Eleven new turtle sculptures featuring recycled aluminium cans adorn Inverness

Recycling aluminium cans is vital for sustainability, offering significant environmental and economic benefits. It conserves natural resources by reducing the need for raw material extraction, minimising the destructive effects of mining. With this, Downtown Inverness has added a beautiful and innovative sculpture.

Image Source: Inverness Arts & Culture Alliance

The sculpture, a turtle composed of recycled aluminium cans is the outcome of the collaboration between the city and the Inverness Arts & Culture Alliance. Eleven new aluminium turtle sculptures, inspired by the city’s beloved mascot, the cooter turtle, now bring joy to the area. Inverness is a city and the county seat of Citrus County, Florida, United States.

"You can walk any of our boardwalks, any of our trail systems along the water's edge, and you're going to see these turtles. To bring that to life in a connective way and manifest it as an opportunity for people to learn more about our town, it's just a great thing,” said Inverness City Manager Eric Williams.

Bringing the turtles to downtown Inverness has been a two-year journey. Crafted from recycled aluminium, primarily cans, the collection features six large and five smaller sculptures with each large turtle made using approximately 17,000 aluminium cans.

Image Source - Inverness Arts & Culture Alliance

"When I saw that the city had the cooter turtle as their mascot, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to highlight it and offer something to the community that they can be proud of and be entertaining," added Hertensen.

The turtles bear no resemblance to old soda cans, as local artists have beautifully painted each one to showcase different facets of what residents proudly describe as a "small town done right." Hertensen, a lifelong artist, dedicated countless hours to crafting the initial moulds and welding the turtles together. He hopes these vibrant creations spark imaginations. The project team has also applied for a Guinness World Record, aiming to establish a new category for the "largest recycled painted animal."

"They are a compass to pointing to so many other features in our town. They each tell a story of our community, and for anyone that comes and visits for the day, stays a week or spends a lifetime, it can be a memory. It can be something to look forward to. It can be something that they haven't seen yet, but they tell a great story about our little, small town here,” commented Williams.