From the City of Destin
To help with education and awareness during turtle nesting season (May 1st to October 31st), the City of Destin is giving out FREE turtle-friendly flashlights. Use these flashlights when you look for ghost crabs or go for a stroll on the beach at night. The red light helps keep sea turtles from becoming disoriented when they come ashore to lay their eggs.
A couple of years ago, the city embarked on a “beach experience” survey. The research showed that one of the things that people were very passionate about is the education on sea turtles and using the right type of flashlight. There are a lot of people who use their cell phone or a bright white flashlight while walking the beach at night. “We came up with the idea of promoting our Leave No Trace campaign, but also promoting the right type of colored flashlight that you’re supposed to be using on the beaches at night,” said Catherine Card, Public Information Manager, City of Destin.
The city is sponsoring this initiative and has ordered over 500 flashlights with more to come. The Destin Chamber of Commerce, Destin History & Fishing Museum, Emerald Coast Science Center, Henderson Beach State Park and the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park are all partnering with the city and will have flashlights available to the public along with Destin City Hall.
This effort combines two important initiatives for the city: Leave No Trace and the education of our sea turtles. Catherine stated, “This is another element of our Leave No Trace initiative. We want to be good stewards and we want to protect our natural resources as well as protect our other beach patrons, our sea turtles.”
To learn more watch the city’s video about the flashlights at https://youtu.be/3x1jjfjldfs or visit the city’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cityofdestin.
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