The Ritz-Carlton Residences in Singer Island Protects its Turtles

Each year thousands of sea turtles journey to Palm Beach County, making it the second largest sea nesting area in the United States. To help preserve their nesting habitats and turn the tide on the extinction of this endangered species, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Singer Island, has launched a comprehensive sea turtle protection and awareness campaign.

During nesting season (March–October) sea turtles emerge from Palm Beach’s coastal waters to crawl ashore at night to dig a nest, deposit their eggs, cover the nest and return to the sea. While on the beach, sea turtles are timid and easily frightened if disturbed during nesting. It can take up to three hours for the female turtle to lay her approximately 110 ping-pong ball-sized eggs.

One of the primary threats to nesting is artificial light from the beach, which may deter female turtles from laying their eggs. The Residences at Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach has taken the initiative in educating its residents about turtle-friendly lighting procedures. Residents are encourage to go out to the beach at night, and identify what lights in their residence are visible from the beach, and turn off any unnecessary lights. Other suggestions include the addition of a window tint, which reduces light transmittance, and installation of low mount height and low wattage bulbs. Also recommended is the use of full cut-off fixtures that direct the light low to the ground, or shielding fixtures so that the bulb, lamp or lens is not visible. Interestingly, sea turtles are less disturbed by long wavelengths of light (570 nanometers or longer), such as lights that are yellow, amber or red in color.

In addition to lighting, during turtle season The Residences will replace its wood-base lounge chairs with lighter chairs and umbrellas that will remove any “obstacles” for female turtles. This temporary measure will help reduce the possibility of sea turtles becoming trapped while looking for an area to nest.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences is also helping to raise awareness about sea turtle conservation issues in and around Singer Island, FL. The luxury condominium development has developed a list of turtle-friendly best practices, which includes such common sense tips as leveling all sandcastles and filling any holes dug during play, which can pose a hazard to sea turtles and hatchlings at night. The Residences also provide information on local turtle conservation groups and turtle walks with a trained guide. These educational walks allow individuals to view a nesting sea turtle and are conducted under strict guidelines to reduce disturbance to the turtles.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Singer Island, hopes that its actions will inspire other community members to participate in this important environmental initiative.

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The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Singer Island, Palm Beach are not owned, developed or sold by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. 2700 North Ocean LLC uses The Ritz-Carlton mark under a license from The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.