Greening your Holidays!

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average US resident produces approximately 5 pounds of trash per day during the holiday season. Together, this produces over 250 million tons of waste in just a month's time. As we learn more about how the planet negatively responds to our impacts, we should make efforts to reduce our ecological footprint. Let's give a gift to Mother Earth this year by greening our holidays!

E-cards: Join the upcoming trend by sending e-cards instead of actual holiday cards. There are several sites that sell e-cards and even allow you to create your own personalized cards with family photos! Save trees, postage, and the gas it takes to fly your cards from one place to another!

Make your own ornaments: Instead of buying ornaments, make your own! It’s a great way to spend time with your family and create art. Check out the ornaments you can make from your old incandescent light bulbs! Be sure to look up all the great, inexpensive ornament ideas on the web!

Wrapping in style: Instead of using store bought wrapping paper, make wrapping more unique! Use newspaper, children’s art work, sheet music, and old maps for a special twist to your presents. This adds personal touches to each gift, and ensures great family fun. If you have to use gift wrap, select those made from recycled material.



Invest in LED lights: Replace your string lights with LED’s (light emitting diodes). LED’s use 60-80% less energy and can burn up to 100,000 hours (~10 years). These little lights can make a huge difference on energy bills and will last much longer!

Say No to Plastic: While out shopping, bring your canvas and cloth bags. Some stores will actually give a discount if you bring your own! This will help keep plastic bags out of our landfills and waterways. Challenge yourself to buy gifts, foods and candies without all the plastic packaging.

Buy Local: When you are out buying gifts, shop locally and buy from local artists. This will provide a one of kind gift while helping your local economy. Also, while preparing your holiday menu, try to use ingredients you can find at your local farmers market!

The Gift of Giving: Instead of buying traditional gifts, support charities, non-profits or make donations in honor of loved ones. Check out the South Carolina Aquarium's Gift Giving Guide at http://scaquarium.org/holiday.

Useful links:
Lowcountry Local First - http://www.lowcountrylocalfirst.org/
Charleston Coffee Roasters - http://www.charlestoncoffeeroasters.com/

Hope you enjoy greening your holiday this year!

Warmest wishes,
Whitney Daniel and the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program

The Sarkowski Triplets Raise Funds for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program!

For the second year in a row, the Sarkowski girls have given our sea turtle patients a commendable gift. In lieu of presents for their birthday, Gracie, McKae, and Aubrey requested donations to help provide food and medical treatment for the turtles recovering in our hospital. To date, these amazing triplets have raised $510!

The girls’ parents, Staci and Chris, have nurtured a love of nature in their three daughters and are truly leading by example. Chris often takes the triplets kayaking through the salt marsh around Sullivan’s Island, where birds and diamondback terrapins are abundant in the early morning hours. McKae, Aubrey, and Gracie also spent part of their summer helping mom, Staci, patrol the beaches of Isle of Palms in search of sea turtle nests. Staci landed a rare volunteer spot on the Isle of Palms turtle team this year, which gave the triplets the rare opportunity to learn how to identify sea turtle tracks and nests and even witness eggshells and hatchlings being excavated from a nest during an inventory.

During their visit to the hospital, the girls were drawn to our charismatic little loggerhead, Gumby. Although Gumby looks strong and healthy now, he is still recovering from severe metabolic bone disease. Aubrey, Gracie, and McKae were only able to appreciate how unhealthy Gumby was when he was first admitted into our hospital when they viewed his radiographs, which clearly show the deterioration of his skeletal system at admittance and the great improvements he’s made since last June.

I am truly thankful that this wonderful family has chosen our sea turtle hospital as the recipient of their donation. These girls give me great hope that our wild animals and the habitats we all depend upon will continue to be valued in the future.


Thank you, Sarkowski family!
Christi Hughes

Little River update (with video)

You can't miss Little River when you visit the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital - "she" is the one splashing water across the room! This juvenile loggerhead sea turtle was admitted to the hospital in May of 2011 with 3 propeller strikes in her shell. She is extremely lucky to be alive since the fractures cut deeply across the vertebral scutes.


Periodically, we find Little River resting at the bottom of her tank, floating on one side (see photo below). Of greater concern to hospital staff is the limited use of her rear flippers, indicating that she has suffered spinal damage from the strikes. While most sea turtle patients use their rear flippers to aid in moving around their holding pools, Little River’s rear flippers remain motionless when she swims. This is partially why she splashes so much as she swims to the water's surface to take a breath of air. It isn't until someone physically stimulates the rear flippers or shell that we see that she actually CAN move them. Upon touch, she draws her rear flippers into her body and moves them a bit more.


