Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest program extended until Sunday, September 10

Outer Banks Forever, the local nonprofit partner of the Outer Banks’ national parks, recently announced that its annual “Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest” program, (which occurs every year during the summertime nesting season), has been extended, and will continue until Sunday, September 10.

“It’s been a busy sea turtle nesting season on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore,” stated the organization in an update. “Currently, biological science technicians are monitoring 370 nests on the [National] Seashore, and we are incredibly grateful to the individuals and businesses who have adopted 260 of those nests.”

As a comparison, 2022 was one of the busiest seasons in recorded history, (second only to 2019), with a total of 379 turtle nests recorded within the National Seashore.

Here’s how the Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program works:

• Donate: Give a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more to reserve your 2023 sea turtle nest and support projects that protect and enhance Cape Hatteras National Seashore now and for future generations. 
• Get your nest: You will be assigned an active 2023 nest and will receive an adoption certificate by mail along with initial information about your unique nest including general location and sea turtle species.
• Wait to hatch: When your nest hatches, you will receive a personalized update with information our biological technicians collect about your nest, including where it was located and the number of hatchlings that made their way out of your nest.

A note about honorary/memorial gifts: If you choose to adopt a nest in honor or in memory of a loved one and provide an honoree’s mailing address on your donation form, a letter with nest information and a certificate will be mailed directly to your honoree. Your honoree will be notified of your gift and will receive a certificate when their nest is assigned, not at the time you make the gift. (Please keep this in mind if your gift is time-sensitive.) Certificates cannot be sent via email to honorees, so please provide a mailing address only.

(Note: If you’ve already adopted your nest, stay tuned in the next few weeks to receive your nest update including how many sea turtles hatched from your nest.)

The public can learn more about the program at https://obxforever.org/adoptaseaturtlenest/.

The Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest program is just one of many ongoing projects that are hosted by Outer Banks Forever, and which are designed to enhance and protect the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. For more information on the organization, including its current projects, click here.