By Kendra Cope, Founder of Coastal Connections, Inc.
It is the peak of the sea turtle nesting season and nesting activity is stronger than ever. This year we celebrate a record nesting year for the critically endangered Leatherback and the Loggerheads have surpassed 5,000 nests - and it is only July! We are lucky to be sharing these success stories with other locations around Florida, like Volusia County, Martin County, and even Collier County. At CCinc, we know that these success stories are not possible without everyone's help. Our team works to connect all people in our mission, by introducing easy behaviors we can all do to reduce debris, rescue sea turtles, and travel with the environment in mind.
Over the next few months, we will be starting two new programs available to public school teachers throughout the school year, and we will be planning multiple big community events to bring awareness to our Vero Goes Zero Initiative. We hope you can join us as we continue to help sea turtles survive and thrive.
2022 By The Numbers
5,827 - Total number of nests laid on Indian River County beaches.
Loggerheads: 5,185
Greens: 549
Leatherbacks: 93
1,529 - Pounds of debris removed during Coastal Cleanup events at waterfront parks in 2022. The most common items included 14,954 cigarette butts, 3,730 paper pieces, and 3,448 plastic pieces.
523 - Total number of donors supporting Coastal Connections in 2022. Gifts provided by both individuals and businesses allow CCinc to build and enhance our impacts every year. Become a Donor Here
83 - Number of volunteers that allow CCinc to operate daily, including 3 incredible college interns. We are beyond thankful for each and every one of our team members and hope to see this number continue to increase!
Coastal Connections, Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Vero Beach, Florida, but works without borders and will continue to expand program offerings across Florida and with partners in the Southeast US and Costa Rica to encourage sustainable habitats no matter where you may be located because every choice can help sea turtles recover from possible extinction.