Conservation in ACTION
In 2012, over 100 children graduated from our brand new
Junior Ranger program. Hands-on lessons in local conservation issues culminate with a service project that children lead in their communities.
One such community is the fishing village of Ostional, where a few years
ago kids asked our traveling teacher, Julie Martinez, what baby sea
turtles looked like. We realized that, due to a 100% poaching rate, no
nests had hatched in over a generation.
In 2009, thanks to our incentive payments, Ostional saw its
first turtle hatchlings in over 25 years. That same year, several children from Ostional were on hand when we released the
first Hawksbill ever tagged on Nicaragua's Pacific coast.
This past August, at the end of the sea turtle conservation unit, which
includes releasing a nesting sea turtle tagged for satellite tracking,
kids made sand turtles on the beach. A few of the kids placed stones on
their sand turtles' shells and stuck sticks in the sand. When we asked
them what they were, they said "satellite transmitters."
In four short years, the community of Ostional has gone from not having
seen a baby turtle for an entire generation to a group of kids who take
for granted that their turtle neighbors are being tracked by
conservation scientists worldwide. We are proud of our Junior Rangers
and their commitment to conservation for the next generation.
