Earth Fare Donates Organic Produce for the Third Year!

For the third year in a row, Earth Fare has stepped up in a time of need by donating organic vegetables to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program! It has been a very busy winter for the Sea Turtle Hospital treating a record 25 patients, six being green sea turtles. Hospital staff strives to provide our patients with a diet that is as close as possible to their natural diets in the wild. Young green sea turtles are omnivores and a large part of their diet consists of plant matter such as algae and sea grass. With help from Earth Fare's weekly donations, we are able to offer a wide variety of healthy organic vegetables such as romaine, green and red leaf lettuces, red and green cabbage, and bell peppers to our green sea turtles.

Earth Fare storefront, located in the South Windmere Shopping Center.

Earth Fare is known for their great selection of organic and local produce. 

Small shot of the huge selection Earth Fare offers.

Great information for buying organic.

Earth Fare's Food Philosophy

Produce Manager Matt Setter, handing over a full box of healthy vegetables.

Ollie is very excited to see all the greens!

Ollie enjoying some organic green leaf lettuce from a PVC feeder which allows the sea turtles to feed naturally off the bottom of the tank.

One behalf of the South Carolina Aquarium and our endangered green sea turtles, we would like to thank Earth Fare for their continued support of the Sea Turtle Rescue Program. Please check out Earth Fare either online or at their amazing store in the South Windmere Shopping Center!

 

Whitney Daniel

Sea Turtle Biologist

A Third Annual Donation from the Sarkowski Triplets!

Three 9-year-old girls have become true benefactors of the sick and injured sea turtles recuperating in our Sea Turtle Hospital. For the third year in a row, McKae, Gracie, and Aubrey have encouraged their friends and family members to contribute to sea turtle conservation in South Carolina by donating funds to our non-profit Sea Turtle Hospital. 

2010 Donation



2011 Donation

This year, the triplets decided to reach out to their local community with phenomenal results. The girls discussed the plight of sick and injured sea turtles with local individuals and businesses, including Pitt Street Pharmacy, Royall Hardware, and the law firm J. Lynn McCants, LLC, and managed to raise an astounding $1,100!

2012 Donation

As Thanksgiving approaches and we begin to reflect on what we are thankful for in our daily lives, please let the children in your life know how much you appreciate them. It is truly astounding how much children can achieve when they have adults in their lives who believe in them. The staff, volunteers, and turtles in our Sea Turtle Hospital are very thankful for Aubrey, McKae, and Gracie!

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

Huge thanks to Kiawah Island Community Association for 4WD truck donation!

The Kiawah Island Community Association (KICA) pulled through once again! Kelly Bragg and Shannon White from KICA, arrived at the South Carolina Aquarium on Friday to donate a 4WD Toyota Tacoma truck. This is the second truck to be retired from KICA and donated to the Aquarium in less than a year! Although this particular truck will be useful in many situations for the Aquarium, it will be primarily used by the Sea Turtle Rescue Program for educational outreach and to drive rehabilitated sea turtles onto local beaches for release.

Above: A nice, new ride for our rehabilitated sea turtles!

Above, left to right: SC Aquarium CEO, Kevin Mills; KICA Board of Directors Chair, Kelly Bragg; STRP Manager, Kelly Thorvalson

The first truck donated by KICA, a 4-cylinder Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, was delivered in the summer of 2010. That donation came right on the heels of two ~10-year old Aquarium owned vehicles breaking down to the point of no return (after we eeked every mile possible out of them), so the gift could not have been better timing.

Thank you Kelly, Shannon and the entire Kiawah Island Community Association - we are forever grateful!

Kelly Thorvalson
Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager