November 25, 2017
If you receive an email from Gail Baird her tag line says: “Live life to the fullest!” and it is obvious that Ricky (whos mom named him after the actor/singer Ricky Nelson) and Gail do exactly that.
If there is any activity of threatened and endangered sea turtles on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you can be assured that Ricky a.k.a. Rick and Gail will be involved, whether it be NEST (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles), STAR (Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehababilitation Center), ATV sea turtle patrol, sea turtle nesting response, sea turtle nest sitting and of course talking turtles. It has been rumored … well actually it is not a rumor that Gail will physically hold your arm to make sure she has your attention when she talks turtle as Rick stands by rolling his eyes
Recently Gail and Rick had a captive audience to talk turtles to the 106 first graders at Hardy Elementary in Smithfield, VA. As you may have guessed, Gail is a retired teacher from Hardy Elementary, but as she reminds everyone “Once a teacher, always a teacher”. Rick who is also retired as a Lowes Manager serves as Gail’s wheel man, teaching assistant and partner in turtle talk held the students spellbound with their presentation.
The 106 first grade students of Hardy Elementary in Smithfield, VA at the ready to talk sea turtles
The Rick and Gail team share sea turtle information to the students
Yup, once a teacher always a teacher
As you can imagine the sea turtle education program was a big success and in February, 2018 Rick and Gail will be returning to Hardy Elementary for a parent event speaking on endanged animals.
NEST thanks Rick and Gail who are two of the many dedicated NEST volunteers that help with the survival of one of nature’s finest … the threatened and endangered sea turtles.