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You helped nesting sea turtles this year!
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This season we are dedicating our annual campaign to sea turtles, because every nesting sea turtle deserves protection. We need your support to continue making a difference for sea turtles and for people like the five women who work as Paso Pacífico sea turtle rangers.
Women rangers with Paso Pacífico were at work every day this year, ensuring safe sands for the mother turtles that return to their natal beaches. During recent press interviews, these rangers expressed pride in their work. They stated that the job income helps send their children to school and helps their families plan for the future.
With your support, these women not only protect open beaches, but also help lead lessons with the Junior Rangers, organize beach cleanups, and manage two sea turtle nurseries. This year alone, they protected fifty nests in these two nurseries! Most of these nests were Galápagos green turtles, but the women also protected hawksbill nests and one leatherback nest.
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Darling and Liessi (above left and right respectively) work on a remote open beach during the daylight hours to protect endangered sea turtle nests. After nests hatch, the women verify the number of successful hatchlings by excavating the nests and inspecting the egg shells. Together with their ranger colleagues, they helped protect sixty-nine in situ sea turtle nests, most of which were from endangered Galápagos green turtles.
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Your support made all the difference for these women leaders and the turtles they protected. We are grateful to you, the Kathryn B. McQuade Foundation, Save the Turtles, an anonymous foundation in California and an anonymous donor who helps these women each year through the IUCN Netherlands. Thank you.
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Thank you for investing in women rangers!
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The critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle rarely nests on beaches in southwestern Nicaragua, but you helped these rangers protect three hawksbill nests this year.
Every turtle counts. THANK YOU!
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Paso Pacífico co-founder and executive director Sarah Otterstrom has been at the helm for the past seventeen years. Sarah’s doctorate was in tropical fire and cultural ecology, but now her scientific interests range from primatology, sea turtles, and parrots to farmer-led forest restoration.
While leading this organization, Sarah has also been raising a family with her husband Rick. The oldest of their four children is now 16 years old; he was born in Paso Pacífico’s first year! Sarah’s hobbies include walking her dogs, taking adult ballet class, and hiking with her family. One 2023 goal she has is to relearn to surf; she last surfed as a college student in Costa Rica in her 20s.
Your interest and support have strengthened Sarah and her leadership at Paso Pacífico. Thank you! To make a year-end gift in honor of Sarah's efforts to protect sea turtles, donate here.
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At last! We were able to graduate a group of 107 children from our Junior Ranger program in celebrations held in five communities. These resilient kids had started their Junior Ranger learning journey in 2020. During the first year of the pandemic, the children showed their patience as they participated in remote lessons. Then, in 2021, we were able to resume in-person lessons and the children showed their enthusiasm for engaging with their natural world. Thanks to the Kathryn B. McQuade Foundation for their support, which augmented yours in advancing this program throughout the pandemic.
Thanks to you, the Junior Ranger program continued in 2022, and included new ocean curriculum with the help of the Benedict Family Foundation. Early next year we will hold a graduation celebration for the 2022 cohort, thanks to your support and that of the Woolley Family Foundation. We are proud of the Junior Rangers for sticking with the program and are oh-so-grateful to you for helping the children succeed. Thank you!
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A Junior Ranger receives a graduation certificate from Jarinton García, a Paso Pacífico docent and community ranger.
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A critically endangered hawksbill turtle revisits a Paso Pacífico beach to nest.
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Good news for the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle! New AI tech is helping to slow the illegal trade of hawksbill turtles. You can play a role in stopping this trade by using the SEE Shell app to detect and refuse to purchase turtle products while traveling abroad.
How? Just download the SEE Shell app and photograph "tortoise shell" or "carey" products for sale by souvenir and jewelry vendors. The app then applies artificial intelligence and a database of hawksbill tortoise shells to differentiate fake and real turtle products. If the products are made of real tortoise shell, you can provide additional information that may aid law enforcement.
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PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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Remember our river restoration campaign earlier this year, which happened during the 2022 Surf City El Salvador Pro championship event? As part of that, we joined the #WeAreOneOcean coalition with diverse partners from around the globe. Launched by the World Surf League’s charity WSL PURE, the #WeAreOneOcean movement is building appreciation for the ocean and catalyzing efforts to protect it.
Your support helped us take action this year by helping us to lead dozens of beach clean-ups and by assisting quarterly research on water quality and plastic pollution. You also helped community partners practice sustainable oyster farming, such as with the women’s oyster cooperative in Pochote, Nicaragua. Thank you for being a part of the #WeAreOneOcean movement.
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Pro surfer Kayla Durden joined Paso Pacífico and kids from El Salvador to support the coastal restoration project. Photos above and below by WSL / AARON HUGHES
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Thank you for
your support!
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