Outer Banks Forever’s Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest Program
We are incredibly grateful to the many individuals and businesses who adopted a sea turtle nest in 2026! We’ve had a very successful outcome, raising over $38,000 for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. 

In late fall, after all nests have hatched, and we have all information and statistics available for the public, we will post here the 2026 Sea Turtle Scoop – an exciting summary of all the nest and sea turtle statistics National Park Service rangers gathered during the nesting season!

We will announce to our email subscribers when the 2027 adoption season is officially open, so if you are not already on our email list, subscribe now, and make sure you add us to your safe sender list so you don’t miss any of our communications!

If you have any questions about this program, please contact Nicole Erickson, Development & Adoption Programs Manager, at nicoleerickson@obxforever.org.

Here’s How Our Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest Program Works: 

Donate! Give a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more to reserve a sea turtle nest. Your support helps fund critical projects that protect and enhance the Seashore and the vital habitat sea turtles depend on. You will receive an email confirmation when you make your donation. Please keep that email receipt for your records.

Honorary/memorial adoptions: If you would like to adopt a nest in honor of or in memory of a loved one, simply check the box that says “Dedicate this gift in honor of or in memory of a loved one” at the top of the Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest donation form and fill out the information. 

Digital certificates: You can save paper and go green by choosing our digital certificate option. At the bottom of the Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest donation form, under “additional details”, check the box that says “please save paper and send certificate digitally”. Important: If the digital certificate is for your honoree, please be sure to include their name and email address on the donation form so we can personalize the certificate and send it to them directly.

Get your nest! As *nests become available for adoption, you will be assigned a nest and will receive an adoption certificate by mail or email (if you choose our digital option) with initial information about your nest. If you chose to adopt a nest in honor of a loved one, you and your honoree will receive an adoption certificate and updates about your adopted nest as information becomes available throughout the nesting season. Your honoree will receive notification about your honorary gift and their certificate when the nest is assigned, not when you make the donation. Please keep that in mind for time-sensitive occasions. *Nests are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Wait patiently for your nest to hatch! When your nest hatches later in the summer or fall (average incubation time for our nests is 61 days), you will receive a personalized update in the mail with information National Park Service rangers collect about your nest, including the number of hatchlings that made their way out to sea! 

You can read our frequently asked questions for even more information about our Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program! If you have additional questions, please reach out to Nicole Erickson, our Development & Adoption Programs Manager, at: nicoleerickson@obxforever.org.