Students visit the local turtle research station

As part of our core belief that all Bocas residents need more exposure to conservation, the students of the SBT Learning Center walked two hours on May 18th, 2007, to visit the sea turtle research station on Playa Larga, Isla Bastimentos. The station is staffed at diffefent times by graduate students, professors, and volunteers and is funded by the Caribbean Conservation Corp (CCC). The students were given a basic overview of the types of turtles utilizing the beach, background on their mating and nesting habits, the main reasons for their decline, and what each student could do to prevent this. The researcher demonstrated how they locate and measure nest sites, tag female turtles, and create records of egg clutches and species sightings. One of my students works for the turtle station. We have asked the station if we can assist them next season as a school project.