August 6, 2025 • 15 mins
Ever wondered what makes those colorful ribbons and stakes appear on Florida beaches during turtle season? Kendra from Coastal Connections pulls back the curtain on sea turtle conservation in this enlightening second installment of our three-part series.
Running a marine conservation nonprofit requires remarkable versatility. During nesting season (March-October), the team conducts nighttime turtle walks and their popular "turtle digs" - scientific evaluations of hatched nests that often draw crowds of 100+ in-person observers and thousands of virtual viewers. These careful excavations serve dual purposes: collecting crucial data on nest success rates while providing unforgettable wildlife experiences for community members and visitors alike. The VIP nest adoption program takes this connection even further, allowing people to follow "their" nest through its entire incubation journey.
Beyond the beach, Coastal Connections orchestrates creative fundraising initiatives like the "Tipsy Turtle Two Mile Fun Run" and their end-of-year "Shellabration." Their innovative approaches to waste reduction include beach toy recycling stations and self-guided cleanup "beach baskets." Most impressively, they've diverted over 25,000 pounds of plastic film from landfills through their recycling program.
What truly sets Coastal Connections apart is its communication philosophy. Rather than simply telling people what not to do, they focus on the "why" behind conservation guidelines. As Kendra explains, most visitors gladly adjust their behavior once they understand how their actions affect nesting turtles. This education-first approach transforms casual beachgoers into conservation allies.
Ready to experience a turtle dig or volunteer with this remarkable organization? Visit coastal-connections.org or follow them on social media as Coastal Connections Inc to discover how you can participate in protecting Florida's magnificent marine life.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shawna (00:00):
I'll start it.
Kendra (00:00):
Hey, we're the Vero Beach Podcast and we're sitting
here with sorry, brian and Vero.
Shawna (00:08):
That's what.
Brian (00:09):
I don't do.
That's what it feels like.
Well, welcome back to the VeroBeach Podcast.
We are here with Kendra at theCoastal Connections, and this is
part two.
We're going to talk about thebehind the scenes, what it looks
like the day to day or the weekto week, what it looks like for
you.
But before we get started intothat, I want to go ahead and go
(00:29):
back to the question that wewrapped up on the last episode
about the ribbons.
Is there some type of meaningbehind the different colors?
Because we were walking on thebeach and we noticed a lot more
nesting areas had been marked.
Some were blue, some wereorange, green, maybe, maybe
green, but yeah.
So maybe you can give us someinsight on that.
Kendra (00:43):
There is some insight to that and it's not so much the
colors of the stakes and theribbon, depending on where you
are.
So this is kind of complicated.
There are three differentmarine turtle permit holders, as
we are called, who do nestingsurveys and mark off nests for
protection across our entire22.4 miles of beach in Univer
(01:05):
County, Vero Beach.
One of those groups is theDisney Conservation Fund team.
That's focused on sea turtlesbecause we have a Disney Vero
Beach resort here.
One is a hired environmentalconsultant who works for the
county and they're hired to dopermit required monitoring for
beach renourishment projects andthings like that.
(01:26):
And then you have us.
We are your 501c3 nonprofitorganization that is deeply
rooted in this community andwe're here to answer the
questions, explain the why andreally get people involved in
what's going on on our beachesto help save sea turtles.
And so, depending on where youare located in this county, each
(01:47):
group has a different location.
So the Disney group, Disney'sconservation team.
They use different coloredstakes depending on the species
of sea turtle that they'remarking off.
I can't remember which one theyuse for which, but there's
three different colors of stakes, three different main species
that nest here in Indian RiverCounty.
(02:07):
Then Ecological Associates,which is the hired consultant.
They have just yellow steaksand that's what they use, Okay,
and I'm pretty sure orange tapebecause it's the most common.
And then you have us and we'reblue, because everything we do
is blue.
Yes, it's part of our brandingcolors and so we have blue
stakes and blue tape.
