The "Baby Turtles All Over" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Trying to decide if we sould go to Ocean City, NJ or Stone Harbor, NJ for a weeklong vacation this coming summer.  My family has been visiting Ocean City for years and love the ocean and beach as well as the boardwalk.  But, my wife and I tend to enjoy Stone Harbor when it is just the two of us making a visit to the Jersey Shore.  Walking through the couple of blocks in the town bring back memories from times past as well as memories of items we have purchased in years past that we still have in our home back in Lancaster, PA.  Another place we enjoy visiting when we travel to Stone Harbor is the Wetlands Institute.  It is there that one can view the circle of life which is interesting for both my wife and myself as well as the many children that visit the Wetlands Institute.  A story appeared in the newspaper a few days ago that told of a vivid display that was on display recently at the Institute.  Seems that there were 17 young turtles that'd been raised from eggs that had been retrived from the smashed bodies of mother turtles killed on nearby roads.  The director of research and conservation explained how conservation works, and that everyone has a part to play, from adults down to kindergarten students.  June is egg-laying season and turtles come up out of the wetlands onto dry land to lay eggs, thus exposing themselves not only to natural predators, but also to the far more deadly threat of vehicles.  Lisa Furguson, director of research of conservation at the Wetlands Institute, runs the program along with Stockton University and Stone Harbor schools.  This time of the year is egg-laying season, so the turtles come out of the wetlands to dry land to lay their eggs. It is estimated that every year there are over 500 adult females that die due to being run over on the roads.  It's such a shame that so many turtles are killed while trying to cross the roads near the Wetlands Institute, but they seem to have no chance while crossing the highways.  The Wetlands Institute cares for injured turtles as well as harvesting eggs from female turtles killed on the roads.  The harvested eggs are incubated at 30 degrees Celsius.  That temperature will ensure they develop as females, since the sex of turtles is determined by their temperature as eggs.  Stockton University incubates eggs and cares for the turtles in the first year of their lives.  When they have grown enough in their first year, they are deemed ready to be released into the wetlands surrounding the institute.  It is at this point in time that the children from Stone Harbor schools get to know the turtles as they grow.  They give them names, draw posters of them, and even bake and sell cookies to raise money for turtle conservation.  Recently they set them free.  Some grasped them from behind while some were reluctant to touch them.  Can you imagine the squealing that must have happened as the turtles were being released.  All enjoyed seeing the turtles head through the mud into the shallow water.  There are usually between 150 to 200 released every year.  What a great experience for both the children and the turtles.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.