Turtle Cove

Our Galva Canal Boatshed Complex in Manchac is in full operation, however our Turtle Cove facilities on Pass Manchac (i.e., the main Turtle Cove Guest House/Boardwalk) are still undergoing renovations/restotraion from Hurricane Ida.

We are doing education/outreach field trips to Turtle Cove two days per week during the Fall 2024 semester: single groups with up to 30 people on Tuesdays from approx. 9/9:30 am-12/12:30 pm and single or double groups with up to 60 people on Fridays from approx. 9:00 am – 12:30 pm. For more information contact Turtle Cove Education Coordinator Ariel Ebanks ([email protected]) to arrange a date for your trip. 

Note that under our Education and Outreach link we have several on-line (virtual) types of activities that your groups can do and participate in in case your group is not able to attend our actual on-site field trips for whatever reason (i.e., weather conditions, future covid restrictions, etc.).

Thank you, and we look forward to working with your group.

The Lake Maurepas Monitoring Project real-time water quality buoy data is now available
on the project website here. Visit the homepage of the project here for more information on the monitoring study, research teams, and other sampling
data. 

Turtle Cove itself is a historic structure located in the wetlands on Pass Manchac, a natural pass that connects Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas in southeastern Louisiana. The building was built in 1908 and is home to a variety of ecological and environmental research and educational programs. See our 20-minute Public Relations video at the bottom of this page for more information about everything we do at Turtle Cove.

We invite you to visit the station itself, possibly as a student, volunteer, community member, researcher, or educator. Join us on a field trip or an ecosystem tour, begin a new research project, or attend one of our teacher workshops. We also ask that you consider helping to support our programs by making a donation to Turtle Cove through our Southeastern Foundation.

• University classes (at both undergraduate and graduate levels)
• Professional Interdisciplinary Research and collaborative opportunities, primarily in biology (wetland ecology, cypress restoration, aquatic microbiology, entomology, herpetology, etc), but also environmental issues in chemistry, history, economics, education, the arts, and more, and not only from Southeastern, but other regional universities as well.
• Marsh Restoration Programs (Christmas Tree Recycling Program)—in the past 26 years Turtle Cove staff have deployed over 40,000 Christmas Trees in the surrounding marshes of Turtle Cove for the benefits of erosion control, habitat creation, diversion of trees from landfills and for hands-on environmental work.  Turtle Cove also partners with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana in helping to replant cypress trees in the area.
• Graduate student research opportunities in ecology, herpetology and other disciplines
• Community outreach programs, featuring our Self-Guided Boardwalk Tour
• K-12 field trips and inquiry-based learning experiences and field training program for young scientists
• Teacher workshops for continuing education credits
• Collaborative programs with agencies and non profit organizations such as the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF), and the University of New Orleans’ Coastal Education Program and Coastal Education Research Facility (CERF) among others.

If you visited Turtle Cove or participated in any Turtle Cove activities, please take a moment to fill out the Turtle Cove Satisfaction Survey. It takes about one minute to complete and is anonymous, and will help us provide a better Turtle Cove experience for everyone. Thank you.