So all of our nests that aremarked off are actually marked
(02:29):
off for conservation andeducation.
So they're specifically markedoff to educate the general
public.
Bring people out onto the beachto learn more about sea turtles
, their reproductive efforts,ways they can help things like
that, Okay.
Brian (02:43):
Nice, Well, that's good to know.
Yeah, One news Shauna asked methat well, we were talking about
that as we were walking on thebeach and I thought, okay, we're
going to ask this question andyou're going to say, honestly,
we just ran out of that colorribbon and we just started using
different colors, so that'sgreat.
Kendra (02:57):
I'm glad there's a lot more to that answer.
We do outreach and educationand the consultant is there to
do a permit related job.
Brian (03:05):
What does it look like to run this organization?
Kendra (03:08):
Every day really is different here.
It's one of the things that Ilove about this job.
I wake up every day and stilllove what I do, even if some
days are tougher than others.
And the reason is is we're inthe middle, right, we're taping
this podcast in the middle andthe heat of the sea turtle
nesting season.
So here on the East Coast ofFlorida, the nesting season
(03:30):
extends from March 1st toOctober 31st, so we are right in
the middle.
It's the peak of it.
All.
Nests are starting to hatch.
Nests are still being laid.
It's great.
So all of our focus is reallyon the nesting beach.
Right now we are still offeringnighttime turtle walks and
(03:51):
where guests are taken out ontothe beach by one of our
permitted guides to see anesting loggerhead after getting
a short presentation.
And then we just startedoffering our daytime turtle digs
Because our nests are hatching.
It's now time to invite peopleon the beach to come be a part
of those nest successevaluations and during those we
might find a left behindhatchling or two and release
them back to the ocean.
(04:11):
That focus ends in August andthen we flip to sustainability
programs.
We have International CoastalCleanup Day in September.
We're focused on coastalcleanup efforts.
You know, year round we workwith businesses to recycle
single use plastic film.
We to date we've alreadyrecycled almost seven thousand
pounds just this year and wellover twenty five thousand pounds
(04:36):
since the program started.
So it's a lot of plastic filmthat would have gone to the
landfill.
You know so.
Every day we do volunteerorientations.
We're huge with volunteeronboarding and bringing people
on the team.
So I mean, you name it we writegrants.
We survive off of donations.
We have a fundraising season.
You know it's.
It really is crazy howdifferent every day is here and
(05:00):
every single one of our staffand team members here is what
makes it so much fun.
But to bring it back to digs,it is everyone's favorite part
of the year is turtle digs time.
Brian (05:10):
So you're a 501, uh, c3.
So I've worked a lot withnonprofit radio stations which
obviously do a lot offundraisers.
So what type of fundraisers doyou do here?
Kendra (05:19):
Yeah, so we have three main fundraisers throughout the
year and then some kind ofsmaller passive ones.
So we have a main event onEaster weekend every year.
It's called the Tipsy TurtleTwo Mile Fun Run and Festival.
So we host it over at JC Parkon Saturday of Easter weekend
and every year is themed at adifferent sea turtle species.
So it's super educational andinvolve tons of kids activities,
(05:42):
bring out the whole family, andthen, of course, the local
brewers come out, which is evenbetter.
Brian (05:46):
I was wondering where the tipsy came from.
Now it's making sense.
Kendra (05:49):
You know, and then International Coastal Cleanup
Day Aside we are the local hostfor that.
We involve anywhere between1,000 to 1,200 people in that
cleanup effort in one day.
And then we throw a giant afterparty and then, of course,
raise money through the funds ofthe raffles and things like
that.
And that happens at WalkingTree, Once again a local brewer.
(06:11):
We love them.
And then we have a bigshellabration effort at the end
of the year as a part of our endof the year fundraising
campaign to raise targetedamounts of funds to help us on
go with our activities.
That's called shellabration, Ilove that.
I love it, that's cool.
