Thank you for supporting the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group. We welcome and appreciate any donation amount – your support helps us provide transformative educational and hands-on research experiences to UCF’s undergraduate and graduate students, while also supporting innovative research that helps us better understand and conserve sea turtles.
There are many ways you can support us ranging from small donations to larger gifts and endowments.
Sea Turtle REsearch Fund
For one-time or recurring donations supporting sea turtle research, you can donate directly to the lab.
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Dr. Llewellen Ehrhart Sea Turtle Internship Endowed Fund
Invest in the next generation of conservation scientists. The legacy of Llewellyn M. “Doc” Ehrhart, who passed away in 2022, lives on through his groundbreaking work as a professor, field biologist, and marine turtle researcher. An endowment established in his honor by The National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation, will grow his legacy and help inspire a new generation of researchers in the field.
Ehrhart founded the University of Central Florida’s Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG) in the late 1970s. The data he and his students collected while surveying marine turtle behavior over the course of many years helped establish the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in 1991. Ehrhart also established the MTRG’s summer internship for UCF’s undergraduate students. This internship has provided students with transformative, hands-on research experiences every summer for almost three decades.
This 16-week internship program involves students in all aspects of the Marine Turtle Research Group’s work as they learn to monitor the beaches of the Archie Carr Refuge, considered the most important nesting beach in the Western Hemisphere for loggerhead turtles, and the most important beach in Florida for green sea turtles. Students spend time learning beach survey protocols, in-water field sampling techniques, how to measure, flipper and PIT (microchip) tag sea turtles, ATV and boat safety, and are introduced to primary sea turtle literature to encourage their own research studies. The Dr. Llewellyn Ehrhart Sea Turtle Internship Endowed Fund allows students, who have the desire but perhaps not the financial means, to consider a summer off-campus internship opportunity to engage in hands-on experiential field work and research.
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Endowed Operational Equipment Fund
Goal: $750,000
We aim to establish an endowed fund to assist with the annual UCF MTRG operations at the coast. In any given year, the lab maintains up to 12 ATVs, 5 trucks, four boats, and all field equipment ranging from GPS units to backpacks, headlamps, and sampling supplies. Support on-going operational costs including: equipment maintenance, truck and boat fuel, and field equipment including sea turtle tags, ATVs, boats, tools, technology, safety supplies, and uniforms.
To learn more, please email: cosadvancement@ucf.edu
Endowed Critical Personnel Fund
Goal: $2,000,000
It takes a small army of UCF personnel to keep the MTRG running smoothly. To fully leverage the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group’s potential and impact, three key personnel roles are needed for the following:
- Field logistics – equipment and maintenance
- Research – permits, IACUC protocols, contacts, data management
- Outreach and education– turtle walks, class/group visits, intern training and research experience.
To learn more, please email: cosadvancement@ucf.edu
New Research and Education Facility
Goal: $7,500,000
Located on the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, a new facility will house our field-based beach work, provide classroom/lab space, meeting space, housing, and equipment storage.
To learn more, please email: cosadvancement@ucf.edu