By Sian Williams | Project Leader
The sea turtles of Gili have been having a great time recently. Whilst the island is a little quieter in the run up to Christmas, the clear seas and warm temperatures have meant that more hawksbill and green turtles have been lazing around in the shallows, grazing for the seagrass.
We've been stuck closely with the eco-resort and our partners Hotel Lumi and their architect to set plans for the new turtle hatchery in motion. With a large beach club, restaurant and hotel all made out of sustainable materials, the 'spare' land out back was swiftly put to great use and plans for the new turtle hatchery have grown considerably in the last few months.
While the hatchery will be built in stages, the most urgent areas to focus on have been highlighted as:
With these being built first, Lumi has the aim of partial completion (operational but not open for exhibition) by April 2023. That's exactly when the turtles start to nest on the Gili Islands!
We can't waste any more time letting the nests of these endangered animals get swept back into the sea, for heightened beach erosion. When specially trained Turtle Rangers find newly laid nests, they'll be able to safely relocate the eggs using ethical strategies adopted from Yayasan Penyu Indonesia to our egg incubation area. A protected shaded sand pit to house individual clutches of eggs. Once they've been safely incubated for 60 days and they start to hatch, they'll get a check over by the on-site turtle specialist and then released within 24 hours at the location they were laid if safe enough, or on the secluded beach at Hotel Lumi.
We've already been working alongside Turtle Foundation CEO & staff to create the world's first turtle education and exhibition centre. To ensure we can offer the best possible experience for guests to learn, interact and enjoy the lifecycle of a turtle without the exploitation of holding healthy baby and juvenile turtles in tanks for the viewing and entertainment of tourists.
This will be presented by the means of
Not only will this benefit the turtles around the Gilis, but it will also raise awareness of the exploitation and 'tourist traps' of headstarting programs. We will have the potential of reaching out to such projects and offering them the same education and interactive conservation centres in different locations across Indonesia.
The second phase of the build has the potential to include a temporary holding tank for sick or injured turtles that need minor treatment or recovery, which offers a great chance for guests and tourists to learn about these gentle creatures from the supervisors.
If you have any experience, contacts or tips for our team regarding creating a VR short documentary to create an immersive experience for guests to glimpse a turtle without stepping oot in the ocean, then we are currently looking for filmmakers and editors to help us create a 5 minute continual loop of turtle content in the ocean and on the beach.
Whilst Hotel Lumi will be hard at work creating the world's first ethical turtle hatchery, selected staff will travel to East Kalimantan to Yayasan Penyu's busiest nesting site of green sea turtles to train to become certified nest relocators and turtle supervisors to gain knowledge, experience and troubleshooting whilst caring for the nests in the hatchery.
We are so excited that this is finally coming together and with YOUR help and support, we'll be launching next year to save the population of Gili sea turtles!
So remember, your valued donation isn't just helping the Gili turtles of today, but also for future generations to come. We thank you so much for supporting us on this journey into creating the worlds first ethical hatchery, and can't wait for it to be open so you can come and visit it for yourself!
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