Do you fancy yourself an eagle-eyed Turtle Tracker?
A volunteer program across 10 lakes in the City of Cockburn is carefully counting the local Southwestern Snake-Necked Turtle population.
The dedicated Turtle Trackers are contributing to the Saving Our Snake-Necked Turtle citizen science project, which operates across south-west Western Australia, with participants stretching from Joondalup down to Albany.
The Saving Our Snake-Necked Turtle program first launched in the City of Cockburn back in 2019 – since then, its grown to last year’s record number of 96 Turtle Trackers clocked up a huge 2,815 hours volunteering across the City’s lakes and wetlands.
This year, Turtle Trackers will be stationed at Bibra Lake; Boodjar Mooliny, Lake Coogee; Eco Lake, Atwell; Harmony Lake, Atwell; Jubilee Park, Success; Little Rush Lake, Yangebup; Manning Lake, Hamilton Hill; Market Garden Swamp, Spearwood; Yangebup Lake, Yangebup; and for the first time, Tapper Lake, Atwell.
This season will also see City of Cockburn collaborating for the first time with local conservation groups Wetlands Conservation Society and Walliabup Wildlife Warriors, who will coordinate volunteers at Bibra Lake.
And you can get involved! With over 80 registered so far, volunteers are still being recruited and trained ahead of the official season beginning on September 1, with information sessions scheduled for August 12 at the Wetlands Centre Cockburn and August 16 at Harvest Lakes Community Centre.
“Across a record number of hours during the 2025-26 nesting season, a team of 96 active volunteers, protected 358 nests,” said City of Cockburn Environmental Education Education Officer Vicky Hartill.
Across eight years of the City’s turtle tracking efforts, volunteers have protected 835 nests, explained Hartill.
“Beginning at Bibra Lake, we gradually expanded to Manning Park, and then Cockburn’s other lakes where nesting females routinely leave the water in search of the right soil to lay their eggs each September to January.”
“It’s been gratifying to witness the community come on board with us over the years with interest growing as we all band together to try to ensure our turtles can access safe habitats to help support this vulnerable population.”
To find out more about how to get involved as a Turtle Tracker, head to the City of Cockburn website.