World Turtle Day

Next date: Thursday, 23 May 2024 | 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM

The Southern Highlands community can contribute towards the preservation of our valuable wildlife. New South Wales is home to 7 species of native freshwater turtle, two of which are found nowhere else, and World Turtle Day is the ideal time to get involved.

World Turtle Day is observed on 23 May every year. This crucial event aims to create awareness about safeguarding turtles and tortoises, along with their habitats, which are rapidly depleting worldwide.

Locally, Wingecarribee Shire Council have been working with researchers and the community to launch the Lake Alexandra Turtle Tour and promote the TurtleSAT app. The tour is comprised of 5 coreflutes situated around the lake informing people about freshwater turtles, what species they should expect to find, and more.

How you can help save our native turtles 

• Use the citizen science app, TurtleSAT, to contribute your turtle sightings.
• Read about the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation Project.
• Think about what to do if you come across a turtle injured or on the road.

Become a citizen scientist

1 Million Turtles 

By mapping likely nesting sites for freshwater turtles, researchers, conservationists and the community can take action to monitor and protect turtle nests from predators.

The 1 Million Turtles Project is a national community conservation citizen science program that promotes a strong collaboration between scientists and the community to support initiatives aimed at conserving threatened Australian freshwater turtle species.

TurtleSAT

In 2023, Western Sydney University researchers announced the launch of a world-first nesting location predictive tool utilising over 15,000 sightings of turtles reported by citizen scientists using TurtleSAT.

This predictive tool shows nesting locations for a range of turtle species across Australia. The purpose of the TurtleSAT is to increase knowledge of freshwater turtle distribution across Australia and identify hotspots for future conservation through data collection. 

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