The world according to me....

Many sea turtle projects rely heavily on volunteers to get the work done. The North Carolina Sea Turtle Project is no different. There are over 500 participants who contribute their time to monitoring nests and responding to strandings. Most of these participants are volunteers. I am always amazed at how willing and dedicated these people are. This is particularly true when it comes to our requests to collect samples from dead turtles. Yet, so many people have come forward and offered to retrieve flippers, eyeballs and other parts from sometimes rotting carcasses. The good will and enthusiasm of our sea turtle volunteers was evident at a recent training workshop we held in Corolla, North Carolina. More than a dozen people braved the cool breezy garage of the local fire station to learn how to remove the humerus bone and also to classify sex of a dead turtle that they might find on the beach in their area. As you can see, they were ready with gloves on, to get into the action. Their enthusiasm is inspiring, and reminds me how lucky I am to have a job that I really enjoy.