Outer Banks Forever, the official nonprofit partner of the three Outer Banks national parks, has opened its annual Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program for the sea turtle nesting season at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which occurs from May to September each year.
Through Outer Banks Forever’s Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program, you can symbolically adopt an active sea turtle nest on the Seashore! You will receive an official adoption certificate and information about your specific nest when it hatches later this summer or fall.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore extends more than 70 miles and covers over 30,000 acres from South Nags Head to the Ocracoke Inlet. Those miles of Seashore are monitored daily by National Park Service rangers who gather important data about the hundreds of sea turtle nests laid each year,” said Nicole Erickson, Development and Adoption Programs Manager at Outer Banks Forever.
“It’s fun for us to send updates to each person who adopts a nest, particularly sharing the number of sea turtle hatchlings that make their way out to sea. This program provides people the opportunity to learn more about these special island visitors and the great work National Park Service staff does every day to help protect them.”
Outer Banks Forever launched its Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program in 2020 to support projects and programs that protect and enhance the Seashore now and for future generations. Since then, the program has raised more than $94,000 to support the Seashore, and the program was recognized by the Public Lands Alliance for Outstanding Public Engagement at its annual awards ceremony in 2022.
Here is how the program works:
Donate: Give a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more to reserve your 2025 sea turtle nest. Your gift will help fund important projects that protect and enhance Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the vital sea turtle habitat it preserves. You will receive a confirmation email for your donation.
Receive your nest assignment: As nests become available, you will be assigned a nest and will receive an adoption certificate by mail or email with initial information about your nest. Nest assignments begin in early June and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Wait patiently for your nest to hatch! When your nest hatches later this summer or fall (the average incubation time for our nests is 61 days), you will receive a personalized update with information National Park Service rangers collect about your nest, including the number of hatchlings that made their way out to sea!
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.
Digital certificates are now available! If you would like to receive an electronic certificate or send an electronic certificate to an honoree, click the box “send certificate digitally” on the donation form and provide an email address. There are a limited number of nests each year, and they are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so adopt your nest today! For more information on Outer Banks Forever’s Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program, review the program’s Frequently Asked Questions.
You can learn more about the sea turtles that visit the Outer Banks by watching Outer Banks Forever’s interview with Meaghan Johnson, Chief of Resource Management and Science for the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, or by reading more here.
Please note: Nature belongs to all of us – no individual or group that takes part in this program can claim ownership of a sea turtle nest, eggs, or hatchlings. For the safety of the sea turtles and in alignment with National Park Service protocol, your nest’s exact location will not be shared until after it has hatched.
