Grant: 21-025C
Project Title: Sea Turtle Transportation Vehicle for The Florida Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Program
Project Manager: Katie Hartwig
Organization: The Florida Aquarium (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $30,000.00
Completion Date: 2022-11-22
Summary: The Florida Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center (STRC) will purchase a transportation vehicle and wrap for that vehicle. Currently the STRC is without a dedicated sea turtle response vehicle. If funds are granted, the resulting vehicle will ensure our staff has the ability to respond to sea turtle strandings and transport animals for intake, release and necropsies around the state of Florida in a timely and efficient manner. The wrap on this vehicle will increase awareness of The Florida Aquarium’s sea turtle rescue efforts as well as promote the Sea Turtle Grants Program and how sea turtle license plate revenues are being used to advance sea turtle conservation.
Results: Since our 6-month report, the vehicle wrap design was finalized, and the vinyl wrap was installed. The process and final product was shared with our audience via social media. The vehicle has been used for two stranding rescues and five sea turtle releases since May 2022. In addition, this vehicle assisted us with evacuating a sea turtle during the preparation for Hurricane Ian. We anticipate that the vehicle will be used for many years to come and will continue to share its impact on our sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation efforts.