April showers

A big hello from all of us here at Akazul. We are back on top of blog posts and hope to be bringing more regular news throughout the coming season.

Results from 2011

Firstly, we are pleased to share some of our results from the 2011 nesting season. A total of 1119 nests were laid on the 7.5km beach which Akazul monitor and we managed to tag 192 of these nesting turtles (191 x olive ridley and 1 x green turtle). A total of 17,608 eggs were buried in the hatchery; 5376 of which were donations, 6115 were collected directly off egg harvesters on the beach during patrols, 1764 were bought through the sponsor a nest program and finally 4353 were found by Akazul staff and volunteers. Once again we extend our gratitude to all of the people who have been involved in supporting the project throughout last year, from the volunteers (both local and international) to donators to the sponsor a nest program. There are too many generous people for us to thank individually, but we could not have done it without you!

Local sea turtle steward group training to tag

Ever - Akazul's first local volunteer

Ever has been a truly dedicated and inspirational local volunteer who has been an amazing contribution to the Akazul team over the last 12 months. He was the first local sea turtle steward to go out on the beach and collect donations from egg harvesters and his leading example encouraged other community members to become involved with the project. Ever has been given the opportunity to gain sea turtle experience outside of Guatemala and will soon be travelling to Panama to carry out a 6 week placement with the Endangered Wildlife Trust. This will further develop Ever’s skills and knowledge on sea turtle conservation and broaden his horizons to the practices of other projects. We wish him the best of luck with his travels and look forward to working with him again in La Barrona.

2012 Volunteer Co-ordinator

We are pleased to welcome a new edition to this year's Akazul team.Tom RIggall will be working with us this year as the Volunteer Co-ordinator in La Barrona. Tom, first began working with sea turtles in Greece back in 1999 and has led ARCHELON’s project in Kyparissia (second most important breeding area for loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean) for several years, as well as assisted with an in-water capture study in Amvrakikos Bay. Tom will bring a wealth of experience to the team and Akazul is very much looking forward to working with him this season.

Funding

As most of you will be aware Akazul practically runs on a shoe string. All of the dedicated staff and volunteers work for free and it is amazing what has been achieved in such a short space of time with such limited funds. As ever, we could use everyone’s help...we have put together a list of projects and their associated costs and equipment needed and invite any interested parties to get in touch if they would like to be involved in either fundraising or supporting specific projects due to start in the 2012 season. For more information contact admin@akazul.org.  

Kids Environmental Education Class - 

one of the initiatives that Akazul need help finding funding for

That's the latest news from Akazul, please visit again soon!

Abrazos

Akazul xx