2011:
Last year, I went on vacation to the island of Dominica, WI. Dominica is also known as "the Nature Island" and "the Water Island" and is full of adventures, including 365 rivers, mountain peaks of almost 5,000 ft. lush vegetation and some of the best diving in the world.
AND-they've got turtles! Leatherbacks are the most dominant species that nest there, however, hawksbills and green turtles nest there too. The Dominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organization Inc. (DomSeTCO), in collaboration with the Wider Caribbean SEa Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) coordinates the turtle work on the island. DomSeTCO runs the project as a community-based research and conservation project, by:
1) collecting scientific data through tagging individual turtles and protecting nests; and
2) enlisting local communities to be responsible for patrolling, collecting data, and conducting Turtle watching tours on the beaches to increase public awareness.
DomSeTCO, as many turtle projects, runs on a shoestring budget and is in desparate need of much gear. Such items include: raingear, waterproof boots/shoes, clipboards, 3-battery Mag lights, backpacks and headlamps. I am going down to Dominica in early November 2012 and am bringing as much gear as I can. If you'd like to donate, please send any items to our receiving office at:
Kris Williams
8804 Harmon Bluff
Savannah, GA 31406
Any monetary contributions can be made directly through the WIDECAST website, or send a check directly to the WIDECAST office at 1348 Rusticview Drive, Ballwin, MO 63011. The "memo" line MUST say DomSeTCO (or Dominica) so they know which specific project it's supporting.
2012:
Chris and I went back to Dominica in November and had a GREAT time working with Errol and Marcella Harris, the two biologists who run DomSeTCo! They invited us out to dive with Dive Dominica to catch subadult hawksbills underwater. We had great success and caught hawksbills on 3 of the 4 dives. The turtles were flipper tagged, measured and released on site. We are so thankful that they gave us the opportunity to work with them!
Errol and Marcella do fabulous work with so little funding. We were able to bring down some raingear,a Mag light and jackets. But we are planning on going back down again in November of 2012 and hope to bring much more gear. If there is any of the aforementioned gear that you would like to donate to DomSeTCo, please send it to me by mid-October and I'll be sure they get it!
