Volunteers needed for Jamaica Bay terrapin conservation project

Once again I am seeking volunteers to help with the diamondback terrapin

(DBT) research and conservation project at Jamaica Bay in June and July

2014. We’ve had a long and cold winter and we have lots of new projects so

this is likely to be a particularly interesting spring.

Volunteer work can be arranged around anyone’s summer schedule. Prospective

volunteers should contact me via email or here on Facebook. Most volunteers

decide to come out one or two days/week, others come out for one longer

stretch of days or weeks. Work mostly involves walking thru known nesting

areas and looking for nesting DBT, then following a standard protocol for

marking nests, capturing DBT, and data collection. We also go in areas where

visitors are not allowed. When you do this, you must be wearing an official

terrapin volunteer t-shirt.

 

No one under 16 without a parent or guardian along. It is helpful if you

have a pair of binoculars. Volunteers are never more than a 20 minute walk

to the Jamaica Bay Visitor Center, which is air conditioned and has water

and restrooms.

 

The first step is Scheduling: Please go to the Google home page

(www.google.com) and sign in to the JBTerp2014@gmail.com google account (see

the button on the upper right hand corner of the page labeled “sign in”).

The password is Malaclemys2014. After you sign into the account, click on

the set of nine dots in the top right, a drop down menu will pop up with a

Calendar button. When the calendar opens up, you can type an appointment for

any days when you can volunteer. Please include your name and phone number

with each entry, so if I have to cancel for some reason I can reach you. I

need people every day, more or less 7am-7pm. Feel free to sign up for the

same time as other people; I usually need more than one person at a time.

 

Newbies: On your first day go to the visitor center at Jamaica Bay Wildlife

Center (directions below) and call on the DBT phone (646.415.2074). BTW–I

only have this phone on during the DBT season. One of us will answer and

direct you to wherever the action is, and start training you. Special DBT

Researcher Volunteer T-shirts are available free for those that make a

serious volunteer commitment.

 

Remember: always schedule your volunteer time on the Google calendar before

coming out, so I know to expect you.

 

The Visitor Center is on Cross Bay Boulevard just south of the town of

Howard Beach.

 

You should bring water, a cell phone, binoculars and camera if you have

them, food/snacks, sun block, and a hat. You can wear shorts and sandals are

OK. I supply all note-taking equipment. It’s good to be prepared for rain

since DBT do come out on days when there are showers followed by sun. There

are mosquitoes/no-see-ums especially around dawn/dusk so you might want to

bring your favorite bug repellant.

 

Communication: I can’t stay on top of phone calls all the time, but I can do

emails and Facebook. If you haven’t already, you can join us at the Facebook

group Jamaica Bay Terrapin Research and Conservation. You can always email

me (biorlb@hofstra.edu). And you can always leave messages on the DBT phone

(646.415.2074).

 

Dr. Russell Burke

Department of Biology

Hofstra University