Exciting News from Winton Wetlands!
Associate Professor James Van Dyke (La Trobe University) has reported some incredible results from the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation Program!
The critically endangered short-necked turtles continue to hatch on our floating islands:
- 2 hatchlings on 14th January 2025
- 12 hatchlings on 15th January 2025
- 21 hatchlings on 16th January 2025
That’s 35 hatchlings so far! (see latest updates below)
We’re proud to be working with La Trobe University, the University of Western Sydney, and the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation Program as part of our restoration strategy. By forming partnerships and developing innovative techniques, we’re contributing to species restoration and conservation.
Some of these turtles are listed under the FFG Act, making their population recovery critical. Turtles play vital ecological roles in maintaining healthy ecosystems and are essential to the long-term restoration of Winton Wetlands.
This floating island technique is proving to be a huge success! By tagging some of the hatchlings ( see the attached picture below), researchers can identify the habitats the young turtles rely on for survival. This helps us focus on enhancing and managing these critical areas to give the turtles the best chance of thriving.
Every hatchling counts towards a brighter future for this amazing species!
Updates:
- 2 hatchlings on 17th January 2025
- 19 hatchlings on 18th January 2025
- 1 hatchling on 19th January 2025
- 13 hatchlings on 20th January 2025
- 31 hatchlings on 21st January 2025
- 25 hatchlings on 22nd January 2025
- 3 hatchlings on 23rd January 2025
Thanks goes to an expert team behind this work – Assoc. Prof James Van Dyke (La Trobe Uni), Assoc. Prof Ricky Spencer (Univ. Western Sydney), Assoc. Prof Deb Bower (UNE), and Emeritus Professor Mike Thompson (Uni of Sydney) who have teamed up together and gained a large ARC grant. Thanks to all. Winton Wetlands have partnered with this group for many years and are pleased to also be contributing to this project.
Posted 21st Janaury 2025 – Last update 22 January 2025