Turtle season is at its peak, in conjuction with the downpours that characterize the height of the rainy season. Tomorrow I help host a field trip to the beach through Project AWARE (PADI) with a local diving instructor. We're taking groups of 4th, 5th and 6th graders from two local schools to participate in a beach cleanup, see some baby sea turtles, and try out scuba diving in a pool. It's a great opportunity for these kids, many who live near the beach but most of whom have never had a chance to see a sea turtle (unless by chance it ended up on their plates at one time or another) or know how to swim. We visited the schools today, showing them videos of underwater life, and they're exctatic about the trip.

In other turtle news, the new hatchery that the Peace Corps Partnership Grant funded is a little closer to full capacity every day! Thanks to the generous donations the community conservation group received through the grant program, we have had no problems with dogs or other predators entering the hatchery this year. Tomorrow's release will be the 12th nest to hatch this year, with at least that many nests still incubating in the sand, to be release later on this month and into November! Each time a nest is about to hatch, we publicize the releases through phone calls, word of mouth and emails. The day of the release, local volunteers and I give a short talk about sea turtle biology and conservation. Then, the participants walk down to the tide line on the beach, and each is given a baby turtle to set onto the sand and race to the water. The walk down the beach is important for the turtle to orient itself. The females will return to the same beach 15-20 years in the future to lay her own catch of eggs. She will return, that is, if she is lucky enough to be one of the few survivors. From every 1,000 eggs laid, it is predicted that only 1 will survive to adulthood. The hatchery is the first step to insuring that a few more will survive, as it protects the eggs from invaders such as dogs, poachers, crabs, worms and bacteria. Our hope is that that community education will insure the survival of more of the species, slowly diminshing the level of poaching and contamination, two factors that affect the mortality rate of this endangered animal.

This weekend, CoToMBa (Conservacionistas de las Tortugas Marinas de la Barqueta) will paint 5 ugly cement barriers that dissuade car traffic on the beach. We will be painting the cement posts wil images of turtles and other sea life, with messages about conservation. Other plans in the near future include installing cement posts every 100m along an area of the beach for better scientific tracking of where the turtles lay their eggs, and the installation of multimedia in the area. We already have several videos in Spanish depicting sea life and turtles, thanks to the national environmental authority, ANAM. Altogether, the project has been a success, although there is still more work to be done! Thanks again to all of the donors. The community and the turtles le agradecen (they thank you!).