The two videos below allow for comparison of rear flipper movement by Little River and another loggerhead currently being treated at the Sea Turtle Hospital, Hamlin Creek.





We are working with Little River to increase rear flipper movement by providing alternative therapies such as physical therapy, shell stimulation, and electroacupuncture (thanks to Dr. Steve Canion). However, having limited movement in the rear flippers would not keep Little River from eventually being released back into the wild. When Dr. Boylan and hospital staff deem her strong enough to survive on her own, she will be set free. In the meantime, check back here to find video of how Little River is responding to therapies!

Kelly Thorvalson

MerriElizabeth’s Sea Turtle Birthday Celebration!

Appropriately adorned in a sea turtle dress and barrettes, a very special 2-year-old girl named MerriElizabeth visited the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital on October 9th bearing a wonderful gift for our sea turtle patients. MerriElizabeth had just celebrated her second birthday and in lieu of toys, her family and friends chose to honor her by aiding the sick and injured turtles in our hospital. In all, MerriElizabeth raised more than $550 and is now a proud Stranded Sea Turtle Adoptive Parent!



Clutching Trevor (her stuffed sea turtle), MerriElizabeth explored the hospital and was drawn to the turtles swimming in their tanks. Thanks to the tank windows, she was able to get face-to-face with Barrington, our juvenile loggerhead who underwent brain surgery last July and seemed to be one of her favorites.

Children who visit the hospital are always amazed at the anatomical similarities between sea turtles and humans. Our preserved sea turtle carapace, which clearly shows how the rib bones have been modified in turtles to produce the shell, elicited a huge smile from this bright little birthday girl!

Ever the charmer, MerriElizabeth set aside her fish crackers long enough give me a beautifully executed high-five and show me how to say “thank you” in sign language on her way out to enjoy Charleston’s beautiful fall weather. I’d like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” and flipper hugs to MerriElizabeth and to everyone who helped make her second birthday such a memorable event!


Christi Hughes
Sea Turtle Biologist

Photos and video of McClellan's release!

A team of Aquarium staff members get McClellan out of the holding tank she has occupied for almost 4 months...


...and carefully load her into the transport bin.


After arriving at the Isle of Palms County Park, McClellan is taken from the transport container by the release team.


Shelley and Ethan Harrison from Caledonia, Ontario in Canada, were in town for this special release. Ethan, now 9 years old, has raised over $6,000 for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program, starting when he was only 4 years old.


The release team clockwise from left to right: Dan Ashworth, one of the USFWS staff on the boat that rescued McClellan; Kevin Handel, Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern; Bob Crimian, Sea Turtle Rescue Progam Volunteer; Lee Baldonado, South Carolina Aquarium Environmental Services Manager. Thanks guys!



The release team walked McClellan into the water because of her missing front flipper. She stopped for a few moments on a sandbar but once free of that obstacle, headed out to sea.


Enjoy the video of McClellan's release!




Huge thanks to all involved in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of this amazing animal!
Kelly Thorvalson

Amputee loggerhead to be released this Friday

We are excited to be able to release an adult female loggerhead back into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, October 7, 2011. McClellan suffered a flipper amputation from a crab trap rope entanglement and loss of a portion of her shell from propeller strikes. Despite these traumatic injuries, she has recovered in less than four months! The public is invited to join us at 1pm at the Isle of Palms County Park for this release held in partnership with the SC Department of Natural Resources and the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission. Arrive early to get a good parking space (County Park parking fees apply).

Visit the Sea Turtle Hospital at http://scaquarium.org/STR/hospital/default.aspx to learn more about McClellan’s injuries and rehabilitation. We hope to see you Friday!

1st Annual Logtoberfest on Folly Beach!

Come out to Loggerhead's on Folly Beach this Saturday, October 8th for the 1st Annual Logtoberfest from 4PM - 2AM. Enjoy the oyster roast and BBQ for only $20 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program. No purchase necessary to enjoy live music from Graham Whorley, Jamisun, and Howard Dlugasch on the outside stage and the Dubplates inside at 10.

Hope to see you there!
Kelly Thorvalson