Brian (06:28):
Since you stayed tuned in , let's get to the turtle digs.
Talk to me about that, likewhat is the purpose behind the
turtle digs?
Kendra (06:34):
So the ultimate purpose is for us to collect scientific
data on the success of each ofthose nests that incubated on
our beaches.
It's one thing to count oh, howmany nests do we have?
I could tell you we have 8,000nests, but if those 8,000 nests
produced zero hatchlings, theywere not successful.
And so there's a whole notherside of the story that we need
(06:55):
to focus on as scientists, andthat is to collect information
on how many eggs were in thatnest, how many hatched, how many
didn't, what type of impactsthey might've been involved with
or interacted with during theirincubation and any other major
notes that need to be made, andthose data are provided to both
local and state officials.
We, as scientists, do theseevaluations for every single
(07:17):
mark nest on the beach.
The fun part is when, when Ifirst made this program, it was
because I'm like, why doeseveryone?
I'm driving an ATV and markingthis and everybody always has
the same questions.
They always want to know, theystopped me and they want to
watch, and I'm like, why don'twe just do this for the public?
And so we called it a turtledig, and now we have a regular
100 plus people that come toevery single dig, and now we
(07:38):
have a regular 100 plus peoplethat come to every single dig.
And then we have online viewersin the thousands that watch
these virtual turtle digs.
So we had one a few days agoand it had two hatchlings left
behind, so we were able torelease those into the ocean and
we'll see what this next nesthas for us.
But one of my favorite partsabout the turtle digs now is we
(08:00):
have VIP nest adoptions as well.
So another smaller, morepassive fundraiser all of our
nests are marked for educationare also adopted.
Shawna (08:09):
Yeah, I was going to ask about that.
Kendra (08:11):
Yes, and so our adopters get to follow the incubation of
their nest over the trimester.
That it's on the beach, yeah,and so that's kind of fun.
They can be there present,watch the evaluation of their
nestester.
That it's on the beach, oh,that's cool, yeah, and so that's
kind of fun.
They can be there present,watch the evaluation of their
nest, and it's just somethingspecial for them to really get
to experience, and so that's oneof our favorite things.
There's always a wait list forour adoptions, because we only
(08:31):
can adopt out what Mother Naturegives us, so we try our best to
fulfill those.
Shawna (08:37):
But yeah, it's a lot of fun and so if someone wants to
come to a dig, they sign up onyour website.
Kendra (08:43):
Is that right, yeah, so we always will post the days,
the dig days, three days beforeit happens.
That's as much fair warning aswe get.
And the reason is is because wehave to follow state guidelines
on how to do these bestevaluations and there's a three
day window when, once you seethose hatchlings emerge, three
days later you do the evaluation.
(09:04):
I see, and that's just a rulewe have to follow.
So we get a three-day window totell you about it, and so we
post about it on social media,we put it on our event calendar,
we answer phone calls and wejust say check our website every
day at 12 o'clock.
Brian (09:16):
What's your website and your social media handles?
Kendra (09:18):
Yeah, our website is coastal-connectionsorg.
Don't forget the hyphen inthere.
It's really important.
And then our social media isjust Coastal Connections Inc,
and you can find us on Instagram, facebook, tiktok, you name it.
Shawna (09:34):
I love that you're utilizing social media the way
you are, because I feel likeI've learned so much since I
moved here.
For instance, there was a postnot too long ago about how many
turtles were turning back aroundand going back to the water,
and that really made me thinkabout what I'm doing on the
beach at night.
There's so many things we cando and I'm learning that from
(09:55):
your social media.
That would make such a bigimpact on turtles for the better
, and people just don't know.
So you're really putting thatinformation out there and
helping people make betterchoices.
Kendra (10:05):
Yeah, and that's kind of part of our approach, which we
talked about a little bit on ourfirst episode is it really
matters how we talk to peopleand I think that's why people
remember us.
