Sea Turtle Happy Hour 2020

2020 Sea Turtle Happy Hour

August 21st at 6pm LIVE on our Facebook page

The Friends of the Carr Refuge’s 4th Annual March into Turtle Season kick-off was post-poned in March due to COVID-19. The Sea Turtle Happy Hour event will be our replacement and first ever virtual event, complete with everything you know and love from the original! Sea Turtle Happy Hour is TONIGHT on August 21st at 6pm EST. This will be a Facebook Live event that you can watch at home! There will be two guest speakers, an online silent auction, and a themed drink for you to make at home! This event will be entertaining and educational, while raising funds to support our ongoing work to support the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Details on this event are below, you will not want to miss this!

Friends of the Carr Refuge is a small non-profit organization that relies heavily on memberships and donations to assist the Refuge and accomplish our goals of community education and conservation. Our main fundraising event each year is our popular Turtle Walks and Digs. Unfortunately the cancellation of these events this year left a major impact on our funds to carry out our goals. Funds raised through individual donations, and the silent auction from this event will help carry out our 2020 goals and make up for the cancelled events.

We need your help, we are looking for auction item donations for the online silent auction! If you have an item that you would like to donate for the event, please email us at info@carrrefuge.org.

Thank you for your support!

Speakers

Ryan Welsh

Biologist with Inwater Research Group

Ryan received his BA in biology from Earlham College where he gained an interest in herpetology and conservation while working with Dr. John Iverson on the Allen Cays Rock Iguana in the Exumas Islands, Bahamas. After graduating in 2003, he began his work with sea turtles in the US Virgin Islands. Since then, Ryan’s work has been focused throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico collaborating with the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Mote Marine Laboratory and Sea Turtle, Inc. Working with all life stages of sea turtles; Ryan received his Master in Biology from University of Central Florida in 2019, focusing his thesis on population assessments and distribution of foraging green turtles in the Florida Keys.

Suadd al Harthi

Executive Director of Enviornmental Society of Oman

"Conservation Journey of Oman's Loggerhead Sea Turtles"

The Environment Society of Oman (ESO), is a non-government organization (NGO) operating in Oman to conserve Oman's natural heritage through conducting scientific research to promote advocacy for conservation and engaging with the community to raise environmental awareness and develop sustainable education programs. One of ESO's significant conservation projects is the Loggerhead Conservation Program which was developed in 2008 as part of a joint partnership program between the Oman government, and the US government with funding secured from the US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) Marine Turtle Conservation Act and the National Marine Fisheries Service and technical support from Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. In 2015 an assessment of loggerhead sea turtles by the IUCN Species Survival Commission assigned (Oman's) North-West Indian Ocean loggerhead subpopulation as critically endangered, thus facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, highlighting the importance of taking action to minimize human induced threats. This presentation will highlight the monitoring work conducted on Masirah Island, Oman to understand the population status of loggerhead sea turtles, as well as fisheries engagement and community programs to raise awareness and call for conservation action.

Special Guest: Special Guest: Dr. Manjula Tiwari
Dr. Manjula Tiwari is a marine turtle Conservation Scientist affiliated with NOAA’s Marine Turtle Ecology and Assessment Program in La Jolla, California, as well as a Scientific and Technical Advisor to international sea turtle projects funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Africa, Asia and Oman. Dr. Manjula Tiwari will be answering questions on behalf of Suaad al Harthi's presentation.

Silent Auction

We've also moved our annual silent auction to a virtual platform so you don't have to worry about missing out on amazing art, experiences, and other items! We need your help more than ever to support conservation efforts in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks for supporting our cause. To make a difference, please bid on auction items, give a cash donation, donate an auction item, or simply share this auction on your social media using the hashtag, #FOCRcharityauction. Biding has already begun on all items and ends on August 23rd, the Sunday after our event. Take a look at all of our items up for auction on the silent auction website and below!

Link to our Silent Auction website HERE

Themed Drink:

Leatherback Lush

Time to head to the store! Gather up these ingredients and join us during our Virtual Sea Turtle Happy Hour to find out how to mix up a delicious Leatherback Lush cocktail! We will teach you how to make this delicious cocktail that you can enjoy while you listen to sea turtle speakers from around the world!

A message from our MC and bartender for the evening, Brandon Smith:

Other rums can be substituted if you can't find the ones mentioned near you. The specific rums mentioned are those of some of our sponsors. If you can't find the Jamaican rum, I probably would use Appleton's or Smith and Cross, which have a little wider distribution. For the dark rum you could substitute something like Gosling's or Meyers if your local purveyor of adult libations does not stock Plantation. Though they are becoming more common, you might only be able to find Plantation Original Dark which is also fine. I just opted for the OFTD because it is an overproof so has a bit higher octane and I think a better flavor than the Original Dark.