Movie joins turtle awareness expo

Moreton Bay Turtle Expo returns next month with two free family-friendly events to celebrate local wildlife and community engagement.

A Turtle Awareness Expo will start the event, on Saturday May 9, at Queens Beach North in Scarborough from 10am-2pm.

It will have educational displays, information signage and guest speakers, including Associate Professor Daryl McPhee, who will discuss local turtle habitats.

The expo will be followed by a screening of The Adventures of Sam the Turtle at Redcliffe Amphitheatre, beside Settlement Cove, starting around 5.30pm.

It is believed to be the first showing in Australia of this movie, which has been added to the program following a growing awareness of turtle hatching season.

Now in its fourth year - and first with a movie - the expo aims to raise awareness about turtle conservation and habitat protection.

Colin Scobie, Vice President of Rotary Redcliffe Sunrise, said it is also important to understand turtle habitats for future generations.

This is particularly with the anticipated impacts of climate change on nesting patterns at Queens Beach North's high dry sand embankment.

The expo’s location is significant. It was the site where, in 2010, newly hatched turtles became disoriented and moved inland instead of seaward.

Around 11pm hatchlings emerged, but partially blinded by the city lights and street lamps, veered off course towards Flinders Parade.

Residents and authorities converged on the area to redirect hundreds of hatchlings back towards the ocean.

In the aftermath, Council put up $250,000 for alternative street lighting, complementing the existing $5 million family-oriented infrastructure.

The Turtle Awareness Expo will be officially opened by Councillor Cath Tonks, Environmental Lead for Moreton Bay City Council and begin with a Welcome to Country.

Supported by Moreton Bay City Council, Rotary Redcliffe Sunrise and other community partners, the expo is free to all ages and includes prize giveaways.