Deep in the coastal woods of South Carolina, behind high fences, guard dogs, and security cameras, is a group of people who know more about turtles than you. Posters and paintings of turtles and tortoises are plastered on every wall in the moss-green classroom where they meet. A turtle-themed library occupies one corner, complete with ceramic turtle decor. Looking around, I count dozens of turtle shirts, turtle hats and turtle stickers on water bottles and laptops. There are more than a few turtle tattoos. This is the Turtle Survival Center in Cross, South Carolina, USA, and it’s hosting the third annual “Turtle School” (officially the “Chelonian Biology, Conservation, and Management Course”). Imagine Hogwarts, but for turtle nerds. Students watch a plumbing presentation during the 2025 Chelonian Biology, Conservation, and Management Course at the Turtle Survival Center in South Carolina. Photo by Liz Kimbrough for Mongabay. Cris Hagen, Turtle Survival Alliance’s director of animal management and collections sports a turtle tattoo on his ring finger. Photo by Liz Kimbrough for Mongabay. In September 2025, 16 students from three countries traveled to the Deep South for a weeklong crash course. Most are specialists from prominent zoos across the U.S. But there’s also a vet from Argentina, a glass artist focused on sea turtle conservation and Madeline Tesolin, a T-shirt seller at concerts from Ontario, Canada, who also drives injured turtles to vets in her spare time. Over the seven-day intensive, they’ll learn from turtle and tortoise conservation celebrities how to care for…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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