From now until the end of turtle nesting season at the end of October, sea turtle hatchlings will emerge from their nests on our beaches and journey towards the ocean.

One local attraction is now helping locals and tourists witness these incredible marine creatures in action. Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach is offering immersive and educational experiences.

"This has been a really great year for sea turtle nesting season. We are in our third highest nesting activity year on record. So, we're in our top three years. It's been really great for the sea turtles and really great to see all that activity this summer," said Hannah Campbell, the Vice President of Education at Loggerhead.

Loggerhead has been offering two immersive experiences to be able to see sea turtle nest and hatchling's firsthand. The hatchling release experience wrapped up last week.

"It was a huge success. We saw hundreds of people come out with us every evening in the month of August. That program does return every August every year. So mark your calendars. But it was really successful when there are sea turtles recovered in inventories in the morning, we are responsible for releasing those hatchlings in the evening into the ocean. So you quite literally can watch a hatchling sea turtle take its first steps into the ocean. It's really special," said Campbell.

If you missed that, don't worry, the hatchling discovery experience is still running for another month.

"During that program you will actually be able to observe one of our biologists excavating our inventory in the sea turtle nest and oftentimes, not always, but oftentimes we can recover live hatchlings and release them that same morning. But regardless of hatchling activity in the nest, you still get to learn all about the data we collect and how it protects the sea turtles on our beaches," said Campbell.

Campbell says the popularity of these two experiences says a lot about how much interest there is for witnessing the sea turtles like this.

"I think two things. One, that there is a natural interest in learning about wildlife in the community and two, that it's really important that we continue to offer these programs every year. There are new people coming into our area all the time and for residence as well, I think having those opportunities to connect with nature is really important and something that we're really proud to offer," said Campbell.

Campbell says it's important to have both of these experiences for the community to see it firsthand how Loggerhead is working to protect our turtles.

"This is the only responsible and legal way to have these types of interactions with sea turtles. Loggerhead Marinelife Center is trusted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, to offer these programs in a responsible way with minimum impact to the sea turtle," said Campbell. "So, I think for us to offer these programs is really important to the community, otherwise there wouldn't be this type of experience available."

If the hatchling discovery is something that you're still interested in, there's still time. You can come out to Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach every Saturday and Sunday in September from 7 to 9 A.M.

Again, sea turtle nesting season runs until October 31st.

If you come across sea turtles hatching on the beach, the best thing you can do is let the natural process happen and not mess with them. However, if you find a hatchling headed in the wrong direction like a parking lot, call *FWC to report it.

If you're advised to bring the hatchling to Loggerhead for treatment, place the turtle in damp sand and not water during transport.