{"id":609967,"date":"2026-04-16T04:39:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/609967\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T04:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:39:13","slug":"turtle-hatchlings-chances-bolstered-by-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/609967\/","title":{"rendered":"Turtle hatchlings\u2019 chances bolstered by volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of turtle hatchlings from the northern beaches of Bribie Island have made it safely to sea, after being monitored by a local conservation group.<\/p>\n

More than 4600 hatchlings have emerged from nests and reached the water during the nesting season, from November to April.<\/p>\n

The Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association (BIEPA) has helped make it possible, with support from Unitywater\u2019s Healthy and Thriving Community Grants Program.<\/p>\n

BIEPA volunteers have been running their daily monitoring and threat protection program and have updated their Tread Lightly app, which provides tide and four-wheel-driving information to help people using the beach recreationally keep the turtles safe.<\/p>\n

BIEPA wildlife team leader Darren Jew said volunteer activities involved daily patrols along the 30km stretch of Bribie Island National Park to find nests, relocate or protect them as needed, and assist emerging hatchlings.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the main threats the loggerhead and green turtles face in this area are predators like foxes, feral pigs and goannas, and bright lights which can deter mothers coming ashore and disorientate hatchlings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Loggerhead turtle hatchlings. Picture: Shutterstock.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a recreational location, human disturbance is another big threat we see. Four-wheel-drives driving up on the sand dunes can crush nests and driving along soft areas of the sand can create deep tyre ruts that hatchlings can get stuck in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support we\u2019ve received through Unitywater\u2019s grant has meant we\u2019ve been able to continue our daily volunteer efforts to protect these vulnerable species, including finding, fencing and relocating nests where necessary, and other on-the-ground costs such as fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

BIEPA president Richard Ogden said another 1500 turtle hatchlings were expected to emerge before the season ends.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main job at BIEPA is to inspire the community to realise the unique environment we live amongst here on Bribie Island, with dozens and dozens of nests here and volunteers that check in no matter the conditions on the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Unitywater acting executive manager strategic engagement Melissa Bowerman said the group played a key role.<\/p>\n

\u201cBIEPA monitored 58 nests on the northern beaches of Bribie Island for the duration of turtle season, giving mothers and their nests the best chance of survival,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe (Unitywater) are proud to support organisations like BIEPA, which are enhancing the lifestyle and amenity we all enjoy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Help us deliver more news by registering for our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your email at the bottom of this article.<\/p>\n

\"\"Turtle hatchlings make their way to the water along a northern stretch of sand at Bribie Island.<\/p>\n

Unitywater recently opened applications for its 2026-27 Healthy and Thriving Community Grants Program, with funding available for initiatives enhancing the environment, connecting people to Country or providing innovative water solutions across its service region. Applications will remain open until Friday May 1 and groups can apply using Unitywater\u2019s online grants portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of turtle hatchlings from the northern beaches of Bribie Island have made it safely to sea, after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-609967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}