It's a reputation that we'vebuilt is we don't want to be
thought of as like, do not dothis people, we want to first
approach you of like oh, did youknow that this was a thing?
Did you know that sea turtlesare here?
Are you visiting?
(10:26):
Are you local?
And so ask a lot of thesequestions, because when our
nighttime crew is on a turtlewalk and you record 136 people
on the beach after dark withwhite flashlights in a area less
than half a mile long, that'stoo many people.
The reality is is so many peoplehave no idea and so many people
(10:48):
, once they learn, like, oh, Ihad no idea, I just was looking
for ghost crabs.
Well, looking for ghost crabscan have a negative impact on
sea turtles trying to nest, andyou can look at ghost crabs and
other.
You know other coastlines.
Go to Georgia, go to SouthCarolina, even go to the
panhandle of Florida, alabama.
You can do that and not havethat big of an impact, because
they have turtles but they don'thave nearly the number that we
(11:11):
have here, and people just don'tknow that they change a lot of
their behaviors the moment wetell them.
The issue that we're seeingthis year for some reason, is
that every night there's still alot of people.
Shawna (11:22):
There's just so many people coming here now you know
what I mean Like it's a bigincrease.
Kendra (11:26):
So I don't know if you're an Airbnb owner or if
you're a hotelier or whomever,but it's just so important to
tell your guests, instead ofsaying don't go on the beach
with the flashlights.
It's like help us continue toprotect the natural resources
that we have here that are sospecial, and that's our turtles.
And the way we can protect themis enjoy them in the dark and
(11:47):
keep your distance, becausethat's why they come here, and
we want to keep it that way,yeah.
Brian (11:52):
Yeah, and I think in the next episode too, I want to give
you opportunity to share somemore ways that visitors and
locals, how we can be moresensitive, to be more aware of
what we're doing and how itaffects all these things,
because I think a lot of us theydon't know.
Or, like you even just said,about the hotels or Airbnb, they
might say don't use aflashlight.
But are you educating them onwhy?
Kendra (12:11):
It's the why People thirst for why, yes, they want
to know.
Why not?
Brian (12:15):
give it to them.
It'll make a huge difference.
So we'll definitely dive intothat.
I want to ask one more questionbefore a little bit about.
You're talking about theplastics and stuff, all the
cleanup we were noticing at thebeach.
It's called beach baskets, isthat you?
Kendra (12:29):
Is that you guys?
Brian (12:30):
Can you explain to us, explain to us a little bit about
the beach baskets and theresults you've seen from it.
Kendra (12:37):
I think, before I even do that, I think I'm going to
say like haven't you noticed?
We're everywhere.
Shawna (12:42):
Yes, yes, we are creeping into your lives.
Kendra (12:49):
Yes, we have beach toy recycling bins at public beach
accesses in the city of VeroBeach so that people can recycle
and reuse their beach toys whenthey visit.
And then we have our beachbaskets, which are designed for
people to do their ownself-guided beach cleanup
anytime they go to the beach.
So we're providing thatresource in partnership with our
local county government.
We're offering that to minimizedebris on our beaches, and so
(13:13):
anyone can be involved with thecleanup, whether you can join us
on a scheduled one or not.
Shawna (13:18):
I just noticed the beach toy recycle thing.
That is so smart.
I really think people shouldkind of advertise that like if
they have an Airbnb or whatever,because so many people are
going out and buying toys andthey don't have to keep them.
They can just give them tosomebody else to play with and
they don't even have to buy them.
Brian (13:35):
Borrow the ones that are already in the box, it's true,
but even if you do go out andbuy new toys, and you know
you're only going like a bigfight with kids and their
parents when their parents saythere's toys there and then they
get there and there's no toysthat does happen.
Kendra (13:54):
They fluctuate.
Shawna (13:55):
That's good, you said there would be toys here, but
there are plenty of places here.
They could buy them if theyneeded to.
Kendra (14:01):
Just don't throw them away.
That's the goal.
