Thank you for your interest in our sea turtle programs for young people! We are excited to offer our Sea Turtle Ambassador program again this summer, which gives children and youth in grades 1-12 a chance to volunteer at our Sea Turtle Centre, share their love of sea turtles and the ocean, build leadership skills, and make meaningful contributions to marine conservation. Sea Turtle Ambassadors fall into three branches based on participants’ age: Angie’s Sea Turtle Kids (grades 1-6), Sea Turtle Leadership Program (grades 7-9), and Sea Turtle Conservation Internship (grades 10-12). Some example roles of each branch are below.
Angie’s Sea Turtle Kids
Angie’s Sea Turtle Kids will become experts in a topic of their choice. After learning about the Sea Turtle Centre and the specimens on display, Angie’s Sea Turtle Kids will select a topic or two to learn about in detail, becoming one of our resident experts. They will engage visitors and teach them about these topics. For example, kids may become experts in specimens such as the leatherback skull or flipper, or in equipment used to study sea turtles. They may also have a special interest in a specific marine topic that they want to share with Centre visitors.
Angie’s kids will also be special ambassadors to the children who visit the Centre, helping younger children make crafts and leading some of the bubble play and chalk drawing outside of the kiosk.
Sea Turtle Leadership Program
Sea Turtle Leaders will play a key role in our daily programming, such as our Harbour Cleanup and our Harbour Safaris. They will learn how to identify marine organisms found within the Halifax Harbour and interpret them for kids, teens, and adults. They will also teach the public about a range of sea turtle topics at the CSTC and will have the chance to engage in marine-themed games and crafts with our guests.
Sea Turtle Conservation Internship
In addition to teaching the public about sea turtle conservation and helping administer programs like Harbour Cleanup and Harbour Safaris, interns will have the opportunity to work with CSTC staff to develop programming for kids and youth who visit the CSTC. They will learn how to plan and deliver educational content to a wide-ranging audience.
In all branches, participants will join our staff and volunteers at the Canadian Sea Turtle Centre on the Halifax boardwalk, learning about sea turtles in Canadian waters (& beyond), threats to sea turtles, and a variety of marine- and conservation-based topics. They will participate in age-appropriate activities to grow their knowledge and build confidence as marine educators. Over time, they will share their knowledge with Sea Turtle Centre visitors, by either focusing on sea turtle information, or sharing other environmental topics that are of interest to them. We know that people of any age have important roles to play in marine conservation and are excited for members of the general public to learn from our ambassadors.
The Sea Turtle Ambassadors program is free of charge. Sea Turtle Ambassadors will be fully supervised by Canadian Sea Turtle Centre staff. We’re happy and proud to welcome ambassadors of all ages and abilities! If your ambassador requires any accommodations, please let us know and we’d be happy to make their time at the Sea Turtle Centre as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
Participants will sign up for 2-hour volunteer time slots on Tuesdays-Sundays in July and August 2023. We ask that each participant join us for at least 3 shifts. For more information, please contact us at info@seaturtle.ca or fill out the contact form below.