From teaching in San Diego to saving turtles in Baja - what a lifestyle change.
Submitted by administrator on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 21:12.
By: bajainsider.com
The beaches at Todos Santos are the nesting grounds for two endangered species of sea turtle.
Francesca Dvorak is 40 years old. Six years ago she taught full time junior high kids in San Diego. Now as well as being a busy mother she helps to run an Eco-Adventure company with her husband in addition to helping an essential sea turtle rescue group, Todos Tortugueros, A.C. in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, some 800 miles away.
Sarah Markworth found out more.
Francesca Dvorak explains the move. “I was a teacher in San Diego for 12 years and took my kids whale watching here in January, so I’ve always been interested in ecological issues. However, I never thought that I was going to become a sea turtle conservationist. The move was for the lifestyle change. I did not like what was happening in San Diego, the mortgage payments, the traffic jams and vast prices, so I came here, the rest has just evolved”
The beaches at Todos Santos are the nesting grounds for two endangered species of sea turtle, the Olive Ridley and the Leatherback turtle. Francesca’s husband Herman Agundez is the licensee of their low impact Eco-Adventure tour group, La Sirena and they offer an opportunity to ride with the technicians whilst they rescue turtle nests, they also donate10% of their profits to Todos Tortugueros, A.C.
But it wasn’t always this way as German reveals. “I was a fisherman, and at one point, before turtle fishing was illegal, I hunted them too. Three years ago, a friend of mine, Jorge Marquez, invited Francesca and I to help with him rescue the turtle nests on the beaches of Pescadero, I then realized the importance of their preservation. Now Jorge and I patrol the beaches here in Todos Santos throughout the entire nesting season”.
Yet rescuing the turtle nests is not that straightforward, he explains. “When we find a nest, we carefully dig out the eggs, count them and then place them in a bag of sand. They are then relocated to a fenced nesting site where they will be safe until the eggs hatch. We are very careful to ensure that we do not disturb the adult turtles. We will not approach until we see markings on the beach showing that the turtle has finished nesting. Once the eggs hatch we count the hatchlings and make sure they reach the ocean. Last year we protected 142 Olive Ridley nests and that is roughly 14,000 eggs. We also protected one leatherback nest.”
Francesca saw the conservation group develop quickly. “Many of us at Todos Tortugueros, A.C. were working for the Association for the Protection of the Environment and the Marine Turtle in Southern Baja, known as ASUPMATOMA, A.C. which is based in Cabo San Lucas. The ASUPMATOMA, A.C. group is so busy with their work in Cabo they encouraged us to form our own group. With their help we started our formation back in March and now we are legally independent.”
Funding for her group does not come from dependable private sources “Our group Todos Tortugueros, A.C. relies heavily on donations. We do not receive government funding and so rely on the foreign community. We were very lucky to receive two vehicles as donations, a Yamaha Rhino, donated by Greg Whittstock of the Marbella Suites in Los Cabos and a Polaris 500, donated by Chris Snell of Snell Real Estate also in Los Cabos. These enable us to undertake our beach patrols.
Franchesca reveals. “We also have a hatchling adoption scheme. The proceeds from this go directly to our gas fund. One adoption enables one of our vehicles to perform a night beach patrol”.
“We receive help from the Mexican population here in Todos Santos. Our Todos Tortugueros, A.C. President and Education Co-ordinator, Patricia Baum organizes beach clean ups, where locals bring their kids and get involved. Two years ago along with the help from biologists, Sinhue Murray and Roberto Rodriguez she organized a group called Future Biologists, this involved training 10 kids from the local junior high school, they monitored the nests in the vivero throughout the season and along with the participation of the community and international tourists helped to release the hatchlings into the ocean”.
Francesca also won the support from the fishing community “If we can supply the gas the local fisherman will take the tourists out to observe the turtles in the wild. We show that tourists want to come and see the sea turtles and by keeping the turtles alive an income can be provided for the entire town”.
Little did Francesca know that in a mere six years since her dramatic life changing choice her work would become essential to the welfare and safety of endangered sea turtles in a place so far away from her original home.
Francesca reveals that the move was the right decision. “It has been hard at times, but I love my work here, I really do”.
However, more needs to be done. Francesca and her group stress the importance of the coastline to the endangered sea turtles. She reveals ways that we can all help to protect the sea turtles nesting grounds.
- Never drive on the beach
- Never leave trash on the beach
- Never make fires on the beach (the glow inhibits nesting)
- Don't shine flashlights in the face of a nesting sea turtle
- Turn off exterior lighting if you live in towns near nesting beaches
- Stay at a distance of at least 10 feet from nesting turtles unless a trained guide directs you
- Support the local economy and reduce the need for poaching
- Donate to conservation programs such as Todos Tortugueros, A.C.
- Support fishermen who fish with lines and hooks as opposed to nets
- Don’t build homes on the fragile dunes
- Make sure your construction waste is properly disposed of
- Never buy turtle meat or eggs
- Reduce your carbon footprint by walking, cycling, or sharing a ride
- Participate in Eco-Tourism programs such as La Sirena Eco-Adventures who minimize impact, contribute to conservation programs, and provide jobs for locals
Submitted by administrator on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 21:12.
