The Turtle Conservancy and The Thacher School hosted our first ever Turtle Camp!

Over the past three years, the Turtle Conservancy and The Thacher School have developed a partnership aimed at innovating a new kind of science curriculum that engages students in real-world turtle conservation programs through hands-on learning experiences. This summer we took it to the next level by inviting middle school students from Los Angeles County and surrounding areas to join us on a week-long adventure. The students were immersed in learning about various aspects of turtle conservation and Ojai ecology. Some specific topics that we covered include learning about individual chelonian species, conservation management techniques, egg development, the climate crisis, and the theory of convergent evolution in giant tortoises.

At the beginning of the camp, many students shared with us that this was their first time away from home and that they had never experienced anything like this before. We are happy to report that the camp was a success and by the end of the camp, most of our campers were wishing that it was not coming to an end. The milestones witnessed these kids overcome, both in knowledge and personal development, was incredible.

This camp was everything we thought it would be and so much more. We look forward to hosting more summer camps in the future!

Acknowledgements: A big thank you to our Turtle Camp staff, counselors and everyone behind the scenes who made this all possible! Thomas Hattori, Manci Rasmussen, Zoe Clute, Raul Soto, Charlie Tracy, Jae Bailon, Katie Vyhnal, Lola Henderson-Thomas, Sophie Bekins, Tália Rangel, Jeremy McBride, Jeff Burndt, Tracy Miller, Eric Goode, Kamala Qalandar, Rick Ridgeway, Max Maurer and Nathanael Stanek.