Giant turtle, impossible to miss!

After the success of our inaugural Giant Turtle event last season, we decided to celebrate the start of this nesting season again in 2023/24— only this time, bigger and better!

See how the day unfolded in this video, and share it with your family and friends to raise awareness. Many people still have no idea that turtles nest on Bribie Island's beaches, so please help to get the word out. The turtles are depending on you!

Members have been eager to see the results of the day, with many requests from participants as to when the video would be available. A few factors were at play, and in the end we had to pull the video together from stills snapped on the day and Darren's time-lapse.

The delay ended up providing a bonus: the chance to include some extra special footage of a nesting loggerhead, captured by Darren & Deirdre in the National Park only two weeks ago, on the 12th of January 2024.

How much bigger?

Last year we had about 200 participants. This year it was over 350!

This was thanks to our efforts at promoting the event, with banners at Woorim and Ningi, and posters in all sorts of places. Elissa Eady created a stunning design, with creative input from Darren Jew and Geoff Ginn, using the distinctive Bribie Island colours of our new branding to full effect.

We wanted a bigger number because this event is all about raising awareness of the plight of critically endangered loggerhead turtles, and being able to show Council and others that a big chunk of the community is behind us, and supports our mission to protect the unique flora and fauna of Bribie Island.

It's only with community support that we can have any impact. This is how community action groups work.

How much better?

Last year we just had the BIEPA stall. This year we had five separate stalls! Each one helped to make the most of the day, making people aware of the plight of turtles and generating more support for BIEPA's mission.

We still had the BIEPA sign-in desk and shop of course, resplendent in our new livery, where we sold over $1,000 worth of merchandise. We plan to sell some more T-shirt designs in the near future, using the power of our new branding to deliver more colours and more themes. Every T-shirt sold is another walking advertisement for protecting nature on Bribie Island.

We also had award-wining author Judith Sutchbury, the author of Hatch Saves the Reef, and Ned & Shane Heaton, the authors of Say No to Plastic, as our special guests for the day.

They shared a space with Deirdre Reynolds and her Turtle Bake-off competition, with stunning photography by Darren Jew.

There were several activities for kids, including a treasure hunt organised by Shanai and Maja Lisa Pinci, and a sand pit excavation mission run by Sally Walsh.

I hear that they were a big hit; there were certainly a lot of excited kids tearing up the place!

Last but definitely not least, the Bribie Island Turtle Trackers were there to educate the public on the lifecycle of turtles and the care they give to the mothers, eggs, and hatchlings every year. They put up fences to protect nests from 4WDs and feral animals, and regularly have to relocate nests that are too vulnerable to ensure maximum hatchling survival. They do this every day in all weathers, with no fanfare but much love.

See you next year! 😀