We don't want them thrown away.
That's good.
Brian (14:04):
That's good, that's good.
Shawna (14:06):
I like that it's there, because when I find toys on the
beach I go put them in there andwe have volunteers that go in
and clean everythingperiodically so you can feel
safe with your kids touchingbeach toys.
Brian (14:15):
Oh, that's cool.
Well, look, don't let her foolyou.
I've watched her fight kids fortoys at the beach to see this.
Shawna (14:24):
I would never.
Brian (14:26):
This has been a great episode.
I'm excited to get into thenext episode, part three.
We're going to talk about VeroBeach and where you can educate
us more on how to take the rightprecautions to help keep the
turtles safe and enjoy the beach.
Kendra (14:38):
BC Turtle friendly.
Brian (14:39):
All right With that.
We will catch you guys nexttime.
I'll start it.
Kendra (00:00):
Hey, we're the Vero Beach Podcast and we're sitting
here with sorry, brian and Vero.
Shawna (00:08):
That's what.
Brian (00:09):
I don't do.
That's what it feels like.
Well, welcome back to the VeroBeach Podcast.
We are here with Kendra at theCoastal Connections, and this is
part two.
We're going to talk about thebehind the scenes, what it looks
like the day to day or the weekto week, what it looks like for
you.
But before we get started intothat, I want to go ahead and go
(00:29):
back to the question that wewrapped up on the last episode
about the ribbons.
Is there some type of meaningbehind the different colors?
Because we were walking on thebeach and we noticed a lot more
nesting areas had been marked.
Some were blue, some wereorange, green, maybe, maybe
green, but yeah.
So maybe you can give us someinsight on that.
Kendra (00:43):
There is some insight to that and it's not so much the
colors of the stakes and theribbon, depending on where you
are.
So this is kind of complicated.
There are three differentmarine turtle permit holders, as
we are called, who do nestingsurveys and mark off nests for
protection across our entire22.4 miles of beach in Univer
(01:05):
County, Vero Beach.
One of those groups is theDisney Conservation Fund team.
That's focused on sea turtlesbecause we have a Disney Vero
Beach resort here.
One is a hired environmentalconsultant who works for the
county and they're hired to dopermit required monitoring for
beach renourishment projects andthings like that.
(01:26):
And then you have us.
We are your 501c3 nonprofitorganization that is deeply
rooted in this community andwe're here to answer the
questions, explain the why andreally get people involved in
what's going on on our beachesto help save sea turtles.
And so, depending on where youare located in this county, each
(01:47):
group has a different location.
So the Disney group, Disney'sconservation team.
They use different coloredstakes depending on the species
of sea turtle that they'remarking off.
I can't remember which one theyuse for which, but there's
three different colors of stakes, three different main species
that nest here in Indian RiverCounty.
(02:07):
Then Ecological Associates,which is the hired consultant.
They have just yellow steaksand that's what they use, Okay,
and I'm pretty sure orange tapebecause it's the most common.
And then you have us and we'reblue, because everything we do
is blue.
Yes, it's part of our brandingcolors and so we have blue
stakes and blue tape.
So all of our nests that aremarked off are actually marked
(02:29):
off for conservation andeducation.
So they're specifically markedoff to educate the general
public.
Bring people out onto the beachto learn more about sea turtles
, their reproductive efforts,ways they can help things like
that, Okay.
Brian (02:43):
Nice, Well, that's good to know.
Yeah, One news Shauna asked methat well, we were talking about
that as we were walking on thebeach and I thought, okay, we're
going to ask this question andyou're going to say, honestly,
we just ran out of that colorribbon and we just started using
different colors, so that'sgreat.
Kendra (02:57):
I'm glad there's a lot more to that answer.
We do outreach and educationand the consultant is there to
do a permit related job.
Brian (03:05):
What does it look like to run this organization?
Kendra (03:08):
Every day really is different here.
It's one of the things that Ilove about this job.
