TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. \u2014 Sea turtle nesting season\u00a0is ramping up on Gulf Coast beaches and Ambassadors with Keep Pinellas Beautiful are doing their part to ensure it\u2019s a successful season.<\/p>\n
What started as a way to keep Treasure Island clean for Carrie Auerbac, has turned into a mission to protect the sea turtles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such an incredible thing that endangered sea turtles come up onto our beaches,\u201d Auerbac said. \u201cFlorida hosts 90 percent of all the sea turtle nesting in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a beach ambassador for Keep Pinellas Beautiful and after every busy holiday, she does her part to clean up any trash left behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s early in the season, there may be four or five nests here on Treasure Island, as you go further south there are a lot more, and over on the east coast they\u2019re flourishing, I think they\u2019re having the best year so far,\u201d Auerbac said.<\/p>\n
To protect them, she says it\u2019s important to educate beachgoers on how they can help the turtles\u00a0reach the dunes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s artificial light, they\u2019ll turn around and go the wrong way,\u201d Auerbac said.<\/p>\n
She also says beachgoers should flatten sandcastles and fill any holes to prevent turtles from getting trapped.<\/p>\n
For beachgoers like Mareena Clark, it\u2019s important to protect the space she enjoys.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love the beach and we want to treat it with kindness and respect so that we can keep coming here and enjoying it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n