When Turtles Fly

In the depths of winter, haven’t we all fantasized about jetting off to someplace warm? Since 2014, the organization Turtles Fly Too has been making that dream a reality—for endangered sea turtles. Thanks to volunteer pilots and their own staff (and because of the effects of global warming), the nonprofit has been sending hundreds of cold-stunned sea turtles—who are coldblooded and can’t regulate their own internal body temperature—south for the winter to rehabilitate in the sunshine.

The process starts in late October as temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean drop. That’s when scientists, veterinarians, researchers, and volunteers gather in the northeast to rescue sea turtles who’ve washed ashore, stabilize them, and fly them as quickly as possible to facilities in Florida and Georgia. 

Gordon Murray is a volunteer pilot with Turtles Fly Too and a professor at Kent State. He wants to use our grant to purchase a 360-degree camera, which can capture panoramic footage from all angles at once. His hope is that students will use it to create videos that raise awareness about the importance of conservation. (The New York Times has already taken notice! The paper wrote about Turtles Fly Too in December 2023.) We say: Keep making waves.