evening were unique for the week.


It was our day off, and there was sunshine :) and it was 60 degrees out so this gave us a great chance to explore Surf City as well as have some fun learning about sustainability. First, we went and explored two or three gift shops and then afterwards visited the pier. It was an awesome sight. We saw the swingbridge swivel out of the way, and then afterwards, following the pattern of our usual antics me, David, and Shannon spontaneously decided to climb this huge tree, and the view got even awesomer.

After amazing ziti prepared by Jesi and Kim and then ice cream for desert we all got comfy for a movie night.  We watched "No Impact Man" about Colin Beavan and his family year long quest for a sustainable life Read more about him here. After watching his dedicated, admirable, and sometimes downright fanatical approach he had toward sustainability, it really opened our eyes to the choices that we each can make in our daily lives to ensure we can contribute favorably towards our environment. During reflection after the movie, we talked about collective impact and we realized the importance of being a part of a community and applying environmental sustainable practices collectively- as one person we may not be able to change the world but as a group we can achieve great things- just like we have done this week as we work together at the sea turtle hospital.

After our time at the hospital this week and learning more about the negative effects that plastic has on marine creatures we were reminded of how important it is for people to really think about their own consumption and where all our trash goes because there is no away...

This is a video that we watched as part of our pre-trip education that really highlights the impact that our improper disposal of waste has on the environment.

~Moaz and Nicole

Day 4- Sleepy, Tame, or Excited Turtle?

We've now reached the halfway point of our trip, which is crazy because it feels like we just got here and there is so much left to learn! Although the turtles today were either sleepy or excited, none of them were particularly tame.















Today, half the group had another early morning working directly with the turtles, and we worked specifically in the Sea Turtle Sick Bay. We helped clean out all the individual tanks because they are not hooked up to a central filtration system, as well as assisting with giving the turtle soapy baths. We definitely got to see firsthand how each turtle has a personality, and the volunteers are so incredibly attuned to each turtles' preferences and idiosyncrasies. Additionally, we got to help weigh and keep track of the turtles' weights. Since all the turtles are considered 'sick,' mainly from cold stunning, it's incredibly important that they are eating and gaining weight. For the most part, all the turtles did gain weight and are doing very well, and the volunteers hope to release many of them this coming summer.


These volunteers that work with the sick turtles are also incredible. They've been specially trained to pick up these endangered turtles, and don't mind getting smacked by flippers and splashed by water constantly as they treat the injured turtles. The volunteers are the ones that truly appreciate each turtle individually and are beyond willing to spend the time to make sure the turtles get what they need.

We were also reminded that these creatures are not pets, but wild animals and have to be respected as such. We had the opportunity to witness the treatment of an approximately 35 year-old loggerhead sea turtle named October. October was the first sea turtle to have surgery in the new hospital and the procedure was largely successful. She is still not entirely comfortable with new people in the sick bay, but she no longer needs five people to restrain her for her daily treatment and cleaning.

The "late-risers" of the group were also put hard to work when they arrived at the hospital. Most of their day was spent scraping support beams for the volunteers to paint and cleaning the complex water-treatment room and the draining trenches in Sea Turtle Bay. Even Jean commented later in the afternoon how important working through these tasks are to accomplishing the hospitals mission. Completing tasks that the volunteers often have no time for on a day-to-day basis, helps those that are working in turtle-care keep their full attention on the most important thing- the turtles.

After our amazing lunch of TWO sandwiches each, we ventured back to the hospital where Jean gave us a talk about the impacts of cold stunning on sea turtles, both external and internal and short and long term. Cold stunning is when turtles, which are cold-blooded animals, are trapped in cold waters or washed up on beaches. Because they can't regulate their own body temperature, their body systems slow down and can even shut off, depending on how long the turtle is subjected to the extreme conditions. Jean showed us the amazing radiology room right inside the hospital, where the internal effects of cold stunning can be viewed- in particular, bone lesions. Displaying real radiographs from one of the current turtle occupants, Jib, Jean explained to us how both she and the vet examine the radiographs and discern the sites of bone loss in the turtle, which they suspect is due to cold stunning. We all have learned so much from Jean and she's not only incredibly informed about everything to do with sea turtles, but she's also aware of other surrounding issues. One thing that really stuck out to us was that animals that are euthanized can't just be buried because scavengers who consume the flesh of these dead animals will also be indirectly euthanized. We really admire not only Jean's knowledge, but also her passion for educating others.

~Shannon and Nicole M.

P.S. Fun Fact of the day: Because sea turtles don't anchor their internal organs, if you flip them over to look at the bottom of their shell, you have to flip them back over the same way otherwise their intestines might get tangled and tear. So flip your turtles carefully!

