June 2020
ADOPT A SEA TURTLE NEST is an opportunity for visitors, friends and nature lovers to participate in and contribute to sea turtle conservation. Your donation of $40 supports the protection efforts of these threatened and endangered species.
The State of Florida provides critical nesting habitat for threatened and endangered sea turtles, including Loggerheads, Greens and Leatherbacks. In face the east coast of Florida hosts the largest population of nesting Loggerheads in the world. In 2019, recorded nests in Florida exceeded 160,000.

Unfortunately, much of this habitat is disappearing due to coastal development, beach armoring, and sea level rise. Canaveral National Seashore's 24 miles of undeveloped beach and intact dune system continues to be a stable nesting area for marine turtles. Female turtles crawl up from the ocean, deposit their eggs and return to the sea.

Each nest that is laid in Canaveral is part of the Statewide Nesting Beach Survey program that has tracked nesting populations going back to 1979. Rangers and volunteers are critical to the success of the protection and turtle tracking efforts. In 2019 nests laid in Canaveral reached a record 13,000!

You too can be part of the conservation efforts at Canaveral to protect these threatened and endangered marine turtles by making a donation to Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest.
ADOPT A SEA TURTLE NEST is an opportunity for visitors, friends and nature lovers to participate in and contribute to sea turtle conservation. Your donation of $40 supports the protection efforts of those threatened and endangered species.

All adoptable sea turtle nests will be located within the 24 miles of undeveloped coastline within the boundaries of Canaveral National Seashore.
Once we receive your Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest info, you will:
  1. Be assigned a sea turtle nest with an ID number.
  2. Receive a digital photo of your nest and ID state with your name included, plus a digital clip showing a nesting sea turtle.
  3. Be mailed a custom made sea turtle print bandana, a Friends of Canaveral sticker, and an original Canaveral National Seashore postcard.
  4. Approximately 7 weeks later, you will receive a digital clip of sea turtle hatchlings crawling to the ocean.
FAQS

  • Can I request a species of turtle? Probably not, nests are adopted based on the date we receive your information and what nests were laid that night.
  • Can anyone else adopt my nest? No, your nest is exclusive to you. We don't adopt the same next twice.
  • Can I visit my nest? Probably not. There are thousands of nests laid over a 24-mile area during nesting season. However, if you visit Canaveral during nesting season, you will see ID stickers of turtle nests.
  • Can I see my nest emerge/hatch? Most nests hatch in the dark of night when it is safe for hatchlings to get to the water and is rare to see a nest emerge.
DID YOU KNOW?
About Sea Turtle Nesting
FLORIDA HAS A LOST TOWN MOST
PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT!
There is a ghost town that many residents of Florida don’t even know exists, but still have an opportunity to visit if they so choose. The history of this lost coastal town dates all the way back to the late 1800s. Eldora, which was named after two sisters who lived in the area - Ellen and Dora Pitzer. Eldora was smack dab on the water route that many people would take from central Florida to south Florida—this was important for the town because at this time roadways and trains did not exist. Posted in  Florida  August 16, 2018 by  Marisa Roman
The 200 residents that lived in Eldora thrived—with the chief export of the area not coming from the fishing along the Lagoon, or the palmetto berries growing, but instead for the citrus.
In the late 1890s, three severe freezes overtook the town and destroyed many of the groves, which never recovered.
Thanks to the Friends of Canaveral for their part in restoring Eldora House, visitors can still visit the State House, which is the last remaining structure in the town.
REPORT VIOLATIONS
If you suspect a fish, wildlife, boating, or environmental law violation, report it to the FWC's Wildlife Alert Reward Program: 888-404-FWCC (3922).
Use Amazon Smile for all your purchases to support the Friends of Canaveral.