7-24-18
Dear CSM Neighbors,
Our Adopt a Beach campaign has come to an end and the results are amazing! Participation increased by three more homeowners and Chateaux Sur Mer is contributing $7850 to SCCF's Adopt a Beach program! (In 2017 CSM raised $5400. One-time matching funds brought that total to $10,400.) Sea Turtle Coordinator Kelly Sloan is overwhelmed by our generosity and exclaimed, "Congratulations to all of you! Raising more than last year is completely amazing and speaks to how successfully you're leading the way on this cause! On a personal level I feel so humbled by the connection to wildlife that seems to be shared throughout Sanibel - it gives me extra motivation to make sure we're doing everything we can to protect our turtles." Kelly also said that she will be sending us information about an exciting and important project that was funded 100% by Adopt A Beach donations. "The impact you are making is real and this research will help promote sustainable populations of sea turtles in future decades. Stay tuned for more details, but in the meantime please know how much I appreciate your hard work and genuine enthusiasm for sea turtle conservation."
Thanks to everyone for your support--whether through donations, enthusiastic emails, and/or help in keeping the beach clean and dark at night! Donation checks have been delivered to SCCF, and you will receive a thank you letter from them sometime during the summer.
Best regards,
CSM Board
7-2-18
Hi CSM Neighbors,
This email is full of fun turtle news! You will see: a June 30 email from SCCF turtle intern Katie Goulder; a link to the Sunday Santiva Chronicle with hatchling news; and a link to the Crow clinic article that details the release of our turtle Walter. How exciting that he is doing well, has been released, and that we can track his travels!
It is not too late to donate to our Adopt a Beach initiative. Please make your check out to SCCF, and send to Robin Coleman at 4771 Rue Helene.
Happy July 4th to all of you!
Regards, CSM Board
Santiva Chronicle link:
Crow Clinic link:
http://www.crowclinic.org/articles/male-loggerhead-satellite-tagged-released-on-sanibel
6-22-18
Hi Neighbors,
Here are links to articles in today's Island Sun. The first article is "CROW Case of the Week" and the subject is our rescued turtle. http://islandsun.suncoastpress.com/#folio=16
The second article lists SCCF sea turtle nesting statistics as of June 15. http://islandsun.suncoastpress.com/#folio=26
We hope you enjoy reading this information, and thanks to all for your interest and support of SCCF's turtle programs!
Best, CSM board
6-15-18
Hi CSM Neighbors,
Our Adopt-a-Beach initiative is going well! In the first 18 days of our campaign, 24 families contributed to SCCF. There is still time to donate, and we hope that we can exceed last year's participation. If you would like to help, please make out your check to: SCCF. Please send it to: Robin Coleman, 4771 Rue Helene, Sanibel 33957 before July 8. Also, please see "turtle updates from SCCF" for the latest message from turtle intern Katie Goulder.
6-6-18
Here's a link to the Santiva Chronicle article that describes the loggerhead sea turtle rescue that began off our shoreline on June 4.
6-4-18
This is Linda Linsmayer’s firsthand account of a sea turtle rescue off CSM’s shoreline on June 4. Check out the picture gallery in the Adopt a Beach section for photos
I held its head up (sadly it was too weak to bite my hand off). After swimming it to shore, I grabbed the left side of its shell, a research technology intern had the right, and Andrew the night survey researcher pushed from behind. We rode the surf to the shore, loaded it onto a sea turtle stretcher and four people lifted it up to me as I lifted its head to the back of the research vehicle. I tucked a towel under its chin and draped wet towels around its neck and over its shell. Then the vehicle transported it to CROW. Two interns stayed back with me to carry the beast-like, heavy-as-a-turtle, double kayak 3/4 of a mile through the soft sand back to our house. Other beach goers carried our dive duffle bag which I brought to equip us with fins and masks. Billy Kirkland dropped everything he was doing and came with speed and the boat maneuvering skill of a water ambulance 🚑 to provide pivotal help to the sea turtle team. Seeing how people collectively pull together reignites my faith in the goodness of all. We are indeed connected by nature and at times such as these we seem to fully realize it. What a privilege to live here and to help. And all of this was made possible because island residents care enough to fund these efforts through Adopt-A-Beach.
5-29-18
Dear Chateaux Sur Mer Neighbors
Last year, 23 magnificent, threatened sea turtles laid nests and 1699 hatchlings reached the Gulf along Chateaux Sur Mer’s 2,000 foot stretch of shoreline.
And as you may have seen on the front page of the Island Sun (http://islandsun.suncoastpress.com/#folio=1), Chateaux Sur Mer gained notoriety for being the first neighborhood on Sanibel to fully sponsor our shoreline through SCCF’s Adopt-A- Beach program. Better yet, our actions have inspired other neighborhoods to join in this initiative. We can all take pride realizing the critical role we collectively played in starting this incredibly positive movement.
Naturally we are hoping we can rise up once again, pull together as a neighborhood, and fully participate in SCCF’s Adopt-A-Beach program benefitting sea turtle monitoring and research.
As a reminder, the program’s goals are simple: 1.) SCCF is striving to have all of us be well-informed ambassadors/advocates for sea turtles who choose to share our shores and 2.) We are trying to raise $1 for every foot of CSM’s shoreline. $1 per foot may be very little to us, but to SCCF’s sea turtle program it makes a measurable difference. Funds are used solely for things like supplies, equipment and interns dedicated to sea turtle monitoring and research.
With funds raised last season, SCCF was able to obtain permitting and wire mesh to cover every nest on Sanibel, which contributed to more than 20,000 hatchlings reaching the sea than ever had before.
Last year with 30 households participating, Chateaux Sur Mer was able to raise approximately $5,400 and the impact of our donation was doubled by matching funds. This year, we’re hoping to boost participation to an even greater level. If we pull together, collectively, we can do this. Some exciting news: We already have a $1,000 donation from a turtle loving CSM family!
Chateaux Sur Mer’s Adopt-a-Beach campaign begins today, May 29, and runs through July 7.
· If you are able to help, please make your check out to: SCCF.
· Please send your check to: Robin Coleman
4771 Rue Helene, Sanibel, FL 33957
Checks will be held until the end of our campaign and will then be delivered to SCCF. You will get an email from Robin acknowledging receipt of your check, and you will also receive a letter from SCCF sometime during the summer. Your donation is tax deductible.
Thank you in advance for participating at whatever level you can before July 8. May we each be blessed to fully realize the beauty around us all and how much our efforts matter.
Best regards,
CSM board