Saving sea turtles is the responsibility of the entire community, including youth. -Photo by Erik Cutter

During the past year, the Grupo Tortuguero has successfully expanded its reach throughout the communities of the Baja California peninsula, mainland Mexico and the world. The Grupo Tortuguero’s community-based teams have worked together to gather data that proves that the waters surrounding the peninsula are a sea turtle hotspot of global importance. More importantly, these community members have taken on the role of conservation ambassadors, promoting environmental awareness and creating a sense of pride within their communities. They have inspired youth and adults alike to actively participate in conservation programs as well as create their own conservation projects. The 2007 Annual Meeting of the Grupo Tortuguero will highlight the important role everyone plays in sea turtle conservation. We will release our 5-year monitoring report, presenting the results of our years of monitoring sea turtle populations throughout the peninsula, as well as the results of our education and outreach programs, community conservation programs, and international exchanges. To register for the meeting, visit www.grupotortuguero.org. To join our community by becoming a meeting sponsor, visit www.propeninsula.org/gt.

Additionally, this meeting will be the precursor to our 10th Annual Meeting, to be held in conjunction with the International Sea Turtle Symposium in 2008! All eyes will be on the Grupo Tortuguero in the upcoming years, and these meetings will give our community members the opportunity to shine.

Of course the 3rd Annual Encuentro para Niños y Jóvenes de las Californias para la Conservación de la Tortuga Marina will be held along with the annual meeting, giving youth from the peninsula and beyond the chance to learn about their important role in the future of the world’s sea turtles.

We hope you can join us at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Grupo Tortuguero and 3rd Annual Encuentro para Niños y Jóvenes on January 26-28, 2007 in Loreto, BCS, Mexico. We also hope you will join us to support these vital meetings by sponsoring the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Grupo Tortuguero and pledging matching support for the 2008 10th Annual Meeting. It is our goal to make the next two meetings the most important in our history, and we need your help to do it!

Together we are creating a powerful sea turtle conservation community in Mexico and beyond!

On Saturday November 11th, the Environmental Education Council for the Californias will hold a Binational Environmental Education Fair that will inspire organizations, educators, institutions and individuals throughout the region to use environmental education as a tool for conservation in their communities. The event will offer professional development opportunities, a forum to share information on binational education programs, strategies and tools, as well as an occasion to socialize and network. This event will be held at the Tijuana campus of CETYS Universidad and is open to all interested in environmental education in the Californias. Registration is $20.00 U.S. and includes a continental breakfast and lunch, as well as roundtable discussions, a speech by the renowned Dr. Exequiel Ezcurra and a free wine tasting, courtesy of Barón Blach’e. Register today at www.eecc.net/horizon and please share this information with others in the region! We look forward to seeing all of you there!

Join us to share your projects, learn from your peers, and enjoy good food, wine and a raffle!

Kids around the world will learn aobut their important role in the future of sea turtles!

Ocean Connectors encourages youth to think globally and act locally by introducing youngsters from around the world to the the threats sea turtles face as well as generating understanding of students' local impact on ocean environments. The program enables youth to express their views and concerns, and demonstrates that their daily actions can make a difference. Last year, close to 600 students from La Paz, Baja California Sur and San Diego, CA, became Ocean Connectors, gaining awareness of sea turltes, their extensive migrations and how all of us can work to save them. This year Pro Peninsula kicks off Ocean Connectors by expanding its horizons to include students from Japan!

Presentations will begin in late October with a new group of 5th and 6th graders in La Paz, BCS. Newly informed and motivated, these students will send letters and artwork about sea turtles to students in San Diego. These San Diego students, after receiving their own presentation on the green sea turtles residing in San Diego Bay, will reply to their newfound Mexican pen pals, sharing all they have learned.

Additionally, Japanese students from the small fishing community of Muroto will receive letters about the loggerhead sea turtles from students in Lopez Mateos, BCS. Amazingly, these adult loggerhead turtles begin as hatchlings in Japan, undertaking a 7,500 mile migration to Mexican waters, where they spend the next 30 years feeding until returning to nest in Japan. This exchange between Mexican and Japanese students will give these youth their first and perhaps only experience of each others cultures! They will learn that while they are worlds apart, they all play an integral role in loggerhead sea turtle conservation.

Please support Ocean Connectors with a donation to Pro Peninsula. A gift of only $30 will support the participation of 1 child in this amazing program. Stay tuned for updates in our next e-bulletin!

One of the most recognizable sea turtle conservationists in the municipality of Los Cabos, Pedro Márquez Almanza inherited much of his work from the “Grandfather” of Baja California’s sea turtles, Don Manuel Orantes. Don Manuel was known as a loving and dedicated protector of the sea turtles, and he was very particular about who he invited to work with these mysterious creatures. But from the start, he sought Pedro out and was happy and willing to take him under his wing. Born in San José del Cabo, Pedro began his sea turtle work on his own, patrolling the beach in front of his house looking for sea turtles and protecting their nests. One day, Don Manuel showed up in Pedro's village looking for the "guy who works with sea turtles." Pedro's first thought was that he was in trouble, knowing that sea turtles are protected and it is illegal to disturb them or their nests without permits. To Pedro's surprise, Don Manuel was coming to reward him for his dedication and hard work, asking him to join his conservation team.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, we can all do something for them, we just have to give it our all."

Pedro volunteered for a full year, walking up to 18 miles each night searching for turtle nests along his local beaches. At the end of that year Don Manuel’s life sadly came to an end, but not before he was able to pass his legacy on to Pedro. Pedro’s dedication and enthusiasm, not to mention his appreciation for sea turtles, was evident and the authorities of the municipality of Los Cabos hired him as the head Field Coordinator for their Sea Turtle Protection Program.

Now 35, Pedro continues his tireless efforts to protect the nesting beaches he grew up on, and the sea turtles that inspired him to become a conservationist. "The most important anecdote [in my work with sea turtles] was the time I found my first leatherback turtle, and saw it come ashore. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing under the moonlight that night. To see such an enormous creature emerge from the sea; it made my jaw drop. To have touched it, see its massive head and shell. It was a once in a life time experience that has never been repeated in all my work as a tortuguero choyero.*"

*Natives of Baja California Sur are often referred to as choyeros, after one of the state's native plants, the Choya. A ‘tortuguero’ is someone who works with sea turtles.