Turtle Town USA cleanup in St. Johns County draws 90 volunteers who removed 651 pounds of trash

On May 1, during the annual Turtle Town USA cleanup in St. Johns County, a presenter said 90 volunteers collected 651 pounds of trash from local beaches.

The event is part of a 23-year campaign the speaker said was launched to involve the public in protecting and keeping nesting sea turtles safe. “This year we had 90 volunteers that came out and we collected 651 lbs of trash off the beach,” the presenter said.

The presenter described that loggerhead sea turtles come to lay eggs on the same beach where they were born, calling it their “natal” beach. He said only a few hatchlings from each nest survive to adulthood and that adult turtles depend on the Sargasso Sea, which he described as roughly 590 miles off the Florida coast and an area of about two million square miles of ocean nutrients where turtles thrive.

The presenter said that while sea turtles were once used as a food source, the community has shifted toward protecting them and now embraces local programs aimed at their preservation. He added that St. Johns County is proud to host Turtle Town USA and highlighted the cleanup as a routine, community-supported conservation activity.

The presenter concluded by noting the community's continued support for the programs currently in place to protect nesting sea turtles.