I wake up every day and stilllove what I do, even if some
days are tougher than others.
And the reason is is we're inthe middle, right, we're taping
this podcast in the middle andthe heat of the sea turtle
nesting season.
So here on the East Coast ofFlorida, the nesting season
(03:30):
extends from March 1st toOctober 31st, so we are right in
the middle.
It's the peak of it.
All.
Nests are starting to hatch.
Nests are still being laid.
It's great.
So all of our focus is reallyon the nesting beach.
Right now we are still offeringnighttime turtle walks and
(03:51):
where guests are taken out ontothe beach by one of our
permitted guides to see anesting loggerhead after getting
a short presentation.
And then we just startedoffering our daytime turtle digs
Because our nests are hatching.
It's now time to invite peopleon the beach to come be a part
of those nest successevaluations and during those we
might find a left behindhatchling or two and release
them back to the ocean.
(04:11):
That focus ends in August andthen we flip to sustainability
programs.
We have International CoastalCleanup Day in September.
We're focused on coastalcleanup efforts.
You know, year round we workwith businesses to recycle
single use plastic film.
We to date we've alreadyrecycled almost seven thousand
pounds just this year and wellover twenty five thousand pounds
(04:36):
since the program started.
So it's a lot of plastic filmthat would have gone to the
landfill.
You know so.
Every day we do volunteerorientations.
We're huge with volunteeronboarding and bringing people
on the team.
So I mean, you name it we writegrants.
We survive off of donations.
We have a fundraising season.
You know it's.
It really is crazy howdifferent every day is here and
(05:00):
every single one of our staffand team members here is what
makes it so much fun.
But to bring it back to digs,it is everyone's favorite part
of the year is turtle digs time.
Brian (05:10):
So you're a 501, uh, c3.
So I've worked a lot withnonprofit radio stations which
obviously do a lot offundraisers.
So what type of fundraisers doyou do here?
Kendra (05:19):
Yeah, so we have three main fundraisers throughout the
year and then some kind ofsmaller passive ones.
So we have a main event onEaster weekend every year.
It's called the Tipsy TurtleTwo Mile Fun Run and Festival.
So we host it over at JC Parkon Saturday of Easter weekend
and every year is themed at adifferent sea turtle species.
So it's super educational andinvolve tons of kids activities,
(05:42):
bring out the whole family, andthen, of course, the local
brewers come out, which is evenbetter.
Brian (05:46):
I was wondering where the tipsy came from.
Now it's making sense.
Kendra (05:49):
You know, and then International Coastal Cleanup
Day Aside we are the local hostfor that.
We involve anywhere between1,000 to 1,200 people in that
cleanup effort in one day.
And then we throw a giant afterparty and then, of course,
raise money through the funds ofthe raffles and things like
that.
And that happens at WalkingTree, Once again a local brewer.
(06:11):
We love them.
And then we have a bigshellabration effort at the end
of the year as a part of our endof the year fundraising
campaign to raise targetedamounts of funds to help us on
go with our activities.
That's called shellabration, Ilove that.
I love it, that's cool.
Brian (06:28):
Since you stayed tuned in , let's get to the turtle digs.
Talk to me about that, likewhat is the purpose behind the
turtle digs?
Kendra (06:34):
So the ultimate purpose is for us to collect scientific
data on the success of each ofthose nests that incubated on
our beaches.
It's one thing to count oh, howmany nests do we have?
I could tell you we have 8,000nests, but if those 8,000 nests
produced zero hatchlings, theywere not successful.
And so there's a whole notherside of the story that we need
(06:55):
to focus on as scientists, andthat is to collect information
on how many eggs were in thatnest, how many hatched, how many
didn't, what type of impactsthey might've been involved with
or interacted with during theirincubation and any other major
notes that need to be made, andthose data are provided to both
local and state officials.
We, as scientists, do theseevaluations for every single
(07:17):
mark nest on the beach.
