1. A Turtle Nest: Beginning to End (by Mary Duffy) It all starts with a trip to the beach by a female turtle. The only time a female turtle come ashore is to lay her eggs

2. Turtle tracks lead volunteers to the nest site

3. Volunteers dig to verify the presence of eggs Photo by Jennifer Kravassi

4. The nest is marked and monitored for signs of a hatchling emergence Eggs will incubate for 50 – 60 days

5. Hopefully, all the hatchlings will crawl to the water Artificial beachfront lighting can disorient hatchlings, causing them to crawl all over the beach or landward into vegetation or local roadways

6. Three days after the nest emerges, volunteers will excavate the nest and take an inventory of the contents Photo by Sandra Baker-Hinton

7. Sometimes a turtle stops development in the egg Sometimes hatchlings are trapped in the nest and need to be rescued Photo by Jennifer Kravassi

8. Live hatchlings that are trapped in the nest are collected and released to the water Photo by Jennifer Kravassi

9. The public is invited to our excavations Everyone gets excited when there are live hatchlings! Photo by Jennifer Kravassi Photo by Sandra Baker-Hinton

10. Finally, the hatchling is released and makes its way to the surf Photo by Sandra Baker-Hinton

11. We say good-bye and GOOD LUCK!