‘We take turns peering into a plastic bucket. Inside is a batch of freshly hatched turtles’

Natasha Cica and a group of sea turtle-saving volunteers gently float away from daily life and find something exquisite off Magnetic Island in north Queensland

We’re standing on sand dunes at the end of a hot December day. The light’s fading fast and a thin crescent moon is rising in the clear sky. It’s still really hot; hot enough to dip in the ocean. But nobody does – not because it’s stinger season now, but because we’re here for something better.

Here on Magnetic Island in Queensland, everyone’s a volunteer and everyone’s local except me. There are kids in school uniform, parents who’ve come from work, a retiree, a CSIRO scientist, a marine biologist called Paul, and an off-duty park ranger. We take turns peering into a blue plastic bucket. Now it’s my turn. Inside is a batch of freshly hatched green sea turtles. Their easy exit from an underground nest was blocked by vegetation, so these volunteers have dug them free.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/jan/09/we-take-turns-peering-into-a-plastic-bucket-inside-is-a-batch-of-freshly-hatched-turtles