The fun part is when, when Ifirst made this program, it was
because I'm like, why doeseveryone?
I'm driving an ATV and markingthis and everybody always has
the same questions.
They always want to know, theystopped me and they want to
watch, and I'm like, why don'twe just do this for the public?
And so we called it a turtledig, and now we have a regular
100 plus people that come toevery single dig, and now we
(07:38):
have a regular 100 plus peoplethat come to every single dig.
And then we have online viewersin the thousands that watch
these virtual turtle digs.
So we had one a few days agoand it had two hatchlings left
behind, so we were able torelease those into the ocean and
we'll see what this next nesthas for us.
But one of my favorite partsabout the turtle digs now is we
(08:00):
have VIP nest adoptions as well.
So another smaller, morepassive fundraiser all of our
nests are marked for educationare also adopted.
Shawna (08:09):
Yeah, I was going to ask about that.
Kendra (08:11):
Yes, and so our adopters get to follow the incubation of
their nest over the trimester.
That it's on the beach, yeah,and so that's kind of fun.
They can be there present,watch the evaluation of their
nestester.
That it's on the beach, oh,that's cool, yeah, and so that's
kind of fun.
They can be there present,watch the evaluation of their
nest, and it's just somethingspecial for them to really get
to experience, and so that's oneof our favorite things.
There's always a wait list forour adoptions, because we only
(08:31):
can adopt out what Mother Naturegives us, so we try our best to
fulfill those.
Shawna (08:37):
But yeah, it's a lot of fun and so if someone wants to
come to a dig, they sign up onyour website.
Kendra (08:43):
Is that right, yeah, so we always will post the days,
the dig days, three days beforeit happens.
That's as much fair warning aswe get.
And the reason is is because wehave to follow state guidelines
on how to do these bestevaluations and there's a three
day window when, once you seethose hatchlings emerge, three
days later you do the evaluation.
(09:04):
I see, and that's just a rulewe have to follow.
So we get a three-day window totell you about it, and so we
post about it on social media,we put it on our event calendar,
we answer phone calls and wejust say check our website every
day at 12 o'clock.
Brian (09:16):
What's your website and your social media handles?
Kendra (09:18):
Yeah, our website is coastal-connectionsorg.
Don't forget the hyphen inthere.
It's really important.
And then our social media isjust Coastal Connections Inc,
and you can find us on Instagram, facebook, tiktok, you name it.
Shawna (09:34):
I love that you're utilizing social media the way
you are, because I feel likeI've learned so much since I
moved here.
For instance, there was a postnot too long ago about how many
turtles were turning back aroundand going back to the water,
and that really made me thinkabout what I'm doing on the
beach at night.
There's so many things we cando and I'm learning that from
(09:55):
your social media.
That would make such a bigimpact on turtles for the better
, and people just don't know.
So you're really putting thatinformation out there and
helping people make betterchoices.
Kendra (10:05):
Yeah, and that's kind of part of our approach, which we
talked about a little bit on ourfirst episode is it really
matters how we talk to peopleand I think that's why people
remember us.
It's a reputation that we'vebuilt is we don't want to be
thought of as like, do not dothis people, we want to first
approach you of like oh, did youknow that this was a thing?
Did you know that sea turtlesare here?
Are you visiting?
(10:26):
Are you local?
And so ask a lot of thesequestions, because when our
nighttime crew is on a turtlewalk and you record 136 people
on the beach after dark withwhite flashlights in a area less
than half a mile long, that'stoo many people.
The reality is is so many peoplehave no idea and so many people
(10:48):
, once they learn, like, oh, Ihad no idea, I just was looking
for ghost crabs.
Well, looking for ghost crabscan have a negative impact on
sea turtles trying to nest, andyou can look at ghost crabs and
other.
You know other coastlines.
Go to Georgia, go to SouthCarolina, even go to the
panhandle of Florida, alabama.
