Florida Panhandle

Turtle Talk: Clean Your Closets to Help Sea Turtles!

Fall is a great time to do some Spring Cleaning! Ok, so maybe it’s a good time to do some “fall cleaning.” Take some time to weed out those items you no longer use to make way for the holidays and now you can donate those unwanted or outgrown items to benefit the Friends of South Walton […]

Read More »

Turtle Talk: September Trash Bash This Weekend!

Did you attend this past weekend’s Coastal Cleanup and have a great time? Did you miss it and kick yourself? Either way, you can head out to Inlet Beach this weekend to join Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles with our cleanup event on Saturday morning at 7:30 am at Inlet Park! Shelley is sure […]

Read More »

Turtle Talk: New Living Reef Habitat in Grayton Beach State Park 

Last week, the South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) began installing the first set of near shore reefs at Grayton Beach State Park here in South Walton County. For all you sea turtle fans, this new reef installation (consisting of approximately 58 towers) will be in the shape of a sea turtle when viewed from above!   The new […]

Read More »

Turtle Talk: Morning Miracle

Last Thursday started out like any other Thursday since May. May 1 was the start of sea turtle nesting season, and since I’ve been volunteering for South Walton Turtle Watch, I’ve been hitting the beach around 5:15 on Thursday mornings to look for evidence of new turtle nests. This past Thursday was a typical gorgeous […]

Read More »

Turtle Talk: Your Mission, Should you Choose to Accept It

There was a TV show back in the 1970’s called Mission Impossible. Some of you younger folks might be more familiar with the movie series of the same name starring Tom Cruise. Either way, the premise is the same: an agent receives a secret mission, often via a recording. The agent has the choice to […]

Read More »
Sea Turtle Nest

Turtle Talk: The Eagle has Landed

WE HAVE TURTLE NESTS! Seventeen turtle nests, to be exact.  Seventeen as of early June 2015 in South Walton county, and we are finding more every day. Wow. You might be asking if I have personally found any. Well….no.  I’ve been out of town for a few weeks, so my fellow beach walkers have had […]

Read More »
Turtle in the Sand

Turtle Talk: Castles Made of Sand

Have you ever heard the saying, “What goes up must come down”?  Not only is that the basis for Newton’s Law of Gravity, but it also applies to things like birds in flight, the city of Rome, and even moods. All things have their moment of peak glory, but then they usually have to come […]

Read More »
Elaine Parrett #shellfie

Turtle Talk: Walk the Walk

Well, I did it. I’ve been talking the talk, and now I can say I have walked the walk. When I first heard about the new Friends of South Walton Sea Turtle group, I was excited to lend a hand. This group focuses on education and awareness about sea turtles and other sea life in […]

Read More »

Our First Newsletter Is Here: FSWST Dig It!

To celebrate Earth Day 2015, and the location of the first sea turtle nest in Panama City this morning, we have published our first digital newsletter, the FSWST Newsletter: Dig It!  What’s Going On In this first issue, we let you know all about who we are, what we have been doing and what our […]

Read More »
Earth day at Biophelia Center

Turtle Talk: All Hands on Deck

“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” ~Winston Churchill Starting something brand new is exciting and invigorating. The Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles is a new group that has been formed to educate the public and raise awareness about sea turtles and sea life […]

Read More »
Sea turtle hatchling

Turtle Talk: Early Birds and Sea Turtles

BBBRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!! That’s the sound of a very loud, very annoying alarm clock. And for our friends over at the South Walton Turtle Watch group, that sound will be waking them up around 4:45 in the mornings soon. 4:45 AM. Yes, you read that right. Sea turtle nesting season officially begins on May 1 and runs through […]

Read More »

Turtle Talk: #CleanDarkFlat

To some of you out there, the title of this blog might look like a foreign language or something written in a secret code. Unless you happen to be 13-years-old, in which case you’d know exactly what the pound sign in the title is. It’s called a hashtag. Teenagers are apparently born knowing about these […]

Read More »

We Celebrate Earth Day

We, the Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles, celebrate Earth Day! Some holidays are celebrated by all. Some are even recognized as official government holidays. Some holidays are more of a movement or way to inspire others to acknowledge and do something. That brings us to Earth Day in April. April, a time each year […]

Read More »

Turtle Talk: Heeeeeeeere’s Shelly!

Who is Shelly, you ask? If you follow us on Instagram @30Aseaturtles, then you already know who Shelly is. However, if you haven’t checked out our Instagram or Twitter or Facebook feed in the last few weeks then you are missing out. We, the Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles, have started something fun to […]

Read More »