Living on the Beach is a privilege I enjoy on days like today.  I get to chat with great people. I also get to create some awareness on some issues that impact tourists and residents alike.

I woke up and started walking my dog. I had a chat with my friend Juan Luis who is on the beach serving tourists from the hotel next door. Juan is always oriented towards serving others and keeping good relationships with those around him.

On my trip back from walking my four-legged son Juanga, I found three volunteers setting up a fence. The fence is to protect the Leatherback Sea Turtle nest known in Spanish as a “Nido del Tinglar”.

I stopped and snapped a few pictures of them. I approached them to ask for permission to publish the pictures on my blog and they said it was ok.

Isla Verde’s Environment Super Heroes

Annette, Diego, and Edwin were donating part of their Sunday morning to the environment. As they were prodding away to make sure they had the whole nest secure.

I asked questions and learned some interesting facts about the sea turtle nests.

The Turtle Nest Decoy

Sea Turtles set up two nests. One which is a decoy and the other one is the nest containing the eggs. I guess the decoy is to protect the eggs from predators. It makes a potential predator work a lot harder to reach the eggs (who knew turtles had a risk management perspective).

As I stood there, others gathered around to see the hard work these volunteers were putting in under the sun.

Disconnect Between Actions and Wishes

It was also interesting to see beach goers set up next to the nest with a bunch of junk. With the rations and things they brought with them, they would survive for a full week on the beach.

They were so excited to see the Sea Turtle nest, but the impact they will leave in just one beach day, is working against the well being of the sea turtles and other marine life. With the windy conditions on the beach today, many of plastic disposable bags can easily blow away from beach goers and into the sea.

These folks want mother nature to live but the actions they take slowly take life away from Mother Earth and our resources.

Good and Bad News

The good news is we have a new sea turtle nest. The bad news is that the Sea Turtle set up in the most crowded and contaminated area of the beach. The same area that was left a disaster during the Fourth of July.

The 4th of July is that Nest’s Biggest Enemy

I only hope that those who come to the beach have respect for Mother Nature. Sadly the agency in charge (DRNA) of protecting the beach does not react quickly or at all to the violations hurting the environment. Even when citizens like me inform them of folks violating the law, they rather sit under a tent.

It is up to you and me

Since we can’t count on el Departamento de Recursos Naturales I ask you to share the images of the hard work Diego, Edwin, and Annette put in to protect our natural resources.

Volunteers work hard to increase the probability of those turtles hatching; let’s give them a hand. We can start by asking our leaders to put pressure on the leader of the DRNA agency to provide the resources needed.

I want to see those and many more sea turtles hatch. I will be on full alert and will do my best to document the full process.

What else can we do in Puerto Rico to enforce our environmental laws?

What group of politicians and citizens will join to make sure things that rules that should be common sense are enforced?

PS: This is just some of the trash left behind yesterday on the beach. When the DRNA is promoting the beaches are being left cleaner the reality is that on a slow day like yesterday this much trash is only part of what is left on the beach.