Help me save sea turtles in Guatemala!
Help me save sea turtles in Guatemala!
Help me save sea turtles in Guatemala!
Help me save sea turtles in Guatemala!
Help me save sea turtles in Guatemala!
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Help me save sea turtles in Guatemala!
My name is Lucia Reyna and I am a biology student from Guatemala, Central America. Throughout my career I have always been interested in marine biology, especially in sea turtles. In 2011, I started getting involved in sea turtle conservation in my country. I worked as a research assistant and also I had the opportunity to assist a training workshop on biology and monitoring techniques on nesting beaches of marine turtles in Tortuguero, Costa Rica. In 2014 I assisted the 34th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation which was held in New Orleans, where I participated in the sea turtles educator’s workshop. I also assisted to the marine turtle’s strandings regional workshop held in Guatemala, conducted by different organizations from Central America. Same year, I started working in the Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Association (ARCAS) which is a Guatemalan NGO founded in 1989 and it is the leading organization for sea turtle conservation in the country. I worked as a research assistant and as the volunteer coordinator. During my period in ARCAS I gained lot of experience on working with communities, environmental education and research. In April 2016, I assisted the 36th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation held in Peru, where I participated in a marine mammal workshop and I presented a poster paper highlighting the components of environmental education that I worked with the community when I was working at ARCAS. During the 2016 symposium I was invited by Mr. Thushan Kapurusinghe, Project Leader of the Sri Lanka Turtle Conservation Project (SLTCP), to be part of the SLTCP. The aim of being part of this project was to be trained in the community based conservation activities including the provision of incentives to local communities, conducting research, education and awareness programmes, fund raising, project management, monitoring, etc. Besides working on sea turtle conservation, SLTCP is one of the project partners of the UNDP/GEF Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project which has been running since 2015. I joined the organization in November of this year and I have been participating in the execution of the GEF project. So far, I have learned how they involved in the community by providing them sustainable alternative income options and how they use environmental education to approach different target groups in order to teach them about the importance of conserving the marine & coastal ecosystems.
What I am asking for?
On April 2017 the 37th Annual Symposium will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. This symposium is a platform that reunites conservationists, field biologists, researchers, academics, NGO staff, etc. from all over the world. It is composed by regional sessions, workshops and oral/poster presentations. For more precise information check the Symposiumm website: http://internationalseaturtlesociety.org/
I would like to participate in this symposium because it will allow me to share my acquired acknowledge that I gained from SLTCP and also I will have the opportunity to make new contacts internationally for the benefit of conservation efforts in Guatemala. Also, I will have the opportunity to acquire new research methods and apply them with the ultimate goal of correctly instructing more Guatemalans to conserve and protect sea turtles.
The aim of this campaign is to raise US $1250 to afford the plane ticket, pay the fees of the registration, meals, and the cost of workshops. Every amount is deeply appreciated and will greatly help me to achieve this goal!
Why is it so important?
In Guatemala, the government involvement in marine and coastal conservation is very limited as are the number of NGO´s. Within the NGO´s that exist, only a few focus their efforts on marine resources, including sea turtle conservation. There is a certain need to have more organizations in Guatemala to work on the field of community based marine & coastal resources conservation. As an outcome of my training period in Sri Lanka, I would like to replicate in Guatemala some of the strategies applied by SLTCP that had a positive impact on the conservation and the communities. Also, in a nearby future, I would like to establish an NGO dedicated to the conservation of marine ecosystems that involves the communities as well.