Members and guests are invited to our monthly meeting at The Sippican Woman’s Club, 152 Front Street, Marion, on Friday, March 9 at 12:30 pm. Our program speaker will be Deb Ewing who will speak about The Turtle Garden established to restore the diamondback terrapin’s nesting habitat at The Cove on Hammetts Creek in Marion.
As Cove Association residents, both Landis Major and Deb Ewing enthusiastically embraced the work initiated by Don Lewis, AKA The Turtle Guy and his wife Sue Wieber Nourse to protect the once-endangered reptile, the diamondback terrapin. Volunteers like Landis and Deb and others work diligently to protect the turtles’ eggs and hatchlings from predators like foxes, coyotes, raccoons, gulls, crows, snakes, ants, etc.
In the 1900s, the species was once considered a delicacy to eat and was hunted almost to extinction. The numbers also decreased due to the development of coastal areas and, more recently, wounds from the propellers on motorboats. Another common cause of death is the unintentional trapping of the turtles under crabbing and lobster nets. This placed the terrapins on the endangered list. Deb Ewing will talk about the terrapin’s habitat, egg laying, diet, predators, hibernation, etc. Work done by volunteers like Landis and Deb has aided in changing the conservation status of this turtle from Endangered to Special Concern.
The Sippican Woman’s Club meets on the second Friday of the month (September through March) at 12:30 pm, with a finger-food luncheon followed by a business meeting at 1:00 pm and program at 1:30 pm. The meetings are held at The Sippican Woman’s Club, Handy’s Tavern, 152 Front Street, Marion. Parking is available at Island Wharf Road parking lot. Guests may RSVP to Info@SippicanWomansClub.org. For membership information, contact Jeanne Lake at 508-748-0619 or visit our website, www.sippicanwomansclub.org.