By: bajainsider.com
The beaches at Todos Santos are the nesting grounds for two endangered species of sea turtle.
Francesca Dvorak is 40 years old. Six years ago she taught full time junior high kids in San Diego. Now as well as being a busy mother she helps to run an Eco-Adventure company with her husband in addition to helping an essential sea turtle rescue group, Todos Tortugueros, A.C. in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, some 800 miles away.
Sarah Markworth found out more.
Francesca Dvorak explains the move. “I was a teacher in San Diego for 12 years and took my kids whale watching here in January, so I’ve always been interested in ecological issues. However, I never thought that I was going to become a sea turtle conservationist. The move was for the lifestyle change. I did not like what was happening in San Diego, the mortgage payments, the traffic jams and vast prices, so I came here, the rest has just evolved”
The beaches at Todos Santos are the nesting grounds for two endangered species of sea turtle, the Olive Ridley and the Leatherback turtle. Francesca’s husband Herman Agundez is the licensee of their low impact Eco-Adventure tour group, La Sirena and they offer an opportunity to ride with the technicians whilst they rescue turtle nests, they also donate10% of their profits to Todos Tortugueros, A.C.
But it wasn’t always this way as German reveals. “I was a fisherman, and at one point, before turtle fishing was illegal, I hunted them too. Three years ago, a friend of mine, Jorge Marquez, invited Francesca and I to help with him rescue the turtle nests on the beaches of Pescadero, I then realized the importance of their preservation. Now Jorge and I patrol the beaches here in Todos Santos throughout the entire nesting season”.
Yet rescuing the turtle nests is not that straightforward, he explains. “When we find a nest, we carefully dig out the eggs, count them and then place them in a bag of sand. They are then relocated to a fenced nesting site where they will be safe until the eggs hatch. We are very careful to ensure that we do not disturb the adult turtles. We will not approach until we see markings on the beach showing that the turtle has finished nesting. Once the eggs hatch we count the hatchlings and make sure they reach the ocean. Last year we protected 142 Olive Ridley nests and that is roughly 14,000 eggs. We also protected one leatherback nest.”
Francesca saw the conservation group develop quickly. “Many of us at Todos Tortugueros, A.C. were working for the Association for the Protection of the Environment and the Marine Turtle in Southern Baja, known as ASUPMATOMA, A.C. which is based in Cabo San Lucas. The ASUPMATOMA, A.C. group is so busy with their work in Cabo they encouraged us to form our own group. With their help we started our formation back in March and now we are legally independent.”
Funding for her group does not come from dependable private sources “Our group Todos Tortugueros, A.C. relies heavily on donations. We do not receive government funding and so rely on the foreign community. We were very lucky to receive two vehicles as donations, a Yamaha Rhino, donated by Greg Whittstock of the Marbella Suites in Los Cabos and a Polaris 500, donated by Chris Snell of Snell Real Estate also in Los Cabos. These enable us to undertake our beach patrols.
Franchesca reveals. “We also have a hatchling adoption scheme. The proceeds from this go directly to our gas fund. One adoption enables one of our vehicles to perform a night beach patrol”.
“We receive help from the Mexican population here in Todos Santos. Our Todos Tortugueros, A.C. President and Education Co-ordinator, Patricia Baum organizes beach clean ups, where locals bring their kids and get involved. Two years ago along with the help from biologists, Sinhue Murray and Roberto Rodriguez she organized a group called Future Biologists, this involved training 10 kids from the local junior high school, they monitored the nests in the vivero throughout the season and along with the participation of the community and international tourists helped to release the hatchlings into the ocean”.
Francesca also won the support from the fishing community “If we can supply the gas the local fisherman will take the tourists out to observe the turtles in the wild. We show that tourists want to come and see the sea turtles and by keeping the turtles alive an income can be provided for the entire town”.
Little did Francesca know that in a mere six years since her dramatic life changing choice her work would become essential to the welfare and safety of endangered sea turtles in a place so far away from her original home.
Francesca reveals that the move was the right decision. “It has been hard at times, but I love my work here, I really do”.
However, more needs to be done. Francesca and her group stress the importance of the coastline to the endangered sea turtles. She reveals ways that we can all help to protect the sea turtles nesting grounds.
- Never drive on the beach
- Never leave trash on the beach
- Never make fires on the beach (the glow inhibits nesting)
- Don't shine flashlights in the face of a nesting sea turtle
- Turn off exterior lighting if you live in towns near nesting beaches
- Stay at a distance of at least 10 feet from nesting turtles unless a trained guide directs you
- Support the local economy and reduce the need for poaching
- Donate to conservation programs such as Todos Tortugueros, A.C.
- Support fishermen who fish with lines and hooks as opposed to nets
- Don’t build homes on the fragile dunes
- Make sure your construction waste is properly disposed of
- Never buy turtle meat or eggs
- Reduce your carbon footprint by walking, cycling, or sharing a ride
- Participate in Eco-Tourism programs such as La Sirena Eco-Adventures who minimize impact, contribute to conservation programs, and provide jobs for locals