General News
25 November, 2025
Turtles mean so much
TURTLES have been at the centre of a ‘Gifted Green Global’ project by two Port Douglas State School students.
Aria Smith and Alba Connolly presented ‘The Turtle Two’ project to Cairns regional councillors, with three other schools.
They told councillors that there were three aims of the project:
See what students know about the parasite and to see if they know what it does
Educate year 3 and 4 students about the parasite that the turtles get from the seagrass.
“Turtles are important for a variety of reasons,” the students said.
“They help keep the ecosystem healthy/balanced, they regenerate sea grass and control populations.
“They play a crucial role in seed dispersal when they go to the bathroom.
“Turtles, both freshwater and sea turtles, can be hosts to a variety of parasites, including flukes, nematodes and protozoa.
“These parasites can cause a range of health issues, from mild irritation to severe disease and even death.
“Spirorchiid blood flukes and coccidian parasites like caryospora cheloniae are particularly noted for their impacts on green sea turtles.
“Endoparasites are the parasite that lives inside the body of their hosts, causing various health issues and requiring medical treatment. They are called seagrass wasting disease and spirorchidiiasis.”
The girls said seagrass was disappearing because the water was getting warmer and there was less sunlight reaching it.
“Seagrass is also dying from environmental damage and a reduction in water clarity, also caused by poor water quality, coastal development and physical damage from boats and fishing gear.”
The girls said turtles should be eating jelly fish, not plastic bags.
“We will know that we have been successful because more grade 3 and 4s will know more about turtles and seagrass,” they said. “They will also know how bad pollution is to the ocean. They will know more about turtles and the parasite.”
The students said they planned to make a video about turtles to show at a school parade.
They said they had more work to do, including:
Does the parasite affect any other marine animals?
Is the parasite global or just in Queensland?
Is there any way to counteract the parasite?
Read More: Port Douglas
