An excited hush spreads through the group of children as they watch a flatback turtle emerge from the ocean’s edge on Thevenard Island, off the remote coast of Onslow in Western Australia. Through a long-term partnership between the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ (DBCA) North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program (NWSFTCP), Onslow School and the Waalitj Foundation, young people from Onslow between the ages of 3 – 14 years have been participating in a unique education program designed to build their knowledge, action and connection with marine turtles, ocean literacy, Country and each other over the last decade.
Beginning as an opportunity for the NWSFTCP to facilitate place-based conservation experiences alongside annual turtle monitoring in 2017, this partnership has evolved into a transdisciplinary education program. This presentation will describe the development of an in-situ “Turtle Science Program” at school and ex-situ citizen science experiences for students and Waalitj Foundation participants engaging in research at Thevenard Island. Reflecting on the impacts of the program on ocean literacy, community stewardship and cultural connection in the Onslow community, we ask the audience to consider how best to measure these impacts into the future and replicate these methods in other marine conservation programs.