Welcome to the St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program

The St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program located in Georgia invites you explore our sea turtle conservation program. Our program has three major components:

1. Conservation of nesting sea turtles on the Georgia Coast
2. Research into the nesting ecology of Georgia's sea turtles, and
3. Education of teachers in science content and science process skills.

Conservation

Surprise daytime emergence of loggerhead hatchlings after cooling morning rain sends emergence signal. Conservation management is proven by the hatch!

Research

Applied research in ecology of loggerhead nesting allows learning as conservation proceeds. This eroded nest in McQueens Dunes hatched all but 12 eggs, proving diligence in monitoring pays!

Education

Teacher Quality Higher Education students being mentored through assessment of a nest on South Beach. Students buy in to hands-on, real world experiential learning!

The St. Catherines Island (Ga.) Sea Turtle Conservation Program is supported by collaborative funding from the following partners:

• The Georgia Higher Education Teacher Quality Program (49%)
• The St. Catherines Island Foundation, Inc.
• Georgia Department of Natural Resources
• Georgia Southern University
• GeoTrec LLC

The production of this web site was directly or indirectly supported by additional funding from Georgia Southern University's Faculty Service Committee, Faculty Development Committee, and Faculty Research Committee, the GSU Department of Geology and Geography, the Governor's Educational Lottery Trust Fund, the Information Technology Policy Council's Model Technology Program, The Edward John Noble Foundation administered through the American Museum of Natural History, Bulloch County School System, Georgia Statewide Academic and Medical System, The Turner Foundation, and the JST Foundation. All of our funding partners are gratefully acknowledged for making this effort possible.