Have you ever noticed how fast time passes during breaks? It is already the end of week 4 of summer break (!!!). I guess Janet Jackson was right; it is funny how time flies when you are having fun.

As another field week is approaching, the team has been working a little extra hard this week to make sure that we are all set to save the world one turtle at a time. To help you and us be more prepared, we decided to share with you our field season survival guide.

Tip #347– Size up on gloves for sweaty hands.
–> It is June in Central Illinois. You will get sweaty pretty quickly.

Tip #222– Make a list of all the things we need.
–> After making a list, keep adding things that you forgot to bring to the field so this could be avoided in future trips.

Tip #223– Don’t lose the list.
–> Yes, we made a list in the past and lost it. So yes, we made a new list with the realistic expectation that we would also lose that one. Don’t be like us.

Tip #12– Bring extra batteries for the GPS (and anything else that requires batteries in the field)
–> Remember Murphy’s law- “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” If the GPS is going to die during the search, it will happen at the most inconvenient time.

Tip #68– Prep your botany knowledge to impress John Rucker.
–> Even if you think you know enough, he probably knows more.

Tip # 188– Bring a wallet for a Dunkin stop.
–> Pretty self-explanatory.

Tip #301– Prepare a couple of FileMaker records ahead of time.
–> Murphy’s law strikes again- usually, when you are least prepared, we find three turtles simultaneously. Trust me; you don’t want to start rushing through records or missing important data.

Tip #189– Lookup Dunkin stop along the route.
–> Again, pretty self-explanatory.

Tip #2– Bring water, sunscreen, and a thinking hat.
–> Field season is the best time to learn new things and enhance old skill, take advantage of it. And trust me, you don’t want to look silly and be the only one who forgot their thinking hat at home.

These are only a few tips we decided to share with you all this week. We hope you find them useful. If you have helpful tips to share with our current and future turtle team members, please send them to @Wildlifeepilab on Instagram or @WildlifeEpiLab on Twitter.