Australia’s Fitzroy Island Resort is offering guests the opportunity to help care for injured turtles and assist with monitoring the Great Barrier Reef as part of a new citizen science programme. 

The property, located in Tropical North Queensland, is the first to offer guests a behind-the-scenes hands-on experience at the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (CTRC), where they will help care for the sea turtles and to assist with the Reef Restoration Foundation’s coral restoration work.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles and the CTRC cares for any injured patients, a number of whom suffer from floating syndrome as a result of human action – including nylon wrapping to microplastic ingestion.

Fitzroy Island Resort is considered a leader in the field of protecting the coral reef and its inhabitants. The full day experience includes careful involvement in the coral nursery project which is developing coral restoration on the reef.

Corals grow significantly faster in the nurseries than on the reef. After 6-12 months in a nursery, cuttings are taken from each of the growing corals and planted to regenerate damaged sections of the reef and strengthen resilience. The original corals remain in the nurseries to re-grow and the process becomes a continuous cycle.

Meanwhile, for those staying on the mainland, the island is still accessible to day guests and divers with eco-certified Sunlover Reef Cruises. The Cairns-based company offers a full day Fitzroy Island experience, which includes a 45-minute catamaran journey to the island, snorkelling equipment and a glass bottom boat tour, providing an opportunity for everyone to get up close and personal with the fascinating marine life around the island.