My First Week as a Sea Turtle Intern

Blog Post By: Sarah Glover, Sea Turtle Intern

My name is Sarah Glover, and I am one of the 2022 Sea Turtle Interns here at Edisto Beach State Park! I am a rising senior at the College of Charleston, where I am majoring in marine biology and minoring in environmental and sustainability studies. It has been an exciting first couple weeks full of turtle activity!

On one of my first days, we spent six hours on the beach during dawn patrol. We found two false crawls and five nests, two of which we relocated. Relocation is necessary in certain circumstances and does not harm the success rate of the eggs if done carefully. One of the relocated nests was just below the high tide line, which means it was at risk of experiencing too many wash overs from the tide. The other one was right on the edge of a scarp, leaving it vulnerable to erosion. We also found a diamondback terrapin, a turtle species that lives in the creeks and nests on the beach. After watching her for a while and trying to release her into the wild, we decided she needed some extra care (she was exhausted, overheated, and malnourished) and took her to the Environmental Learning Center. She is currently at the South Carolina Aquarium being rehabilitated.

My favorite experience so far was when we saw a loggerhead sea turtle on our night patrol a few nights ago! We were able to watch as she emerged from the water, made her way all the way to the dunes, dug her egg chamber, and finally laid her eggs. This was my first time seeing a sea turtle in the wild and it was such an incredible thing to witness! I am very excited for my summer as an intern here at EBSP learning about and helping protect loggerhead sea turtles!