You can do that and not havethat big of an impact, because
they have turtles but they don'thave nearly the number that we
(11:11):
have here, and people just don'tknow that they change a lot of
their behaviors the moment wetell them.
The issue that we're seeingthis year for some reason, is
that every night there's still alot of people.
Shawna (11:22):
There's just so many people coming here now you know
what I mean Like it's a bigincrease.
Kendra (11:26):
So I don't know if you're an Airbnb owner or if
you're a hotelier or whomever,but it's just so important to
tell your guests, instead ofsaying don't go on the beach
with the flashlights.
It's like help us continue toprotect the natural resources
that we have here that are sospecial, and that's our turtles.
And the way we can protect themis enjoy them in the dark and
(11:47):
keep your distance, becausethat's why they come here, and
we want to keep it that way,yeah.
Brian (11:52):
Yeah, and I think in the next episode too, I want to give
you opportunity to share somemore ways that visitors and
locals, how we can be moresensitive, to be more aware of
what we're doing and how itaffects all these things,
because I think a lot of us theydon't know.
Or, like you even just said,about the hotels or Airbnb, they
might say don't use aflashlight.
But are you educating them onwhy?
Kendra (12:11):
It's the why People thirst for why, yes, they want
to know.
Why not?
Brian (12:15):
give it to them.
It'll make a huge difference.
So we'll definitely dive intothat.
I want to ask one more questionbefore a little bit about.
You're talking about theplastics and stuff, all the
cleanup we were noticing at thebeach.
It's called beach baskets, isthat you?
Kendra (12:29):
Is that you guys?
Brian (12:30):
Can you explain to us, explain to us a little bit about
the beach baskets and theresults you've seen from it.
Kendra (12:37):
I think, before I even do that, I think I'm going to
say like haven't you noticed?
We're everywhere.
Shawna (12:42):
Yes, yes, we are creeping into your lives.
Kendra (12:49):
Yes, we have beach toy recycling bins at public beach
accesses in the city of VeroBeach so that people can recycle
and reuse their beach toys whenthey visit.
And then we have our beachbaskets, which are designed for
people to do their ownself-guided beach cleanup
anytime they go to the beach.
So we're providing thatresource in partnership with our
local county government.
We're offering that to minimizedebris on our beaches, and so
(13:13):
anyone can be involved with thecleanup, whether you can join us
on a scheduled one or not.
Shawna (13:18):
I just noticed the beach toy recycle thing.
That is so smart.
I really think people shouldkind of advertise that like if
they have an Airbnb or whatever,because so many people are
going out and buying toys andthey don't have to keep them.
They can just give them tosomebody else to play with and
they don't even have to buy them.
Brian (13:35):
Borrow the ones that are already in the box, it's true,
but even if you do go out andbuy new toys, and you know
you're only going like a bigfight with kids and their
parents when their parents saythere's toys there and then they
get there and there's no toysthat does happen.
Kendra (13:54):
They fluctuate.
Shawna (13:55):
That's good, you said there would be toys here, but
there are plenty of places here.
They could buy them if theyneeded to.
Kendra (14:01):
Just don't throw them away.
That's the goal.
We don't want them thrown away.
That's good.
Brian (14:04):
That's good, that's good.
Shawna (14:06):
I like that it's there, because when I find toys on the
beach I go put them in there andwe have volunteers that go in
and clean everythingperiodically so you can feel
safe with your kids touchingbeach toys.
Brian (14:15):
Oh, that's cool.
Well, look, don't let her foolyou.
I've watched her fight kids fortoys at the beach to see this.
Shawna (14:24):
I would never.
Brian (14:26):
This has been a great episode.
I'm excited to get into thenext episode, part three.
We're going to talk about VeroBeach and where you can educate
us more on how to take the rightprecautions to help keep the
turtles safe and enjoy the beach.
Kendra (14:38):
BC Turtle friendly.
Brian (14:39):
All right With that.
We will catch you guys nexttime.
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