Live Nighttime Internet Web-Cast of Sea Turtle Nesting Friday, July 14th, from the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge

Date: July 13, 2006
Contact: David Godfrey
Phone: (325) 373-6441

MELBOURNE BEACH, FLA – The nonprofit Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC), which is responsible for providing educational sea turtle walks at the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, is hosting a special live Internet sea turtle walk on the evening of Friday, July 14th. CCC has teamed up with two Space Coast companies to provide a free, live web cast of a sea turtle nesting in order to raise awareness about the Carr Refuge and to give people who might never witness a sea turtle nesting the chance to witness one of the most amazing experiences in nature.

MeGotta, Inc. will provide the live web cast at www.megotta.com and Communications Laboratories, Inc. (Comlabs) will provide wireless communications for the event.

This will be the first live web cast of a nesting sea turtle on the beaches of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. The live broadcast is anticipated to start after 9:30 PM EDT (if the sea turtles cooperate) and last between 1½ to 2 hours. In addition to watching the turtle nesting process, viewers will be able to submit live questions to CCC Executive Director David Godfrey. To support sea turtle conservation, viewers will also have the option of supporting CCC’s Adopt-A-Turtle Program, which supports continued research and rescue efforts on behalf of sea turtles. Please visit www.conserveturtles.com/member for more information.

CCC’s turtle walks are done in an ecologically sensitive manner and allow individuals to observe sea turtles nesting in their natural habitat. Due to the limited number of walks that can be done in a season and to the limited number of people that can participate on each walk, this web cast will be an excellent venue to expand the visibility of these intriguing creatures that have existed for millions of years.

This event will be available for viewing at www.megotta.com on the evening of July 14th. Starting at 9:00 pm, a recorded educational talk will show CCC experts presenting background information about sea turtles to live participants of the walk. The live web cast will start after the presentation, as CCC staff escort a small group onto the beach to view a live sea turtle nesting. This event will be broadcast live over the Internet as a free educational event for anyone to watch.

All marine turtle footage shot during this live field trip will be obtained with the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission under conditions not harmful to any sea turtles. In particular, no visible artificial lighting will be used during the turtle walk. The MeGotta film crew will use cameras equipped with night vision technology interfaced with laptop computers with shielded screens. In order to minimize disruption on the beach, Comlabs will establish a wireless mesh network that will connect to its Rapidcom Communications Module to communicate to the hosted website.

MeGotta also will provide on their website prerecorded videos of local and regional sea turtle experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Sea Turtle Preservation Society, and others discussing interesting topics related to sea turtles.

During the live event, online viewers will be able to submit questions which will be answered by the experts. The live video will then be archived for viewing at later times. In the event of weather or other delays, the experts will answer questions, but the viewing of a sea turtle will be rescheduled.

A side goal of this event is to raise awareness about CCC’s Adopt-a-Turtle Program. Links will be provided to the CCC website for individuals to make a donation to the Adopt-a-Turtle Program and for people to sign up for a Florida sea turtle license plate. CCC has chosen sea turtles as the focus of its conservation efforts in part because these ancient creatures are among the most important indicators of the health of the world’s marine and coastal ecosystems. CCC believes that whether sea turtles ultimately vanish from the planet or whether they remain a wild and thriving part of the natural world, will speak volumes about both the general health of the planet and the ability of humans to sustainably coexist with the diversity of life on Earth.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy, formerly known as the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization based in Florida with offices and projects in several other locations. The Sea Turtle Conservancy is the oldest and most accomplished sea turtle organization in the world. Since its founding in 1959, the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s work has greatly improved the survival outlook for several species of sea turtles. The Sea Turtle Conservancy has as its mission the protection of sea turtles and the habitats upon which they depend. To achieve its mission, the Sea Turtle Conservancy uses research, habitat protection, public education, community outreach, networking and advocacy as its basic tools. These tools are applied in both international and domestic programs focusing on geographic areas that are globally important to sea turtle survival. For more information, visit the STC website atwww.conserveturtles.org or call (800) 678-7853.

About MeGotta, Inc.: Megotta is located on the Florida Space Coast and is developing online tools for individuals and organizations to share content. Incorporating interactive technologies, the company’s initial focus supports themes related to education, ecology and technology. The company launched its MeGotta Care™ Program to support local educational organizations and regional non-profits supporting marine ecology including the Brevard Schools Foundation (Gemini Elementary School’s SPOT Program), Florida Tech’s Marine & Environmental Studies Program, the Sea Turtle Preservation Society and the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. www.megotta.com

About Communications Laboratories, Inc. (Complabs): Melbourne, FL. based Comlabs is a respected leader in the satellite warning and communications arena for over 15 years. The company now operates the largest satellite-based emergency warning and communications system in North America serving federal, state and local government agencies. Comlabs’ Rapidcom Communications Module is a self contained, transportable communications platform designed to provide communications capabilities for rapid response efforts, as well as short term infrastructure replacement.  Designed for use in the field to establish temporary command and control, Rapidcom is a fully transportable communications solution capable of providing wireless internet connection, 4 voice lines, 2 way satellite connection to the EMnet data stream, VHF and UHF radio connectivity and more, enabling users to establish in and outbound communications almost instantly in emergency affected areas. www.comlabs.com