HOMEOWNERS
Do you have a house or condo rental? How about an Airbnb? On the right are our beautiful corrugated posters available to you for a small donation. It will make a great impression on your visitors, while helping us to spread the word about #cleandarkflat. And the best part? They’re weatherproof, so go ahead and stick them on the outdoor shower wall.
Please utilize the DONATE button to make your payment. Provide a note within the payment process “signage” and quantity and size you’d like. We will reach out to you to deliver locally. We cannot mail these.
Recommended donation:
12″ x 18″ is only $10 | 2′ x 3′ is only $20
WILD SEA TURTLE WEDNESDAYS 2023
Every Wednesday from May 31st to August 30th
RAIN OR SHINE 9 am to 11 am
The Big Chill Watersound 7000 E. County Hwy. 30A
Learn all about our endangered sea turtles, why protecting them is important, and how you can help. Get answers to these questions or ask your own!
~Why are dark beaches so important to sea turtles?
~Why can’t I hold baby sea turtles?
~Why is it important to fill in holes on the beach?
~Why can’t I shine lights on sea turtles at night?
~How long does it take before sea turtles can reproduce?
~Why should I flatten sand castles at the end of the day?
- Learn how you can help keep our beaches #cleandarkflat
- Paint a wooden sea turtle to keep
- Receive a goodie bag with activity book and repurposed crayons
- See how we mark off sea turtle nests
- Look at pictures of sea turtle tracks
- Meet some turtle volunteers
- See a life-size sea turtle shell and skull
AMAVIDA COFFEE
If you love coffee, you can help sea turtles by purchasing a special blend from our partners at Amavida Coffee Roasters. With every purchase of “Save Our Sea Turtles” coffee blend, Amavida will donate $1 to South Walton Turtle Watch on your behalf. What a delicious way to contribute to local sea turtle conservation efforts! You can purchase at any Amavida Coffee shop or wherever you find it available, or order online and have it shipped.
https://www.amavida.com/shop-organic-coffee/save-our-sea-turtles/
HOLE PATROL
We need your help! We get it, you love digging holes on the beach. Did you know the Walton County Waterways and Beach Activity Ordinance states:
“Holes dug on the beach are required to be attended, shall be filled prior to leaving the beach and cannot be larger than 3 feet x 3 feet and no deeper than 2 feet.”
Why: Holes on the beach are extremely dangerous to our beach safety and maintenance personnel as well as anyone walking in the early morning and late evening hours. It’s a real threat to our NESTING SEA TURTLES AND THEIR HATCHLINGS.
Want to help even more? Join our team of Hole Patrollers and head out at the end of the day and fill some holes. We require a two-month commitment. This is not for the faint of heart. Send us a note and we’ll get you signed up and provide all the necessities.
There’s a reason we call her FANTASTIC SAM! She’s out there every day keeping the beaches nice and flat for our nesting mommas.
If you happen to see her out there, please say hi!
Leigh Fitzpatrick, Erin Evans, and Drew Gibson know how to get ‘er done! They’re a truly dedicated wonderful hole patrol team. We can’t say enough good things about them.
Gulfsouth Soccer Club is awesome! Keep an eye out for them as they patrol our beaches and keep them #cleandarkflat.
GHOST CRAB HUNTERS
Ghost crab hunting is a time-honored tradition on our beaches here in South Walton. With that said, if you’re on the beach at night, please use red or amber lights so as not to disturb our sea turtles. And, once your fun is done, please be respectful and quickly release the crabs back onto the beach so they can re-moisten their gills in order to breathe and continue their foraging.
