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A friendship and passion for ocean conservation has led two Coastal Carolina University graduates on a mission to bring a sea turtle rescue and educational center to Conway.

Taylor Garretson and Elissa Plocinik鈥檚 friendship sparked early on as marine science students, and that鈥檚 when they began taking the same classes together.

In their final semester, they began to question why the area didn鈥檛 have a sea turtle rescue center. The closest one that area sea turtles can travel to is in Charleston, though there is a center in Wilmington, North Carolina, but turtles are not permitted to travel across state lines.

鈥淪o we kind of took it into our own hands,鈥� Plocinik said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 see just how far we can take it.鈥�

It can sometimes take turtles needing medical attention in the Myrtle Beach area three hours to make it to Charleston when considering travel time and other delays.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of stress for them to be in,鈥� Garretson said. 鈥淥ne thing we want to focus on is less stress for the sea turtles and getting them help as fast as possible.鈥�

Conway Council Member Julie Hardwick has been an advocate for the project and is 鈥渁bsolutely thrilled over the moon鈥� about the possibility of it coming to the city.

鈥淲e鈥檙e losing sea turtles 鈥� by the time they are found and the proper people are contacted, most often they are dead before they get to Charleston,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檝e got a loggerhead that weighs hundreds of pounds, you don鈥檛 just go out there and load it up.

鈥淗aving this in Conway is life-saving. I just see it growing into a great hospital rehab for the sea turtles 鈥�,鈥� she said.

Calling it Coastal Sea Turtle Center and with the help of CCU professors, Garreston and Plocinik have received nonprofit status at the state and federal levels.

They started conducting research and are active in staying up-to-date with sea turtles coming to the area to nest.

But the biggest hurdle is finding a location.

Garretson and Plocinik have been in talks with Conway City Council and staff in hopes of finding a building. Without a building, the duo is unable to apply for proper permitting through the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, as well as grants and funding.

鈥淭hey know our next biggest hurdle is a building,鈥� Garretson said of Conway leaders.

During a Conway council meeting in December, Garretson and Plocinik presented their idea to Conway leaders, who have in past months discussed how they could help. City leaders have expressed interest in helping the effort, but the city currently does not have space to provide. If Conway eventually has space, the city would be willing to provide part of a space in a building, a city spokesperson said.

鈥淚 want to help them find a space,鈥� Hardwick said. 鈥淲e can start very small. We can start with one sea turtle. And we鈥檙e working on [it], and we鈥檝e been talking and trying to find space within the city that meets all the health requirements 鈥� start small and let it grow. We just want to start.鈥�

The two do not just want to offer turtle rescue services 鈥�聽they also want it to be a true science center that educates the public, particularly local students, about sea turtles, ocean conservation and keeping beaches clean.

鈥淲e care about the ocean strongly and we want to keep it as clean as possible,鈥� Plocinik said. 鈥淚f they can do what they can to keep it clean, that way it will be here forever.鈥�

For now, Garretson and Plocinik are working full time at other jobs in the area, and doing their passion project on the side.

Anyone interested in volunteering or assisting their efforts may reach out to Coastal Sea Turtle Center on Facebook.