Education

The Sea Turtle Education Program at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge makes the community an integral part of the protection of sea turtles and their habitats. In doing so, it fosters a conservation ethic, which extends to all aspects of the natural community. An educated and concerned public is our greatest ally when it comes to the preservation of sites such as Sandy Point. The education programs at Sandy Point shows students a world they may never have seen before. This is especially true of our resident young people since St. Croix has no zoos or natural history museums. For many of these children, this is their first opportunity to interact with a sea turtle in its natural environment.

Turtle Watch Turtle Watch has been Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge’s premier program since 1997! Over the years, countless students and young people of St. Croix have watched a nesting leatherback sea turtle or seen an emerging leatherback nest up close. Read more about Turtle Watch here!

Sunset Watch – NEW for 2023. This year our leatherback nest count was lower than expected, so we created a new program that focuses on the natural beauty of Sandy Point at sunset. Read more about the program here!

Sea Turtle Scientist! This program operated for the first time in Fall 2021, and we expect to bring it back for 2023. Learn about green and hawksbill sea turtles, observe how we identify crawls and determine nest success through excavation of hatched nests! Read more HERE!

Thank you so much for your interest. We hope to see you soon at Sandy Point!

Additional support for the free education programs at Sandy Point is provided by generous donors. You can help too, by making a donation in any amount! Donate here! Thank you!

Please check in regularly at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge and on the St. Croix Sea Turtle Project website for updates on future outreach opportunities at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge.

St. Croix students help with a leatherback nest excavation after it hatched on the North Beach.

The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project is sponsored by The Ocean Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, in cooperation with US Fish and Wildlife Service at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

All photos on this website were taken under appropriate Endangered Species Permits during the course of approved research. No photos may be reproduced, or copied and used without permission. Thank you!