Submitted by Mike Reynolds

Each year thousands of baby sea turtles begin their life in the warmth of the white sandy beaches of the Alabama coast and for more than 10 years, volunteers with Share the Beach have watched over their journey to the sea.

Share the Beach is looking for more volunteers for this nesting season. If you want to learn more please join us for our volunteer recruiting meeting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Gulf Shores Adult Activity Center.

It begins each May, mama sea turtles, some weighing as much as 300 pounds, pull themselves out of the water onto the beach. Under the cover of darkness this prehistoric creature works its way up the beach looking for a spot to dig the nest.

She has to navigate around beach chairs, canopies and other obstacles including deep holes in the sand left by that day’s beachgoers. When she finally finds a spot that suits her, she will dig the 25-inch deep nest with her back flippers, deposit the 100 or so eggs in the nest, cover it back up with sand and return to sea.

Here is where the Share the Beach volunteers come in. From May to October, these trained volunteers patrol all 47 miles of Gulf beaches (from the Flora-Bama to the West End of Dauphin Island) early in the morning looking for the distinctive tracks of the mama sea turtle.

When a nest is located it is marked and posted with signs warning of a $100,000 fine for disturbing the nest. It takes about 60 days for the eggs to incubate and the turtles to hatch. The hatchlings must then dig up through the sand to reach the surface.

It is then that the volunteers perform the second part of their mission: See that the hatchlings make it to the water. Hatchlings emerge from the nest at night and are naturally drawn to faint light from the sparkling moonlight and starlight on the water. Unfortunately, our developed beaches are lined with bright artificial lights.

Lights from condos, houses, parking lots and streets all conspire to attract the baby turtles away from the water and to their eventual death.

Volunteers come to the rescue. Placing a light blocking tarp on three sides of the nest the volunteers watch over the hatchlings until they all make it to the water to accomplish their mission.

Share the Beach will have a second meeting on Dauphin Island on Tuesday.

Visit the website at www.Alabama

SeaTurtles.com or call 866-SEA-TURTLE (866-732-8878) to learn more.