Help Protect Endangered Sea Turtles in Curacao

Trained and ready to go

Saturday, June 26^th 2021, Sea Turtle Conservation Curaçao (STCC) held its annual volunteer training. This year it was a little later than usual due to Covid-19 and the consequential lockdowns and mobility restrictions. The aim of the training was to (re)familiarize volunteers with the organization, (further) educate them about sea turtles, their lifecycle, behavior and habitat, to train nest monitoring procedures, to brainstorm about current challenges and to provide a space to meet and interact with each other.

A total of nine volunteers participated in the training. The training was facilitated by Sabine Berendse, founder and president of the board of STCC. The group started out in STCC’s education and information center, but due to noise disturbance the training was moved to the headquarters of Green Phenix, the plastic recycling facility to which STCC is closely linked. This gave the volunteers the opportunity to see where the plastic, they work so hard to recycle, is being processed.

Because both new and experienced volunteers partook in the training, the training was very broad. Starting with basic information about sea turtles, such as the different species and the most common ones in the waters around Curaçao, their life cycle and their value to the ecosystem. Continuing with information about STCC, focusing on the three main pillars (research, education and conservation) and the efforts of the new board to restructure the organization. Some time was made to discuss how to deal with persons illegally handling sea turtles, aggressive people, as well as interested onlookers during turtle rescues or monitoring activities.

The highlight of the training was the explanation of how to locate, read and register tracks of a nesting females and hatchlings. Even though this was pure theory, and the real lessons happen outside on the beach, the volunteers were excited. “With this training I am so much better equipped, I am ready to go and monitor the beaches” remarked a new volunteer.

By completing this training STCC’s volunteers are more knowledgeable and better prepared for the weekly beach monitoring rounds.

• STCC_progress_report_Trained_and_ready_to_go.pdf (PDF)
  

With a new nesting season coming up and a global pandamic still heavily affecting the world, our organisation is facing difficult times. We decided it is a great time to do a Theory of Change process. In this process a group of core STCC members determine what impact our organisation wants to make and how we aim to create it. 

This insightful process also includes follow up meetings with other stakeholder groups and it's a dynamic process, which will eventually lead to a visual pathway of change, which will make it very clear for everybody what STCC aims to do and how.

So far 2 workshop sessions took place. In the first one we talked about our vision and we created a vision statement: Curacao is a safe haven for sea turtles, caried by an involved community which is inspiring the world.

Our mission statement still hold: Sea Turtle Conservation Curacao aims to protect sea turtles and their habitat through research, conservation and education. 

We also discussed long term outcomes that need to be accomplished before the vision can become a reality. This basically breaks the vision statement down into seperate components: 

1. Curacao is a safe haven for sea turtles

2. The community is involved

3. Our program is an example for the world

In the second workshop we discussed the output that is needed and the programs STCC could create to contribute to the long term goals. Indicators were discussed as well as assumptions. 

The following weeks we'll be working on visualising these primary results into a concept pathway of change and once this is done we'll start planning stakeholder sessions, with volunteers, ministries, companies and other NGO's. So far the process has been extremely valuable and it will be the basis for further strategic planning, budgeting and a strong continuation of what was build in previous years.

It might be the harderst time we've faced since STCC was founded, but in the core there are some really driven people that want to do whatever is in their power to keep on protecting sea turtles and their habitat as best as we possibly can. We're confident this 'Theory of Change" will lead to a road on how we can survive this horrible pandamic that has affected us all. 

Links:

• STCC Website