Stay in the know about wildlife, water quality, and ecosystems on Sanibel and Captiva Islands and in Southwest Florida
Recognizing our Sea Turtle Volunteers
With over 700 sea turtle nests laid on the islands each year, and 18 miles of beaches to survey each morning, SCCF relies on volunteers like Julie Saldana (left) and Jeannie Cooke (right) to help our staff and interns get the job done.
“It would be essentially impossible to complete our monitoring surveys without our volunteer team,” said Sea Turtle Biologist Jack Brzoza. “They help us to monitor and conserve wildlife the best that we can and have aided in the growth of our scope of work in areas like research and outreach.”
Saldana and Cooke attend required state training every year to help SCCF conduct permitted nest monitoring activities, including digging to confirm new sea turtle nests, taking inventories of hatched nests, and more.
“I’ve always liked sea turtles. I used to come down to Florida every year with my kids when they were little,” said Saldana, who’s been a volunteer with the sea turtle program since 2019. “I’m also a NICU nurse, so I’m used to taking care of moms and babies.”
Cooke said she’s also had a lifetime interest in conservation and wildlife, and especially turtles.
“When we finally moved to the island full-time, I thought what better opportunity to get involved than the sea turtle program?” Cooke said. “Some of my favorite moments volunteering are when we get to educate people on the beach who are interested in what we’re doing. It’s wonderful to be able to spread awareness about the impacts of pollution and human activity.”
Once a week, Saldana and Cooke meet before sunrise, hop on one of SCCF’s sea turtle vehicles, and head to the beach to survey the shoreline all the way from Tarpon Bay Beach to Bowman’s Beach. Their work involves scanning the sand for sea turtle tracks, determining if tracks lead to a nest or a false crawl, staking off confirmed nests, raking over false crawls, taking GPS and location measurements, recording data, keeping equipment in order, and more.
“When I moved out here, I wanted to find somewhere to volunteer, and I stumbled upon SCCF. I couldn’t have asked for a greater group of people. The biologists, volunteers, staff — everyone does such great work for the sea turtles,” Saldana said.
SCCF sea turtle volunteers also include morning walkers, who cover different zones of the beach in search of potential new sea turtle nests, which are flagged for permittees. Volunteers are chosen in advance of the season. New volunteers can indicate their future interest and availability by filling out this form.
As of May 19, there have been 81 loggerhead nests and 1 green sea turtle nest documented on Sanibel and Captiva this year. Remember to keep our beaches clean, dark, and flat, and please call the SCCF Sea Turtle Hotline at 978-728-3663 to report any issues with nests or turtles.
SCCF’s sea turtle nest monitoring and protection activities are authorized by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Marine Turtle Permit 170.