The breathtaking Whitsundays oasis is 34km northeast of Mackay in central Queensland, it is 80% national park. A cluster of 74 tropical islands positioned smack bang in the middle of Queensland’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.
Coral reefs are the rainforests of the sea and so important to life on earth. The Whitsundays even has a natural coral reef structure in the shape of a heart.
It’s called Heart Reef
But the heart might stop beating soon.
The island of Keswick in the Whitsundays is home to green sea turtles. These beautiful creatures return to the same place each year to lay their eggs. Often it is the same place where they too hatched. Females can lay clutches of 100 – 200 eggs, laying several clutches before returning to the sea. Keswick Island has been home to nesting females for generations and yet, this incredible habit is now in danger due to a Chinese development company – China Bloom.
China Bloom, acquired the main lease for the island in May 2019 and since, have made life difficult for these beautiful sea creatures. One year ago their breeding ground was completely bulldozed.
But you can’t keep a mother sea turtle down. As hatchlings, they imprint the magnetic field of their natal beach and then use the information to return as adults. Sea turtles seek out unique magnetic signatures along the Keswick coast and return each year.
Depite the best efforts of China bloom to keep them away, these beautiful creatures have found a way and have recently returned to their breeding ground on Keswick Island.
But, these turtles cannot fight the Chinese Developer all alone. They need our help to protect their habitat.
Please support Keswick Island and do what you can to help make this turtle’s voice heard.
None of us own this planet – we are simply passing through and it is our duty as global citizens to help preserve this beating heart.
Thank you for your support.
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