Sea Turtles Jamaica

Every nest on the beach, logged and found again.

Sea Turtles Jamaica protects critically endangered hawksbill nests in Oracabessa Bay. We built the app that replaced their paper nest records, and the ticketing that keeps every hatchling release safe.

Product development

Infrastructure + security

Hatchlings released

300,000+

By Sea Turtles Jamaica since 2005, from one beach in Oracabessa Bay

Logged on a phone

Every nest

With photos, egg depth and three measurements, instead of paper nest books

Ticketed

Every release

Hotel and public places allocated in advance, with a waitlist and QR tickets

At a glance

Client: Sea Turtles Jamaica
Sector: Conservation
Platforms: iOS and Android field app, web ticketing and an admin console
What we did: Field app, ticketing, reminders, reading handwritten records into data, and analysis of hatch rates

Why it mattered

Every nest that hatches counts.

The hawksbill is Critically Endangered, after a fall of at least 80% over three generations. Every nest that survives matters, so each one has to be found again.

For the turtlesA nest has to be found againTracks wash away and the sand shifts. Weeks later, someone still has to find the exact spot where the eggs are.

For volunteersPaper was hard to learnNew monitors had a complex paper system to pick up. Now the app takes them through each field, on the beach.

For the hatchlingsReleases can’t get crowdedToo many people on the beach is stressful for hatchlings. Each release needs a firm limit and a fair way to fill it.

On the beach

Every nest logged where it’s laid.

Volunteers record each nest on their phone, there and then. They pick the zone, photograph the tracks and the nest, and note the egg depth. Nothing waits to be typed up.

Nest log

Incident 14Gibraltar Beach · 2 Jun, 9:42pmZoneGreenYellowBlueRedPhotos

Up track

Nest

Down trackEgg depth45 cmMove nestNoSave nest

Illustrative data

Out of danger

A nest in danger, moved and found again.

When a nest is laid somewhere risky, volunteers move it and log the new spot. Three measurements from fixed posts pin it down, however much the beach changes.

Nest 14

Laid close to the tideMove nest

Illustrative data

45 days later

A reminder on the day each nest is due.

Forty-five days after a nest is logged, the app reminds the team to check it. The reminder carries its three measurements, so they can find it and log the hatchlings.

Nests

Nest 14Laid 2 Jun · Green zoneDay 12 of 45Due to hatchFind it from the postsPost A6.2 mPost B4.1 mPost C5.4 m

Illustrative data

Hatchling releases

Releases that never get crowded.

Hotels get places at each release and book their guests in. Places they don’t book go back on sale, the waitlist hears first, and every guest gets a QR ticket.

Hatchling releaseSat 14 Sep · 6pm35 of 40 booked

Hotels book their guests in

Hotel A16 of 16
Hotel B12 of 12
Hotel C3 of 8
Open sale4 of 4

Illustrative data

Years of records

Handwritten nest books, put to work.

We used AI to read the project’s handwritten nest books into data. Then we compared hatch rates and sand temperatures season by season, to suggest where moved nests might do best. The team makes the call.

Reading the handwritten nest books

Nest book · 200914/6Nest 32Blue48cm11817/6Nest 33Red41cm9621/6Nest 34Green45cm1312/7Nest 35Blue50cm124

Date	Nest	Zone	Depth	Hatched

Illustrative data

What we built

Built for a beach, not a desk.

Works on the beachAn iOS and Android app volunteers use right beside the nest.

Paper to dataNest records, photos and measurements in one place, with years of handwritten books read in.

Ready for hotelsAllocations, a waitlist, automatic release and QR tickets by email and text.

Reminders on timeEvery nest gets a reminder to check it 45 days after it’s logged.

How it came together

From one conversation to every nest on the beach.

We started by sitting down with Mel to understand how the beach is run. Then we built it up, one season at a time.

Oct 2023DiscoveryA session with Mel on how nests, releases and visitors are run.
Dec 2023TicketingHotel allocations, a waitlist and QR tickets by email and text.
Jun 2024On the beachOur team in Oracabessa, shaping the field app around real nests.
Nov 2024HandoverTraining with the local team, with hatch reminders and automatic release added from their feedback.
TodayEvery seasonThe nest log, reminders and ticketing run through each nesting season.

Why Contic?

We build for people working in the field.

Sea Turtles Jamaica needed tools a volunteer could pick up on a beach at night. We built those, and turned years of paper into something they can learn from.

Talk to us See our work

Running a team out in the field?We’ll build an app that works where the work happens, and is quick to learn. Product development

Sitting on years of paper records?We’ll read them into data you can search, compare and learn from. AI + data

Need it to keep running on a small budget?We’ll host it with running costs you can sustain, season after season. Infrastructure