2015 in Review
2015 was a banner year and we have all of our travelers, donors, sponsors, teachers, and students to thank for it! This year, we nearly doubled the number of baby turtles saved at 8 important turtle nesting beaches across Latin America, we trained 40 teachers, college students, and community leaders in sea turtle education, helped hundreds of students participate in conservation efforts, and much more.
Here are the highlights from 2015:
Billion Baby Turtles: 230,000+ Hatchlings Saved (500,000 total to date)
More than 20,000 critically endangered hawksbill hatchlings at important nesting beaches in Nicaragua and El Salvador through our partners ICAPO & Flora & Fauna Nicaragua.
150,000 endangered green turtle hatchlings at Colola, Mexico, the most important nesting beach for these turtles along the Pacific coast through the University of Guadalajara.
Nearly 40,000 endangered green turtle hatchlings at Guanahacabibes National Park in Cuba through Cuba Marine Research and Conservation
More than 10,000 endangered green and loggerhead hatchlings at Tulum National Park in Mexico.
Green turtle hatchling in Nicaragua (credit Hal Brindley)
Through our teacher workshops, we trained more than 40 Nicaraguan teachers, college students, and community leaders in sea turtle educational techniques and provided scholarships for them to bring their students to participate in local conservation programs. The workshops were done in partnership with Paso Pacifico and Flora & Fauna Nicaragua.
Our School Fundraiser Contest raised more than $5,000 to help save 5,000+ baby sea turtles. More than 350 students at 17 schools across the US participated.
We provided scholarships for more than 400 Latin American students to participate in local conservation projects.
We gave our popular sea turtle educational presentations to more than 700 students in the US.
Teachers visiting a sea turtle hatchery in Nicaragua (credit: Brad Nahill)
120 travelers visited sea turtle conservation projects in Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Mexico. These tours generated more than $100,000 for sea turtle conservation and local communities.
Of those travelers, 95 volunteered during their trips, completing more than 300 work shifts.
A young traveler watches a green turtle return to the water in Costa Rica (credit: Hal Brindley)
There's one final thing we want to do by the end of the year - save 1,000 more hatchlings! We're more than halfway there and need your help. Every dollar donated helps save at least one hatchling and each gift comes with great thank you gifts.