ABOVE: Coastal Stewards staff members Dr. Shelby Loos (left) and Kara Portocarrero prepare to release juvenile green sea turtles that had been treated at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Loos, veterinarian and marine life conservation director, holds Terra
sea turtle (25)
Named Lefty because his other front flipper is missing, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has moved into the Mangrove Aquarium at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Photo provided
By Steve Plunkett
After an 11-month wait, the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center has a se
As the former marine conservationist for the city of Boca Raton from 1995 to 2021, I have watched the developments at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and the actions of the nonprofit Gumbo Limbo Coastal Stewards.
The Coastal Stewards have been in existence
By Steve Plunkett
After almost 17 months of coronavirus seclusion, Gumbo Limbo's indoor nature center and gift shop, aquariums and sea turtle rehabilitation facility are open again to the public.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and
Cassidy Miller, 13, relaxes alongside the sea turtle she sculpted on the beach. Cassidy, whose family lives in the Riviera development near Palmetto Park Road and State Road A1A, spent hours on her creation and was very proud as beachgoers gave her c
Maura Evans and Katie Rose Brisson paint stakes used to mark sea turtle nests. Photo provided
By Janis Fontaine
Learning the value and joy of public service is an important component of a student’s education at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic School i
The second phase of the beach master plan was finished in early January, including this amber-colored lighting along the promenade sidewalk. The lights, which are shielded from the beach side to protect sea turtles, are on timers and most go off at 1
This dead loggerhead ingested more than 100 pieces of plastic it mistook for food. Photo provided by Gumbo Limbo
By Margie Plunkett
The tiny sea turtle, the size of the palm of your hand, had died after being washed back to shore this nesting season.
David Anderson, sea turtle conservation coordinator at Gumbo Limbo, checks a loggerhead nest at Red Reef Park.
By Larry Keller
As surely as the sun rises in the east, David Anderson and others from Gumbo Limbo Nature Center are on the beach, excavat
A hatchling green turtle makes its way into the surf. Green turtles typically nest every other year. Photo provided
By Rich Pollack
At first glance, the dramatic drop in the number of sea turtle nests along the Palm Beach County coastline during the
These new white LED lights at A1A and Atlantic generate significantly less glow than the old lights, but they’ll be replaced with red LED lights for turtles. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Jane Smith
The busy beachside intersection of State Road A1
By Jane Smith
The city’s Beach Property Owners Association board does not like the prospect of a 1.2-mile stretch of A1A in Delray Beach going dark for eight months starting in March.
Bob Victorin, association president, sent an email to city leaders
By Sallie James
A little more than a year after Boca Raton Regional Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017, the medical facility once known as the “Miracle on Meadows Road” has announced it will enter discussions to merge with health care g
Sargassum clogs a harbor along the shore of Guadeloupe. The windward sides of the islands are much harder hit than the leeward sides. French America Climate Talks
By Cheryl Blackerby
A natural disaster has hit the Caribbean. Barbados has declared a n
Mounds of sargassum, in places more than 30 feet wide and more than a foot deep, pile up on the beach in Ocean Ridge in mid-June. Since then some of the seaweed decomposed but then more arrived on the tide. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Sargassum spec
Kraken, an adult loggerhead turtle with only one eye, returned to the sea after six months of recuperation. She was rescued last June after being hit by a boat propeller and needed emergency surgery. ABOVE: A crowd wishes Kraken bon voyage. BELOW: Gu
By Ron Hayes
Hurricane Irma spared Palm Beach County the worst it could do, and the county’s sea turtle nests seem to have been spared its worst as well.
“In general, the beach was in better shape than we expected,” said Kirt Rusenko, the marin
Critters in crisis discover
cops are friends — and saviors
Gulf Stream Police Chief Edward Allen holds Chief, a kitten rescued from construction debris.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Resident Peter Klein heard the kitten’s meowing for help from under
A marine turtle specialist extracts eggs from the nest in South Beach Park. The eggs were relocated to Red Reef Park so a beach renourishment project would not disturb them. Photos courtesy of city of Boca Raton
By Steve Plunkett
A leatherback se
Whitney Crowder and David Anderson check on Bruce’s wound. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Sallie James
A critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that nearly became a shark’s lunch is the newest star at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, where he