Day 3- "Do y'all, y'all?" down here in Topsail, NC

Jean Beasley posed this question to us today, and while my immediate response was a definite 'no', it made me think... The phrase "Southern Hospitality" rings true down here; it's even visible in the way that Jean takes care of her turtles.

Arriving at an unreasonably early hour, yet still late by the sea turtles' clocks, we realized that the volunteers had all beaten us to the facility. We entered the food room and were met with the sight of rows and rows of food bowls filled with chopped up fish and squids. The volunteers greeted us with excited energy, telling us how they had been preparing food since 6am.

All throughout the day, if there was one thing that stuck out, it was the unfailing exuberance and enthusiasm seen in the volunteers. Every volunteer that we had the privilege to meet and work with had a drive and passion that we couldn't help but appreciate. In reflection, we all recognized how their drive had reignited our own.

But, for the real highlights of the day...

We got to--

WASH and TREAT the sea turtles: both Odyssey, and Beacon

FEED the sea turtles
**Green sea turtles eat a diet composed of mostly meat when young, but as they age, they become omnivores, and eat a lot of veggies. This was especially true of one sea turtle, I.C., who ate every veggie we threw him!


SWAB the deck
(A bit too hard, too, since all of our mops broke repeatedly)

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center was established in honor of Jean Beasley's daughter, Karen, who passed away. The center has grown immensely since it was first created, and now houses over 50 sea turtles in need of help. We were given a tour today of this amazing facility, which has its own surgery room, radiology room, and is responsible for its own water purification.

The center is open to the public for a tour in April; with an absolutely wonderful set of staff, and even better facility, one would be missing out if they didn't take advantage of this opportunity. Besides, I hear the sea turtles love the attention.

http://www.seaturtlehospital.org/

--Brianne and Gabrielle

Day 2 - Our First Day at the Hospital & the Oyster Reclamation Project!

Today was the first day that we began working at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital! Participants were working in the Sea Turtle Bay and Sea Turtle Sick Bay helping out with a variety of duties such as feeding the turtles, cleaning the turtles, mopping, refilling tanks with clean water, scrubbing the turtle's backs, medicating the turtles, and a variety of other duties. Jean Beasley, the founder and director of the hospital, met with us and talked about stories regarding certain sea turtles and their backgrounds. Afterwards, we met with Allie Sheffield who is in charge of the PenderWatch & Conservancy group. She gave us a beautiful tour of some of her oyster reclamation projects that she has been working on while learning about the importance of oysters and why they do the work at they do. She showed us her private pier that led to saltwater marshes filled with oysters! We also took a trip to the Topsail bridge where we have seen the impact that their group has made. Afterwards, we had breakfast for dinner which was beautifully prepared by Nicole Horvath and Moaz! We had chocolate chip & banana pancakes, fruit salad, bacon, and juice. It was delicious! We then began our reflection by talking about the importance of direct service, issue education, and reflection as the 3 important sides of the service triangle. We also made journals about what we know, what we want to know, and what we learned so far. This helped us come up with questions for Jean tomorrow since she will be presenting a PowerPoint about sea turtles. We then enjoyed some free time to work on homework, play video games, and spend time getting to know each other!

~Helen & Mike

Below, each student listed something he/she learned today. This may also include general thoughts about what we have done today!

"We woke up in the morning to a Lion King-esque sunrise before heading out to the hospital. Working in the turtle bay was incredible. There are so many turtles there in so many different sizes, all with a back story and personality. The volunteers were so patient with us as we learned how feed the turtles and how to go about cleaning the various sized tanks. Then, when we clean, we get to scratch at the turtles' shells with brooms because it helps clean off the dead cells, like they would do by themselves in the wild. We got to hear Jean talk about the progression of sea turtle care over the years, and how plastics break down and eventually make it into our environment and then our bodies. After our lunch break, Allie taught us about the importance of oysters (in filtering the water and preventing erosion) and how the Topsail Sound differs from the Chesapeake Bay back home. It was awesome learning about how we can have such a large impact on the lives of the turtles (both positively and negatively), and how we can work to naturally prevent environmental issues. The first day was so exciting, and I can't wait for the rest of the week!" - Shannon

"Today I spent time in the turtle bay helping to feed the turtles and clean their tanks. It was amazing to get close to these wonderful creatures and learn how the hospital volunteers care for them. Moaz, Shannon, and I got to scratch the backs of some turtles, throw them some squid, fish, and veggies, and observe a medical treatment of one turtle's skin infection. While that turtle sat with its chin in betadine and antifungal ointment, we got to closely inspect and feel its shell and skin. Green sea turtles are remarkably beautiful, and we learned from Beth, a volunteer hospital worker, that that is one of the reasons the turtles are often killed. When we met and talked to Jean later in the day, she described the damage fisheries do to turtle populations. It saddens me that people kill and endanger these wonderful animals through carelessness or for clothing and decoration, and that drives me further to want to help them. In the afternoon, we were taught about oyster reclamation and shown sites where humans have encouraged oysters to grow. I learned that oysters are effective in filtering human pollution from waterways and colonies can prevent erosion. They are an interesting natural approach to fixing some environmental problems! I have learned a lot today and I'm sure the rest of the trip holds even more." - Jesi

