Come Out and Play--an essay

 Come Out and Play

an essay by Mary Alice Monroe

Each spring my thoughts turn to the beach. Not with hopes to soak up the sun, surf, swim or sail. In late May I await the return of the loggerheads as they follow the call of instinct to nest on our beaches.

From May to October, I join other volunteers to search the beaches for turtle tracks and mind the nests. Sea turtles are ancient mariners that navigate the oceans until the voice of their ancestors calls them back to the beach of their birth to nest.

To watch a loggerhead's cumbersome crawl up the beach is to sit in awe of her courage and strength of purpose. She is slow and steady as she scars the sand to climb a dune. While she lays dozens of eggs, tears flow from her eyes. Science explains those tears as a natural cleansing of the eyes, but I see them as a mother's tears. When finished she returns to the sea, leaving her eggs in the care of mother earth.

The hatchlings emerge from the nest some 60 days later to follow instinct and crawl in frenzy toward the brightest light. In nature, that light shines from the moon and stars on the ocean, like a night-light to follow home. Yet the advent of electricity has lit up the night sky. Lights from houses and streetlamps lead the hatchlings from the ocean to certain death. Volunteers help the disoriented hatchlings back to the sea. I've seen countless hatchlings approach the surf only to turn, confused, and head toward the artificial light.

When I watch the tender 3-inch hatchlings disappear into the sea, I worry if one will manage to survive the 30 years to maturity so that she can return to our beaches to nest. Only one in a thousand is likely to.

Yet I have hope. The South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital takes in ill and injured turtles. Volunteers and donations to turtle hospitals are rising. Light ordinances are enforced and there are restrictions against beach renourishment or building during the nesting season.

So go out and play on the beach this summer - but play fair and turn off beachfront lights, remove trash and debris, and fill in deep holes that might trap hatchlings.

Sea turtles have graced our seas for millions of years. It is up to us to see if they'll survive in our future. Please, leave only your footprints in the sand.