It’s springtime on South Padre Island and the nesting turtles are making their way onshore to lay their eggs. Each year, female turtles return to the very same beach where they hatched to lay eggs. On SPI, most of the nesting turtles are Kemp’s Ridley.

The Kemp's Ridley are not only local, but they are also in need of serious help. The Kemp's Ridley is a critically endangered species and we believe that by educating future generations about these legendary locals, they have a better shot at sticking around.

In 2016, (SPI Sessions' first year of Kid Summer Camp) we included a field trip to Sea Turtle Inc., a local turtle and research facility, to our Saturday Science Camp and we had a blast checking out the turtles. After our short field trip, we crafted our own turtles from recycled egg cartons.

Turtles are important for the health of our oceans worldwide, but they are faced with many dangers from the very day they are born. To help teach these hazards and the incredible lifecycle of the turtle, we like to play a game during Surf Camp called "Turtle Hurdles".

This game, provided by Aquatic WILD Curriculum,  allows students to role play as turtles, or the limiting factors affecting turtles, through a highly active life cycle journey. It's fun, interactive, and the kids really get it!

We also learn about what Sea turtles eat and why plastic pollution is a big deal for them. We all remember the infamous video of the turtle with a straw up it's nose. This video sparked a global movement to help raise awareness of plastics and their effects on ocean wildlife.  Check out what SPI Sessions has done to help promote change locally: "SPI For A Strawless Ocean."

Teaching about turtles and the reasons they might be endangered, sparks great environmental education conversations. That's why we use a STEAM approach to our teaching pedagogy. Combining experiential learning with design thinking, engineering and even art, we promote solution based opportunities for the children to grow with.

We found this turtle at a local beach cleanup. He wasn't doing to well, do we gave a call to our local experts. If you see a turtle onshore, please contact Sea Turtle Inc. at 957-761-4511 so the nest can be found and protected.