Matura Beach, Trinidad and Tobago.
Picture a beach from google images or from a movie. Perfectly untouched sand, besides the bit between your toes, meeting deep blue rolling waves that almost reach your feet. The palm trees are bent towards the ocean, sloping upwards the closer the palm gets to the water. Almost as if someone had been relaxing on the tree, kicking their feet up, while it slowly grew. The absence of hotels, shops, and human activity for as far as the eye can see. The lush forest grows right up until the sand starts, and coconuts scattered along the shoreline. As a slight breeze cools you down from the glaring sun, you wonder whether or not you're in a dream. I came to the conclusion I had to be in a dream before I broke my bliss by glancing down to find the beach was actually completely littered with plastic and trash. Toothbrushes, tampon applicators, microplastics, straws, fishing line, plastic bags, etc. The more I looked, the more I saw. The first feeling of disbelief I had was about how beautiful the beach was, I didn't think it was real. The second feeling of disbelief I had was realizing that it - the beach and plastic presence - was real. I had never seen so much trash uncared for, let alone in such a beautiful place. I grew up in a suburb of Seattle, where I knew how to not only recycle, but compost since an elementary school age. I had figured the rest of the world was just as aware and taking actions to make a greener city, town, state, and environment around them.
I spent the next two weeks as an EarthWatch volunteer for the local organization, Nature Seekers. A small, conservation group that works tirelessly to protect the native Leatherback Sea Turtles from poachers, predators, and the negative impacts of the fishing industry. Not much is known about the populations, since only the females will approach the beach in order to make a nest and lay their eggs. To get a better idea of migration patterns, each female is marked with a small, metal ID tag on their back, left flipper as well as an implant tracker in their left shoulder. While laying eggs, Leatherback Sea Turtles enter a trance-like state, where bright lights and physical touch do not bother them. While this makes for a perfect time to tag the animals, this also has made them extremely vulnerable to poachers and other predators.
My team was tasked with patrolling a section of the beach for several hours of the night, looking for female turtles that had come ashore to nest. The first time I saw a mother turtle I was again, in disbelief. Leatherback Sea Turtles grow to around 6-7 feet long and weigh around 1,000 pounds. This dinosaur of a turtle started to escape the crashing waves (at a snail's pace), only to start battling the trash and plastic that covered nearly every inch of the beach. Once settled and laying eggs, I was supposed to implant the tracking device into the mother's shoulder. My heart started pumping faster as I kneeled down next to the turtle, with her head next to my knees. A guide from Nature Seekers was helping me aim for a softer spot in between the tough plates of skin, lining up my injection needle that held the tracker. So focused on getting the technical part of the device correct, I had forgotten to pay attention to the mother. She let out a large breath right as my needle broke her skin that startled me so badly I fell back and I felt like my heart had skipped a couple of beats. I dropped the needle before the tracker could be injected, which caused the mother's skin to bleed and run down her shoulder. Shaking, I quickly fixed my mistake before she finished laying her eggs.
Still shaking, I handed the device back to the Nature Seeker guide and sat down on a nearby log. I immediately started crying, not because I was scared or upset, but because from that exact moment on I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Which of course sounds cliche, but that is what I believed (and still do believe) in that moment. In the pitch black with a red light headlamp, sweating from the humidity of the Caribbean, eaten alive by mosquitos, exhausted from staying up until 2 am every night, walking miles along the beach, I knew this was it. Because this work mattered, what we were doing mattered to not only this one turtle, but to the entire population of turtles and the nest of eggs that would hatch that same summer. This massive creature whose species has been around for 110 million years, survived every disaster, and beaten out the dinosaurs for existence is struggling because in the last 100 years, its populations have been targeted by humans to the point of near endangerment.
