The Sea Turtle Rehab Facility in Boston

Every year as temperatures decrease in the Atlantic, sea turtles start migrating south into warm waters. Most of the time, this works fine – that is until they hit cape cod. Cape cod is a giant scoop-shapped spit of sand that extends upwards almost 30 miles. For any turtle trying to navigate into warmer waters, I can only imagine the frustration. How would they know they need to swim north that far before turning back south.

During the first cold snaps in November and December, turtles start washing up on beaches. Volunteers there find them and instantly transfer them to a facility in Quincey Mass – run in part by the New England Aquarium staff. Here, they warm them up to be sent south again. This was my experience visiting the facility.

I wanted to make this short video after teaching a workshop on science filmmaking. If you’re interested in more behind the scenes, check out this video:

I created both of these videos in my spare time as a way to introduce you to the amazing work done by these researchers. If you like seeing videos like this, I encourage you to help support the science outreach we’re doing here on patreon.