MAY 2025

We turn our attention to nesting sea turtles in May and you will notice that our monthly nest-tracking grid has returned to the Friends of Canaveral newsletter. This is a way for our members to track the growing number of nests as the season progresses.

The early nests in 2025 belong to the enormous leatherback sea turtles that already have nested on both the Apollo and Playalinda district beaches. They will soon be followed by nesting loggerhead and green sea turtles, and potentially Kemps Ridley turtles. Each of these species have their own way of crawling onto the beach, digging their nests to deposit eggs, covering the eggs with packed sand and returning to sea.

If you have never seen a mother sea turtle laying her eggs on the beach, be sure to register for Canaveral National Seashore’s annual Turtle Watch program. Reservations will begin on May 15 for the June program. (Scroll down for details.)

Participants in the program will meet at the park with a ranger for an interpretive program while Turtle Watch scouts are on the beach scanning for nesting mothers. When those turtles arrive to nest, limited-group guests will accompany rangers on the beach to watch nesting from a safe distance and with the appropriate turtle-safe lighting.

Canaveral National Seashore’s beaches have long been an important nesting area for many species of sea turtles. Turtle nests have been counted here since 1984, when a total of 2,125 nests were counted.

Improved conservation measures for these reptiles over the years has resulted in better surveying, better protection for the nests and greater success with nesting. In 2023, alone, nearly 17,000 sea turtle nests were recorded on Canaveral’s 24 miles of beaches, equaling some 1.7 million baby sea turtles!

So, if you want to learn more about sea turtles or share with young explorers in your family a truly amazing natural phenomenon, sign up for a Turtle Watch program this summer. It will be an evening you will never forget.

Lisa D. Mickey

President, Friends of Canaveral

Lisa D. Mickey is a Florida Master Naturalist/ Florida Land Steward

CANA NESTING COUNTS

Welcome to the 2025 weekly sea turtle and shorebird nest tally at Canaveral National Seashore. After a comparatively slow sea turtle season last year (~7400 nests), we are expecting this year to be a bit busier. Only time will tell. We are out of the gate with a few leatherbacks in each district, our first loggerheads, first possible Kemps and Wilson's plovers are also staking turf and starting to nest. Stay tuned!

Junior Angler Fishing photos courtesy of National Park Service and Ashley Lord.

Park to Host Summer Junior Angler Surf Fishing Clinics

Summer programs are back! And Canaveral National Seashore will host an amazing, free summer Junior Angler program during June and July.

This is an opportunity for youth ages 8-15 to learn the art and skill of surf and lagoon fishing. Junior anglers also will learn about knot tying, appropriate fishing

tackle, healthy fish habitats, while gaining valuable hands-on experience from a team of local environmental students who are committed to sharing their skills in a fun, outdoor atmosphere.

All fishing gear will be provided in the program. Fishing clinics will be scheduled for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon through the months of June and July.

Reservations are required and parents/guardians must remain with their junior anglers for the duration of the program. This program is offered at no charge; however, all participants are responsible for bringing their own sun protection, hats, sunglasses, snacks and beverages.

Program reservations will open on June 1. For more information or to make reservations, please call the Apollo Beach Visitor Center at 386-428-3384.

CONSERVATION CORNER

Photo credit: National Park Service, Jimi Sadle

Exploring Hidden Canaveral and Its Sandy Pinelands

By Jimi Sadle

Biologist, Canaveral National Seashore

It’s easy to associate stunning beaches, sea turtles and rocket launches with Canaveral National Seashore, but do you ever think of sandy pinelands and prairies when planning your trip?

The easiest place to observe these Florida habitats is around the Playalinda park entrance, where slow speed signs protect Florida Scrub Jays from moving vehicles.

It is here where ancient dunes form high sandy habitats that don’t flood during the rainy season -- providing the perfect habitat for slash pine, palmetto and a large variety of herbaceous vegetation that make up the majority of the plant species that have been recorded in the park. Low, seasonally flooded swales run from north to south between the former dunes and are typically inhabited by grasses and herbs that thrive in the sunny, soggy and low-nutrient environments found here.

VOLUNTEER VOICES

Joe Griffiths

Joe Griffiths has enjoyed a full range of volunteer opportunities at Canaveral National Seashore. Get to know Joe and what he enjoys about volunteering in our national park:

Q: What is your career background?

A: Although my education is in financial management, my entire career was in healthcare. First, I worked in hospitals during college and then in consulting and leading teams of project managers or other consultants with a variety of systems for healthcare workers, including pharmacy, physicians, nursing and healthcare analytics.

Q: How did you begin volunteering at Canaveral National Seashore?

A: I retired during the pandemic in 2020 and immediately started taking Florida Master Naturalist Courses. I reached out to Valerie Stanley at the park to share my interest in volunteering for the National Park Service and was signed up to assist in for sea turtle education and ATV training. That first pre-dawn drive onto the beach to secure and mark sea turtle nests had me hooked!

Q: How long have you been a volunteer?

A: I started volunteering officially in March 2021 after training.

Q: In which volunteer activities have you participated?

A: I have volunteered with the park’s resource management rangers on turtle patrol, helped with interpretation as a Turtle Watch scout and recently transported two washback juvenile green sea turtles to the Marine Science Center for rehabilitation. I also have assisted with rocket launch boundary control, shorebird surveys and helped with database maintenance, served as a canoe guide on the Indian River Lagoon, and helped with beach clean-ups and yard clean-ups at Seminole Rest and at Eldora House.

Friends of Canaveral in the Community

The young at heart of all ages learned to make mini-nature sketch books with volunteer Nancy Neel alongside Friends of Canaveral at Speaking with the Land on Saturday, April 19. The event was held out at the Atlantic Center for the Arts main campus in New Smyrna Beach to celebrate Earth Day.

Laura E.Henning of Canaveral National Seashore joined members of Friends of Canaveral at the New Smyrna Beach Garden Tour on April 23. The gardens at local homes were showcased at this event and the Friends group was on hand to invite participation by local residents and hand out membership materials.

DID YOU KNOW?

Pollen plays an important role in survival.

Image courtesy of Britannica.com

Every outdoor surface has been covered with this yellow powder for months. Our eyes, nose and throat have been irritated by its existence. Pollen is an integral part of the survival of all plant life. Each pollen grain is a minute body, of varying shape and structure, formed in the male structures of seed-bearing plants and transported by various means (wind, water, insects, etc.) to the female structures, where fertilization occurs.

BECOME A FRIEND OF CANAVERAL NATIONAL SEASHORE

Purchase or Renew Your Membership Today!

DISCOUNTS - 15% discount at the Canaveral National Seashore Gift Shop
SUBSCRIPTION - Subscription to the Friends of Canaveral e-Newsletter
INVITES - Notification and invites to special events sponsored by the Friends of Canaveral or Canaveral National Seashore
OPPORTUNITIES - Learn about or volunteer for projects supporting sea turtle conservation, plant and sound ecology, environmental education, and endangered species.

BUY YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY

Share This Email

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

REPORT VIOLATIONS

If you suspect a fish, wildlife, boating, or environmental law violation, report it to the FWC's Wildlife Alert Reward Program:

888-404-FWCC (3922).