Civic Engagement
CBS promotes learning experientially rooted in the community – the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature and art of a specific place. GOMI emphasizes civic engagement, the act(s) of doing something concrete and beneficial within one’s community that promotes understanding of issues that leads to improvement, remediation or protection. GOMI Citizen Science Summer Training, MA Audubon/L2SG Sea Turtle Rescue Project, and the Climate Café are examples of the civic engagement. So too are local efforts to restore habitats, monitor water quality, participating on local boards. All that requires planning and action to promote improvement, remediation and protection fall within this category.
Massachusetts Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary L2SG Sea Turtle Rescue
Most sea turtles (aside from the leatherback) are ectothermic, meaning that the temperature of the water around them regulates their body temperature. As winter approaches, the water temperature off Cape Cod Bay slowly decreases, and sea turtles should make their way south to warmer tropical waters. However, each year since the late 1970s, some number of juvenile turtles does not make the journey in time. Trapped by the hook of the Cape, the turtles become disoriented. When the water reaches about 50° by mid-November, the turtles are too cold to eat, drink, or swim, and become “cold-stunned.”
Unable to move, these turtles are at the mercy of the winds and currents. When strong winds blow in from the north or west, the turtles can be pushed up onto the beach and left behind by the receding tide. However, these cold-stunned turtles are lucky: since 1979, Wellfleet Bay staff and a corps of over 250 volunteers have patrolled the beaches of Cape Cod, on the lookout for cold-stunned turtles, which are rapidly transported to the New England Aquarium for evaluation and rehabilitation.
As part of GOMI NOAA B-WET grant, GOMI L2SG has partnered with the Audubon Sea Turtle Rescue at Wellfleet for several years. The excitement and satisfaction of involvement in the rescue work are, for students and teachers alike, an unforgettable event.
To learn more go to
http://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/wellfleet-bay