Coastal Connections had much to celebrate at its Shell’ebration event, where guests were feted at the lovely beachside home of Anthony DeChellis. As the rhythmic sounds of waves hitting the shoreline reminded them, the guests were not far from where the sea turtles nest from March through October.
To mark its fifth anniversary of providing conservation efforts, the nonprofit announced a record sea turtle nesting season, and the designation of two Treasure Coast hotels as Sea Turtle Friendly Certified – Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa and the Shores Beach Resort & Spa.
As guests enjoyed the music of the Shanaphy Family Band, they nibbled on a delicious buffet catered by Wild Thyme catering, and perused live- and silent-auction items. They were also invited to help re-seed the dunes by planting sea oats alongside the property.
“We are sowing the seeds of this organization by planting sea oaks which are super important for the beach, provides habitats for sea turtles, and strengthens the ecosystem,” explained Margaret Bowden, one of Coastal Connection’s summer interns.
“Five years is not enough time, and we’re going to continue working on our mission and bringing in our community in the next five years and beyond,” said Kendra Cope, Coastal Connections founder and executive director.
Over the past five years, more than 500 sea turtles have been rescued and more than 7,000 pounds of debris have been removed from sea turtle nesting beaches.
“We are here tonight to celebrate a record sea turtle nesting year here on our beaches, which is an incredible thing to be here celebrating because sea turtles are listed on the endangered species list,” said Cope, noting that Indian River County saw 9,355 nests along its 22.4 miles of beach, which is 400 more nests than the previous record.
“We’re seeing real recovery. We’re seeing these nesting numbers increase all over the place because of the actions that you and I do every day, like reducing our single-use plastics or helping pick up trash or using a reusable bag at the grocery store,” said Cope.
All of Coastal Connection’s initiatives are focused on protecting coastal habitats for sea turtle survival. Among them are Turtle Connections, their daytime turtle digs and nighttime turtle walks; Sea Turtle Friendly Certified hotels and Turtle Trips; and Vero Goes Zero, which includes Beach Baskets, Coastal Cleanups and WRAP Recycling.
Leading by example, Cope pointed out that no single-use plastics were used at the party. “We are doing our best to help Vero go Zero, meaning zero single-use plastics.”
Coastal Connections has raised roughly half of its $50,000 fundraising goal and will continue its annual drive through Dec. 31. Having grown up walking the beaches and looking for turtles, DeChellis announced that he would match the first $20,000 in donations.
Additionally, a special auction item – a miniature sea turtle statue painted by local artist Andy Diossy – heralded a partnership with the Mental Health Association to bring awareness to their mission. The project will focus on ‘rehabilitating’ the existing turtle statues that are scattered around the county.
Going forward, the MHA and Coastal Connections plan to focus on mental health awareness and the therapeutic benefits of water for the health, well-being and betterment of this community.
Get your running shoes ready for the Vero Beach Half Marathon and Sea Turtle 2-Miler on Jan. 22 to benefit Coastal Connections.
For more information, visit coastal-connections.org.
Photos provided
