April Coffee & Conservation – Featuring Carol Leonard & Carol McCoy

April 21, 2026
Carol Leonard & Carol McCoy
Coastal Wildlife Club
Sea Turtles

Speaker Bio:

Two Turtle Ladies 2025

Both Carol Leonard and Carol McCoy are part of the Coastal Wildlife Club Turtle Patrol and on the CWC Board of Directors.  An entirely volunteer organization based in Englewood, CWC is responsible for sea turtle nest monitoring on all of Manasota Key and on a small portion of Knight Island. Together, both Carols organize and implement CWC outreach activities.  Both are members of the International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS). Both travel extensively here and abroad, sometimes specifically to see sea turtles and learn more about them. 

Carol McCoy moved to Englewood in 2016 after a career in Information Technology. A conservationist for as long as she can remember, Carol then pursued her dream to volunteer full-time in conservation. 

A sea turtle patroller since 2017, she is responsible for the organization’s social media and manages its Crab Trap Removal Program. A member of the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN), Carol also manages CWC’s response in stranding incidents.

 Carol loves turtles of all kinds. She is co-chair of the Outreach Committee for the Gopher Tortoise Council and, as an Advanced Florida Master Naturalist, she enjoys teaching others about Florida’s unique ecosystems and wildlife.  

Carol Leonard moved to Englewood in 1980 to take a position at Lemon Bay High where she taught Marine Science, Biology, Honors Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology. She developed and piloted the Charlotte County Public Schools’ West County Environmental Education Program which since 1994 has brought elementary students to Cedar Point and Lemon Bay. 

A sea turtle patroller since 1997, Carol serves CWC as both Secretary and Treasurer and, in recent years, has organized orientation and training of new volunteers. 

Since retiring from formal education in 2011 Carol continues to share her experience and mentorship at local, statewide and national meetings, workshops and conferences.   

Presentation:

Of the seven species, 6 have been recorded nesting in Florida with 4 locally on our beaches with the 2024 Leatherback turtle nest being the first ever recorded here. 

FYI  A few Hawksbills nest in very southern Florida (Keys) each year (none recorded in FL in 2024) and a few Olive Ridley’s have been recorded in recent years.