JEYKLL ISLAND, Ga. – The award-winning Georgia Sea Turtle Center reached its 10th anniversary on Thursday after a decade of sea turtle and environmental conservation. The center will host a party honoring the achievement on Saturday.

The GSTC was established in 2007 with the goal of protecting and rehabilitating sea turtles and other marine wildlife populations. The center also hosts an education gallery, exhibits and popular beach-based sea turtle release events.

Now more than 100,000 people visit the center annually.

Allison Schutes, the Senior Manager of the Trash Free Seas Program for the Ocean Conservancy, said the center made significant progress caring for wildlife and educating the public.

“The Georgia Sea Turtle Center has made extraordinary contributions toward aiding wildlife and educating the public," Schutes said. "It’s developed unique ways to connect people to nature and show them the need to preserve it.”

The Jeykll Island facility is the only one of its kind in Georgia. In its 10-year history, the center has tended to 3,000 turtles and other animals such as alligators snakes and birds.

The center's birthday celebration is from 2 to 5 p.m. For more information, check out GSTC's birthday website.