World Turtle Day

World Turtle Day is held every year on 23 May. It was launched in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, a group founded in 1990 by Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson, to raise global awareness of turtle and tortoise conservation.

Turtles are long-term survivors. The organisers note that turtles have been around for 220 million years, outlasting the dinosaurs. Even so, an estimated 61 per cent of turtle species are now threatened or already extinct.

Thailand is home to 5 species of sea turtle. Figures from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, reported in 2022, showed nests on Thai beaches rising from 413 in 2018 to 491 in 2020.

Sea turtles also travel far. NOAA Fisheries reports that some leatherbacks swim more than 10,000 miles a year between nesting and feeding grounds, and that female green turtles usually return to nest in the general area where they hatched.

To help, give nesting turtles and hatchlings space, follow the rules on nesting beaches, cut down on single-use plastic, and report injured turtles to the local authorities.

At AVALON Artisan Gallery, From Waste to Wonder means giving shells a second life: more than 50,000 tonnes of green mussel shells are discarded in Thailand each year, and we reclaim them as MyraShell and MyraGem. You can meet Gentle Turtle in the Sea Soul collection.