Nature

This year’s sea turtle nesting season has come and gone with 84 total nests recorded in Walton County. With the help of 80 or so South Walton Turtle Watch (SWTW) volunteers, thousands of tiny hatchlings crawled out of their cozy dune nests and headed out to sea.

South Walton Sea turtles face long odds for survival. Females that survive will return about 25 years from now to lay their own eggs on the same stretch of beach where they hatched, as they have been doing for 65 million years.

To kick off their fifth year, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) along with 2,300 third and fifth graders established salt marsh nurseries at local schools in Okaloosa and Walton counties. During the course of the 2015-2016 Grasses in Classes Program, CBA will implement 21 programs and establish 63 saltmarsh nurseries.
 

Gentle waves lapping at our white sand shores shape the coastline bringing a subtle change, maybe not observed by all, but a change that is constant. Another transformation, a conceptual change occurring on the Emerald Coast as well as all over the world, is the redefining of luxury.

Fall is the best time of the year for us here on the coast. Nature takes center stage and there are plenty of ways to get outside and have fun. Education is a big part of what we do here at SoWal.com and we love our lakes. Here's what our friends Elam and his son Nic are up to at Live Oak Productions.

Inspiration can strike South Walton artist Marisol Gullo at any time, even when having dinner at local favorite, The Bay. Marisol and her husband Tony run their family business, Not Too Shabby Boutique in Santa Rosa Beach, constructing and restoring furniture and home decor. Every piece they create is a one-of-a-kind work of art. Every piece they build, restore, or create is a true labor of love.

The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) of Northwest Florida State College announces the fall session of its award winning eco-tourism initiative, Discover Roads Less Traveled: Eco-Adventures of Walton County.

“CBA’s eco-tours are intended to bring participants to local, off the beaten path environmental wonders,” states CBA’s eco-tour coordinator, Brandy Foley. “We hope that these tours will entice individuals to experience our local environment from a different perspective.” 

A giant red sun peeks over the oat-covered dunes, casting long shadows and illuminating a distinctive track in the sand, unbroken from dune toe to surf. The track was made in the midnight hour by a massive sea turtle on a mission.

Expectant mamas like her have been visiting SoWal beaches since prehistoric times, returning each year to the same spot where they hatched. Repeating the cycle by building a nest and burying dozens of eggs in the warm, incubating sands.