By the end of September, we had recorded over 921 nests; 357 were placed within our box nursery, 359 nests were left on the beach in better locations, and 25 were taken by poachers.
The new weekly Friday sunset hatchling releases in front of the Beach Club and Las Olas community have turned out to be a large success. The releases are organized by volunteers Elvia Garcia, Odette Brunel, Susana Ayón, and Blanca G. (See images below)
We also hosted a turtle scouts’ event at the nursery. Roughly 70 scouts and leaders from near and far attended the event coordinated by Luis Navarro, Nick Sanders, and Jessica Schmidt. The scouts even had special T-shirts made just for the day. Everyone had a wonderful time learning about turtles, with a sunset hatchling release as the finale. The experience was run by Elvia, Odette, Susana, Nick, and Christian Garcia, with the other turtle volunteers helping as support crew for the day. It was a wonderful educational outreach opportunity that we are grateful to have been a part of. All the attendees took home our newly available turtle stickers and word searches as a parting gift. (See image below)
We still have two apartments for rent from December to May. Each apartment is furnished, with all utilities paid, including high-speed fiber optic internet and all appliances. They are located in a relatively quiet area of San Pancho. The prices range from 1,050 to 1,150 dollars a month.
We are having a serious problem trying to release thousands of hatchlings along our local beaches due to excessive light from several homeowners. We will try to contact each homeowner to obtain their support in reducing outside lights. Here’s a thought and an excellent way to make your backyard or restaurant look more attractive. Marine turtles and hatchlings cannot see the colors of amber, red, orange, or dark yellow. These colors would enhance your yard and make it more attractive.
Also, please We still have the Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest program; it’s a great gift opportunity for the turtle or nature lover in your life! For more information on the program, go to the following link: Adopt-A-Nest It will also help us reach our fundraising goals! Exciting news for all our donors: Grupo Ecológico has applied for charity status with the IRS in the USA and has partnered with an existing US charity, Travler.org. Starting now, your donations to Grupo Ecológico can be tax-deductible in the US! We can also offer US corporations and foundations tax exemption on their grants and contributions to Grupo Ecológico. We are waiting for the IRS to approve our own charity status, which may take several months. But now, you can still take a tax deduction for your donations to us by making them through Travler, a US charity that has supported Grupo Ecológico for several years. Click on this link to make a tax-deductible contribution to Grupo Eco.
September volunteers and staff: Steve Raschke, Elvia Garcia, Jessica Hiller, Christian Garcia, Karen Sorum and Hallie Loveridge, Nick Sanders, Colton Dillon, Odette Brunel, Taylor Kimbell, Aimee Ward, Dionna Buttler, Ryan and Acacia Zapisocki, Trinity Niko and Niko Noble, Susana Ayón, Deanna Covington, and Blanca G. If you or someone you know is interested in helping protect marine turtles, join us by going to our Volunteer application page, and please spread the word about our volunteering opportunity.
Weather-wise: September daytime temperatures range in the high 80° to very low 90°, while nighttime temps were mid to high-70°. July rainfall was 9.50 inches, and for the year it was 31.39 inches. Unfortunately, there is no help from the constant stream of tropical systems passing below San Pancho.
We value your donations and appreciate your badly needed help. In September, we received donations from: Angie Dean, Jennifer Nelsen, Susan Stephens, Amy Acevedo, Laura Hollingbery, Laura Ransom, and the Kaui’s. Our working capital is at an all-time low, perhaps due to two years of hyperinflation, but prices in México have also increased, and we can’t keep up. To make matters worse the Can-Am’s fuel pump has to be replaced, including labor and a new back break disc for 17,000 pesos Please help us if you can by contributing at our PayPal link.