Out of all the moments in my life, this was the biggest. Every moment following has been reaffirming what this moment told me. I knew I had the power to make an impact, to leave this world better than the way I found it, to actually give back in a positively influential way. And if I know I have this ability, the skills, and the will to make a difference, is it ethical for me not to? In 2013, on the breath-taking beaches of Trinidad and Tobago, I found a purpose I knew I could give myself entirely to. And there is no better feeling than knowing what you do matters. The legacy you have the choice to create matters the most, and with the limited time this life has, I knew I couldn't waste a minute of it.
I spent the next two weeks as an EarthWatch volunteer for the local organization, Nature Seekers. A small, conservation group that works tirelessly to protect the native Leatherback Sea Turtles from poachers, predators, and the negative impacts of the fishing industry. Not much is known about the populations, since only the females will approach the beach in order to make a nest and lay their eggs. To get a better idea of migration patterns, each female is marked with a small, metal ID tag on their back, left flipper as well as an implant tracker in their left shoulder. While laying eggs, Leatherback Sea Turtles enter a trance-like state, where bright lights and physical touch do not bother them. While this makes for a perfect time to tag the animals, this also has made them extremely vulnerable to poachers and other predators.
My team was tasked with patrolling a section of the beach for several hours of the night, looking for female turtles that had come ashore to nest. The first time I saw a mother turtle I was again, in disbelief. Leatherback Sea Turtles grow to around 6-7 feet long and weigh around 1,000 pounds. This dinosaur of a turtle started to escape the crashing waves (at a snail's pace), only to start battling the trash and plastic that covered nearly every inch of the beach. Once settled and laying eggs, I was supposed to implant the tracking device into the mother's shoulder. My heart started pumping faster as I kneeled down next to the turtle, with her head next to my knees. A guide from Nature Seekers was helping me aim for a softer spot in between the tough plates of skin, lining up my injection needle that held the tracker. So focused on getting the technical part of the device correct, I had forgotten to pay attention to the mother. She let out a large breath right as my needle broke her skin that startled me so badly I fell back and I felt like my heart had skipped a couple of beats. I dropped the needle before the tracker could be injected, which caused the mother's skin to bleed and run down her shoulder. Shaking, I quickly fixed my mistake before she finished laying her eggs.
Still shaking, I handed the device back to the Nature Seeker guide and sat down on a nearby log. I immediately started crying, not because I was scared or upset, but because from that exact moment on I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Which of course sounds cliche, but that is what I believed (and still do believe) in that moment. In the pitch black with a red light headlamp, sweating from the humidity of the Caribbean, eaten alive by mosquitos, exhausted from staying up until 2 am every night, walking miles along the beach, I knew this was it. Because this work mattered, what we were doing mattered to not only this one turtle, but to the entire population of turtles and the nest of eggs that would hatch that same summer. This massive creature whose species has been around for 110 million years, survived every disaster, and beaten out the dinosaurs for existence is struggling because in the last 100 years, its populations have been targeted by humans to the point of near endangerment.
Out of all the moments in my life, this was the biggest. Every moment following has been reaffirming what this moment told me. I knew I had the power to make an impact, to leave this world better than the way I found it, to actually give back in a positively influential way. And if I know I have this ability, the skills, and the will to make a difference, is it ethical for me not to? In 2013, on the breath-taking beaches of Trinidad and Tobago, I found a purpose I knew I could give myself entirely to. And there is no better feeling than knowing what you do matters. The legacy you have the choice to create matters the most, and with the limited time this life has, I knew I couldn't waste a minute of it.
Thank you, Gretel von Bargen. You made this story possible, and I have no doubt there are many others similar to mine from the many trips you've lead. I am constantly in awe of the amount of dedication in your pursuit of education. My life, and many others, is better because of it. Cheers to you!
http://www.biologyforlife.com/trinidad-2013.html
http://www.biologyforlife.com/trinidad-2013.html
Cover photo by: Curtis Creager, co-leader of the volunteer team.
Consider giving time, support, and/or donations to this outstanding organization!
Nature Seekers: www.natureseekers.org/
Nature Seekers: www.natureseekers.org/