Most recently an assistant principal at Holston View Elementary within the Bristol Tennessee City School District, Dr. Cherith Roberts received her EdD from Eastern Tennessee State University. Aside from dispatching her professional obligations, Cherith Roberts, EdD, enjoys spending time with her family at Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. With miles of sand dunes and beaches, the island is an ideal spot for loggerhead sea turtles to nest.
The loggerhead sea turtle nests along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline of the Southeastern United States. South Carolina alone is home to over 3,000 turtle nests annually. Due to the vulnerable status of loggerhead sea turtles, the Isle of Palms has formed a Turtle Team. Throughout the spring and summer months, team volunteers walk the beaches of Isle of Palms, searching for evidence of loggerhead nests.
Each year, female loggerhead turtles make their way out of the waves to dig nests along the shoreline. The female will lay approximately 120 eggs in each nest she digs. The eggs incubate for 55-60 days until the turtle hatchlings dig themselves out of the sand and make their way to the ocean.
From their earliest beginnings, the hatchlings face threats. Coyotes, raccoons, feral hogs, and ghost crabs all prey on turtle nests. Then, after they have hatched, baby turtles face the possibility of becoming disoriented on their way to the ocean and perishing on the shore.
When Turtle Team volunteers spot evidence of a nest, they alert certified professionals to come to the site and perform an assessment. These professionals will determine if a nest needs to be relocated, perform DNA analysis, and mark the nest within a GPS system. All of these steps help to ensure the protection of turtle nests and their hatchlings. As a result of the efforts of volunteers along the Atlantic shoreline, scientists have observed an increase in loggerhead populations.