"Today, I had my first exposure to sea turtles and it was an amazing experience! I learned a lot about each individual turtle as well as the volunteers who donate their time to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. I had the opportunity to work in the Sea Turtle Sick Bay and got to help clean out the tanks of around twenty sea turtles, many of which were green sea turtles. I was shocked to learn that a single fishery in North Carolina can catch around 1,000 sea turtles per year." - Nicole Moy

"It has been an extremely exciting first day volunteering at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center! I was lucky enough to get to feed the turtles and wash their pools on our first day. I was surprised to see that the turtles all have different personalities and make connections with the volunteers, especially the ones they see regularly. The center volunteers also helped us learn how to identify the different species of turtles. Even though some of our daily cleaning tasks may be simple, I really feel like we are making a difference already at this center. It is so meaningful to have direct experience with the turtles because it helps us to better understand how they are endangered and how we can help. I also enjoyed our afternoon trip to the docks on the sound-side of the island. It's cool to see how this community already is underway in restoring the oyster population. I can't wait to see what the rest of this experience has in store for us!" - Kim

"I am from Baltimore, MD, so I had never actually seen oysters in the water. But, today I learned that the water in the NC Sound is so shallow that the oysters actually live above the water line. It was neat to see all of them growing vertically on ropes and rocks." - Gabrielle

"What I learned: that we are all plastivores -- our actions and use of plastics ultimately end up in the ocean, in the water we drink, and in the meat that we eat. Our actions don't just impact us; they affect our lives also." - David

"Today marked the beginning of our AB Experience! After rising before the sun, we all trudged our way down the many staircases of the house, and loaded up the car. Soon we were at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center; it was pretty awesome! The center currently houses 54 sea turtles, of varying breeds. They also have one cat, Mama Kitty, who is equally awesome. We spent some time away from the center today, as well, viewing one of the Sounds on Topsail Island, and learning about the oyster rehabilitation project. I never knew that oysters would only survive and grow if they could adhere to a hard surface, like another oyster shell. I feel I'm unsure what we will learn this week, but if there's one thing I know, it's that this week is going to be full of great experiences, wonderful times, even better people, and late night bonding. Cheers to that!" - Brianne

"I learned that being a vet isn't always about the the stuff you learn in class or in books or even at internships. Sometimes it's about taking your everyday experiences and thinking outside of the box in order to figure out the best course of action. Also, it's important to understand that everyone involved in animal care has a voice that should be respected, from the high school volunteer to a highly experienced veterinarian. No matter what, the best interest of the animals matters above all else, which means everyone's contribution counts." - Pat

I learned a lot about how hard it is for sea turtles – or pretty much any animal for that matter – to survive under the huge impact that we make on their environment. Thousands of them die, year by year, and it’s really difficult for volunteers to change how fisheries fish and how people treat a wounded animal they find on the beach in order to save them. I got to feed the sea turtles today, and it’s astonishing to see the differences between species and it’s even more astonishing to see the work the hospital does for them. One was missing a flipper, and another one was hit by a boat, but thanks to remarkable work that was done on them they are recuperating well, and it is awesome to see the distance they’ve covered. - Moaz

Day 1: Welcome to Surf City, NC!!!!

We started our day at 8 am packing the vans in front of La Plata Hall. Shout-out to everyone for being on time!! :) (thank you parents). Getting ready for a 6-7 hour drive, we made sure that everyone brought snacks to share. The drive went very well, with no traffic for the entire day. During the drive, we experienced a variety of rural views and smells. Thankfully we all arrived safely and in one piece. We arrived at our awesome beach house at 4 pm and were able to check out the beach just across the street! Our house is 4 floors tall with more than enough space and ocean views for everyone to enjoy (shoutout to TI-Rentals for letting us stay here for the week). We have pictures of the house below.

After getting settled in our new home for the week, Mike, Helen, and Nicole H. went to the local Food Lion to get food for our first few days here. We were really lucky to receive a $30 gift card donation from the Surf City Food Lion, which greatly helped us with our food costs (thank you Food Lion). When they got back from grocery shopping, Mike and Helen started making dinner. It was really a group effort with help from many other participants that got dinner prepared so quickly (shoutout to the whole group!). Afterwards we sat down to a delicious chicken, broccoli, tofu, and rice meal. After cleaning up, we all actively participated in some group-bonding activities and got to know each other. We set some community guidelines and did a lifeline activity where we each shared the most significant aspects of our life that define who we are as people. It was a great activity to learn more about each other and prepare for a busy day ahead!