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New Jersey students lend a hand in turtle conservation

Kids help release turtles that scientists raised from eggs of female turtles struck by cars.

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June 14, 2022 at 10:01 a.m. EDT
A girl releases a turtle into the wild at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, on June 8. A class of kindergarten students released 17 turtles that were raised from the eggs of female turtles that were struck and killed by cars. (Wayne Parry/AP)
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The circle of life was on vivid display Wednesday at the Jersey Shore. Seventeen young turtles that had been raised from eggs retrieved from the bodies of mothers killed on roads were released back into the wild by a class of kindergartners.

It was part of a program that has saved thousands of turtles and returned them to the wild over the past 25 years. The turtles were raised from the eggs of their dead mothers or were themselves rescued from roads, storm drains or other dangerous places over the years.