We Share the Beaches Educational Series

Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles group invites our community to the We Share the Beaches Educational Series held at the South Walton Coastal Branch Library.

Programs are held monthly on specified Wednesday nights as announced from 6:30 til 7:30pm. Free and open to the public and also as training for Friends of South Walton Sea Turtle Volunteer Beach Ambassadors.

Wednesday Nov. 15: Florida State Parks Overview with Jeff Talbert
The first program of the series will be presented by Jeff Talbert, Field Biologist at the Atlantic Botanical Garden on assignment at Deer Lake State Park. He will be lecturing on the unique treasures found in the three Florida State Parks located in South Walton: Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, Grayton Beach State Park, and Deer Lake State Park. Each one of these jewels has environmental projects in process as well as unique resources for our locals and guests to experience. At the conclusion of this offering, you will be able to enlighten our guests that you encounter during your walks on the special features that can be found when exploring our State Parks.

Wednesday Dec. 13: Plastic Pollution with Dr. Laura G. Tiu
Laura G. Tiu, Ph.D., Florida Sea Grant Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Okaloosa/Walton Counties, will present information about Plastic Pollution on Wednesday December 13, 6:30-7:30pm. Dr. Tiu will speak to us about the rise of plastic production starting in the early 1900’s to the explosion of plastics after World War II. After nearly a century of plastic production, we have discovered negative environmental impacts that we never anticipated. How bad is it and what can we do to combat our plastic addiction? Discover the dangers of micro plastics and how you can adopt sustainable practices to reduce these pollutants in the environment. Explore and discuss the global/local implications to our environment, our beaches and humanity.

The Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization formed in 2015. Through education, volunteers are dedicated to promoting sea turtle conservation through awareness and education for the residents and the 3 million+ visitors to Walton County, Florida.

The Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles is a volunteer group that was created to work alongside South Walton Turtle Watch. The original Turtle Watch group has been around for more than 20 years. The original group’s primary mission is to locate turtles and their nests and protect them. You may have seen the early-morning “turtle walkers” who are up with the sun in order to find crawl markings that indicate a new nest has been laid.

Follow Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles on Facebook for more news and events and find out how you can get involved.

South Walton Coastal Branch Library hosts year round events, lectures, children's story time, chess, tai chi, meditation and other classes open to the community. Stop in to see works of a local artist on display each month. The library is located at 437 Greenway Trail off Hwy. 331 South. Follow South Walton Coastal Branch Library on Facebook for updates and events.