Adopt a Nest.
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By adopting a sea turtle nest, you are not only providing funding to support the protection of an endangered species, but you also get cool stuff! For a $50 adoption fee, you will receive: an adoption certificate, a sea turtle t-shirt, a sea turtle education packet, nest watching guidelines, a nest success evaluation report and a turtle sticker.
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Feeling adventurous? You can participate in a Hands-On Adoption. This involves "babysitting" a sea turtle nest. You will go to the beach in the evening to check your turtle nest and report back to the Turtle Patrol if there are any problems. You will provide valuable protection for the nest and you may even be lucky enough to see the hatchlings emerge from the nest and crawl to the sea! Click the links below to fill out an adoption application. (Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.)
Volunteer.
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We can always use more dedicated volunteers that can commit their time to this worthy cause. Morning Patrol starts as early as 6:00 am and can last several hours. The schedule is flexible with individual hands-on training. You will be gathering information important to the long term survival and understanding of the sea turtles. The season begins with Turtle Fest in April and we have one meeting each month during turtle season.
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Interested in sharing your skills but you're more of an indoor person? We can often use a hand fulfilling adoption requests and t-shirt orders or helping out with data entry. Come share your time and talents with us! Click the links below to complete a Volunteer Application.
Donate.
We are a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers so every penny counts! Please consider making a donation to help us achieve our mission of protecting the sea turtles. You can make a donation by clicking the links below and mailing your donation to the Volusia/Flagler Turtle Patrol. Thank You for your generosity!
Protect Our Sea Turtles!
Because we share our environment with sea turtles, the things we do every day can have an affect on them. Adult turtles and hatchlings are injured and killed every year because of the actions of humans. What can YOU do to increase their chance of success?
- Remove obstacles from the beach! Nesting turtles and hatchlings can get caught and injured on beach chairs, umbrellas, etc. Leave nothing but footprints.
- Pick up your trash! Sea turtles often mistake plastic bags and other waste as a source of food (e.g. floating plastic bags look like jellyfish to a turtle). Ingesting non-food items can kill them.
- Do not build bonfires on the beach! The light from beach fires can confuse moms-to-be coming to shore causing them to return to sea before laying their eggs. Fires can also confuse hatchlings causing them to head towards the glow of the fire instead of the ocean.
- Lights Out! There are many other light sources that can confuse the turtles as well. If you live along the beach, close your blinds at night. If you walk on the beach at night, don't use a flashlight.
For more tips on what YOU can do to help protect our sea turtles, click the button below.
Local Fundraiser to donate 10% to Turtle Patrol.
During October of 2016, Hurricane Matthew destroyed many of the stairs/crossovers from A1A to the beach. As a result, some beach-goers are walking or sliding down the dunes to get to the beach. This is detrimental to the dunes themselves, native plant life, and birds and animals that live and nest in the area. One community, Ormond Shores Estates, has created a GoFundMe account to rebuild their crossover. They have graciously offered to donate 10% of their proceeds to the Volusia/Flagler Turtle Patrol. For more information, please click here.
