{"id":2230,"date":"2009-02-16T09:39:06","date_gmt":"2009-02-16T14:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=2230"},"modified":"2010-01-16T13:01:57","modified_gmt":"2010-01-16T18:01:57","slug":"turtles-gone-wild-sro-hit-at-wareham-free-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=2230","title":{"rendered":"“Turtles Gone Wild” S.R.O. Hit at Wareham Free Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"wareham-free-library-valentine-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Terrapin\u00c2\u00a0Poses\u00c2\u00a0Traditional February 14th Question<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that so many people would turn out on Valentine’s Day to hear about turtles,” exclaimed\u00c2\u00a0one board\u00c2\u00a0member of the Wareham Land Trust<\/a> that co-sponsored our Turtles Gone Wild<\/strong> presentation at the Wareham Free Library<\/a> on Saturday.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We were not\u00c2\u00a0surprised in the slightest.\u00c2\u00a0 When we arrived 90 minutes before the presentation to begin our set-up ritual, librarians and board members tried to lower expectations.\u00c2\u00a0 “It’s school vacation week and many families have gone south.”\u00c2\u00a0 “Attendance has been so slow for our library programs lately.”\u00c2\u00a0 “No one’s coming out on these cold winter days.”\u00c2\u00a0 “It’s a holiday weekend and Valentine’s Day.\u00c2\u00a0 Who wants to come to the library to hear about turtles?”\u00c2\u00a0 And so on.\u00c2\u00a0 To each\u00c2\u00a0we responded, “You just don’t understand the\u00c2\u00a0magic of turtles.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone has a turtle story tucked deep down inside their memories and adults, consciously or subconsciously, want their children and grand children to share these transformational moments.\u00c2\u00a0 We will have standing room only.”\u00c2\u00a0 And so we did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"wfl-016-prep-840\"<\/a><\/span>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wareham Free Library Ready to Receive Turtle Guests<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
We joined librarians and\u00c2\u00a0board members of the Wareham Land Trust in setting up chairs for the maximum seating capacity of 105\u00c2\u00a0in the church-like auditorium.\u00c2\u00a0 Sue Wieber Nourse and\u00c2\u00a0Don Lewis\u00c2\u00a0assembled electronics, strung wires, arranged photo displays and\u00c2\u00a0books\u00c2\u00a0and shells, and prepared live specimens to meet the crowds. <\/span><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
\"i-heart-turtles-ii-840\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
Design on Wareham Land Trust Tee Shirts and Bumper Stickers<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
Others hung banners, spread out refreshments (including an assortment of delicious cookies made to resemble turtles!), and set up a membership table for the land trust with freshly minted tee shirts and bumper stickers that read (see above), “I love turtles.”\u00c2\u00a0 Quite appropriate for Valentine’s Day.\u00c2\u00a0 With in all readiness, we waited for our guests.<\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
\"wfl-007-840\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
Standing Room Only (S.R.O.) at the Wareham Free Library<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
\n
People began arriving\u00c2\u00a0long before showtime and kept arriving and arriving well into the presentation.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0One hundred five\u00c2\u00a0chairs filled\u00c2\u00a0faster than a snapper’s snap,\u00c2\u00a0so children were invited to come up front and sit on the floor by the screen.\u00c2\u00a0 People\u00c2\u00a0perched on\u00c2\u00a0counters and tables lining the sides to get a good view of the stage, while more guests continued to stream into the auditorium.<\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
While waiting for the show to start, “kids” from four to one hundred four flooded to the front of the room where Sue Wieber Nourse introduced them to two diamondback terrapin hatchlings that had been born on Halloween and have been hiding out in our lab for the winter before returning to the wild (see New Bedford Standard Times photo below).<\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/object><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
“Turtles Gone” Wild Introduction<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
A little after 10:30 am the presentation\u00c2\u00a0kicked off\u00c2\u00a0with high energy introductions and with appropriate\u00c2\u00a0homage paid to Valentine’s Day.\u00c2\u00a0 We will defer to Jennifer Lade of\u00c2\u00a0the New Bedford Standard Times for a more\u00c2\u00a0dispassionate analysis of the actual\u00c2\u00a0Turtles Gone Wild<\/strong> performance (see immediately below).\u00c2\u00a0 Click on the title, Turtle Guys Draws Crowd at Wareham Free Library<\/a>, to read the original story published February 15th in the Standard Times, along with additional photographs by David W. Oliveira.\u00c2\u00a0 Suffice to say that even after more than an hour of virtual turtle adventures the pitch of childlike excitement remained so high that few left the auditorium without waiting in long lines to tell their personal stories of encounters with our hard shelled friends and without a long, last close-up look at the terrapin hatchlings.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

====================<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Turtle Guy Draws Crowd at Wareham Free Library<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

(Click\u00c2\u00a0on title above for original story\u00c2\u00a0published February 15th\u00c2\u00a0in the New Bedford Standard Times)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"wfl-999-nbst-david-oliveira-001\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
Sue Wieber Nourse Shows Terrapin Hatchlings<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
(Photo by David W. Oliveira, Standard Times special)<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n
By <\/span>Jennifer Lade<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Standard-Times staff writer<\/span><\/div>\n
February 15, 2009 6:00 AM<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
It was appropriate that “Turtle Guy” Don Lewis picked Valentine’s Day to visit the Wareham Free Library to talk about the shelled creatures \u00e2\u20ac\u201d he really loves turtles.<\/span><\/div>\n

“They are just so gorgeous,” he said, only half-joking, as somewhat hideous close-up photos of snapping turtles flashed across the screen.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the library’s packed meeting room, Lewis, with the help of his partner, Sue Wieber Nourse, inspired adults and children to share his affection for the reptiles with a high-energy, entertaining look at the different types of turtles that inhabit the land and water of SouthCoast and Cape Cod, many of which are threatened or endangered.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Turtles Gone Wild presentation, attended by at least 130 people, was sponsored by the Wareham Land Trust and the Wareham Free Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children sat on the floor at the front of the room as Lewis told them how to identify different kinds of turtles, and taught them the importance of “temperature, temperature, temperature,” which is the answer to everything from what turtles regulate by basking in the sun to what determines the gender of a turtle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis never stopped smiling during the presentation, whether he was acting out \u00e2\u20ac\u201d very slowly \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a box turtle chasing its prey, a snail, or showing video of a diamondback terrapin digging her nest while “The Hokey Pokey” played on speakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the photos and videos were of turtles that he found in Wareham.<\/span><\/p>\n

He even gave helpful tips to people who want to help snapping turtles get out of the road: stay away from their heads, wear heavy gloves or “send the kids out to do it.”<\/span><\/p>\n