Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre (CTCEC) is pleased to announce its first annual Sea Turtle Festival, to be held June 16-20, 2021. The five-day long schedule of events will celebrate all things sea turtle with activities that range from conservation and education initiatives to art and wellness events.

On Wednesday 16^th June, the Centre will celebrate World Sea Turtle Day with a special turtle release on Seven Mile Beach.

Geddes Hislop, Curator of Terrestrial Exhibits and Education Programs at CTCEC said: “Our annual World Sea Turtle Day release is always popular with residents and visitors alike. We are pleased to be able to open this event up to the public again this year, with a limited number of spaces available for on-island guests that would like to join us for this special occasion.”

Tickets for the World Sea Turtle Day release are complimentary but advance online registration is required due to the current public gathering limit.

On the evenings of Wednesday 16^th and Saturday 19^th June, CTCEC’s Conservation and Education Team will host two special evening hatchling release events. Due to popular demand, both Sea Turtle Festival hatchling release events are already sold out, but the Centre is now planning to hold more hatchling releases during the summer nesting season.

On Friday 18^th June, the Centre will host a ‘Green Friday’ sale and happy hour at their Splash gift store, as well as an island-wide Green Dress Down Day to raise funds for sea turtle conservation.

“We invite all local businesses, schools and individuals to take part in this fun initiative to help raise funds to support the Centre’s Green sea turtle conservation programmes. Taking part is simple – just dress in green on the day, share your photos on social media to show your support, and make your donation online or in person.” Mrs. Natalie Porter, Marketing Manager at CTCEC, said.

On Saturday 19^th June, families can enjoy an action-packed day out at the Centre’s Sea Turtle Festival Family Fun Day. The event will feature a sea turtle themed art exhibit, short films shown in the Education Centre, a Turtle Tracks scavenger hunt and plenty of fun games and activities for all ages to enjoy. Children aged 12 and under will receive free admission to this event when they bring along 3 items of plastic waste to be recycled by Junk Cayman.

“This initiative reinforces our message of ‘3 plastics a day’ that we share with the community in our education presentations. Something as simple as picking up three pieces of plastic a day can make a big difference. Although this may seem insignificant, the more people picking up those three pieces of garbage a day, the bigger the impact.” Mr. Hislop said.

On Sunday 20th June, Bliss Yoga will host a Sea Turtle Festival Yoga Class at Cayman Turtle Centre, on the beach beside the Turtle Lagoon. The class starts at 8am and will be led by Bliss Yoga Instructor Manuella Rodrigues Izaacs. All class registration donations will directly support CTCEC’s ongoing sea turtle research and conservation initiatives.

For more information on the Sea Turtle Festival, please visit www.turtle.ky or email [email protected].

About Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre

Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre (CTCEC) is a conservation, education, and scientific study organisation, and one of the largest tourist attractions in the Cayman Islands. Its mission and work encompass a multifaceted approach to the conservation of sea turtles and other indigenous animals. Through an extensive and proven captive breeding, rearing and release programme, the Centre’s focus is on Green sea turtles but also includes other at-risk species such as the Cayman Parrot. 

The aim is to sustain and increase the wild population of marine turtles which is furthered by sustainable harvesting of captive-reared turtles to support indigenous culinary traditions that utilise turtles, thereby removing the stimulus to take turtles from the wild. The organisation advances the results through the release of captive-bred turtles into the wild, by collaborative scientific studies, and by integrating conservation with the education of visitors and residents.