TYBEE ISLAND — A loggerhead sea turtle named Belle has returned to her natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean after five years as a resident of Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island. Equipped with a tracking device attached to her shell to monitor her journey back to the sea, Belle was released on a Tybee Island beach recently with a send-off from the 4-H center staff and volunteers.

Environmental Education staff at the Burton 4-H Center care for sea turtles that do not successfully make their initial voyage to the ocean as hatchlings through a partnership with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which grants permits and permission for these stragglers to be raised at the center until they are ready to live in the wild on their own.

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Josie Smith is the public relations coordinator for Georgia 4-H.

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