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Improving odds with education

A Seminole couple will teach a class that coincides with sea turtle nesting season in hopes of parlaying education into survival.

CLEARWATER - Helen and Paul Stellrecht were looking for something to do together, something outside, away from their weekday jobs indoors.

In 1997, the Seminole couple became volunteer auxiliary park rangers for Pinellas County. At first, they patrolled the Pinellas Trail. Then came the turtles.

"I think of the sea turtles as part of a resource that cannot be replenished," said Helen Stellrecht, 34, a licensed clinical social worker at Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. "They're an important part of the ecosystem."

The couple attended a class that one of the paid park staffers taught on sea turtles.

"We fell in love with it," said Paul Stellrecht, 35, who works for the city of St. Petersburg's housing and community development office. Now he and his wife are teaching the class every other Friday night at Clearwater's Sand Key Park. The next free class is June 25 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. It's interactive and includes a show-and-tell, slide show and a walk to the beach to talk about sea turtle habits.

The classes coincide with sea turtle nesting season. From now until the end of August, female sea turtles come out of the water to lay their eggs on the beaches. The eggs hatch between July 1 and Oct. 31. One female can lay dozens of eggs, but only one in 1,000 baby sea turtles makes it to adulthood. Many sea turtles are endangered, and all are protected under federal and state laws. The penalties for harming, harassing or disturbing a turtle or nest can be severe.

"There are so many obstacles to their survival, we thought by some sort of small educational component, we could make a difference," Paul Stellrecht said. So he teaches people to throw away plastics after beach visits and turn off or mask lights near the beaches. Turtles think plastic bags are jellyfish, a favorite food, and the lights confuse them when they look for the moon to take them out to sea.

"I never would have known about the lights disturbing them," said Steve Scher, 57, from Atlanta. He and his wife recently bought a condo on Sand Key and checked out the first class last week at the park.

"You can do stuff to protect them," said Shelley Scher, 55.

The classes continue every other Friday evening until Aug. 24. To take the class, register by calling (727) 464-3347.

"We don't think we can give people the personalized treatment with too many people," Helen Stellrecht said. "So don't just show up."

If it rains, that class is canceled and registration for the next class is required.

"We go out of our way to learn about the environment we live in," said Jim Wilson, 61, from Dunedin. He and his wife Carol, 58, came to the first class and hope to teach their seven grandchildren a few things about the environment.

"We learn things so we can pass it along to them," said Carol Wilson. "It's kind of a continuing education."

Free classes on the life cycles of sea turtles and what people can do to protect them will be offered from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. every other Friday night - June 25, July 9, July 23, Aug. 13 and Aug. 24 - at Sand Key Park, 1060 Gulf Blvd., Clearwater. Participants must stay for the whole class and leave together because the park gate is closed. Register at (727) 464-3347.