Miami-Dade Sea Turtle Awareness Program

Twelve Little Turtles Released Tonight
One in 1,000 survive
Swim little turtle, Swim

Haulover Beach is known for being a nude beach, but on a warm August evening, my friend and trekked over from Miami Beach to participate in a sea turtle release program, and it was one of the highlights of our trip. Loving animals, but not being from Florida, the sea turtle release was pretty exciting for us (although I’m told that for locals, it’s the equivalent of a boring school trip). Aside from supporting a program that’s really important for our environment and the survival of several endangered sea turtle species, the baby sea turtles are just so gosh darn cute!!!
The Crandon Park Nature Center hosts releases in both Key Biscayne and Haulover Beach Park — they take place on select days during the late spring and summer (April-​Sept), after dark (but we were done with the program early enough to go out dancing afterward), and on the beach. Reservations are required — make them now bc they book up fast! (Btw, the website gets updated w/​more info when the prgm is in season.)
I can only speak for the sea turtle release program at Haulover Beach, which was amazing! For $ 5 (which goes towards a good cause!), there’s a 45 minute presentation on sea turtle conservation, followed by the sea turtle release (about 15 min). The presentation impressed me with how informative it was (not boring at all) and the way the facts were delivered so simply and clearly. In between the presentation and release, a staffer came around with a baby sea turtle so everyone could see him up close. It’s too bad we weren’t allowed to touch them or use flash photography (it disorients the sensitive babies), but I still got some good shots. It would be really cool if everyone got to release their own turtle, but alas — we formed a half circle around the staffers, who had a bucket of about 30 hatchlings and we watched together as each one was released and crawled toward the water. People also stood in the water with flashlights to encourage the hatchlings to head toward them. Even though we weren’t allowed to interact with the sea turtle hatchlings in any way, I still felt like I was part of a magical moment.
TIPS:
1. Bring something to sit on for the presentation on the beach.
2. Apply lots of insect repellent!
3. It’s fun to have your own flashlight.
4. If you have time, go early and check out Haulover Beach before meeting up w/​the group. We went just before dusk and were treated to a beautiful Miami sunset :)
In case you’re curious, the 50 or so participants ranged from us (in our late 20s), to families w/​kids, to older couples. I think everyone greatly enjoyed it and it was a fun alternative to the typical Miami experience. For anyone who’s interested in animals, nature, etc, go do this — you won’t regret it!