No doubt you’ve seen a lot of information lately on the problem of plastic debris – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – marine animals becoming entangled in discarded plastic – and our sea turtles dying from eating plastic, which they have mistaken for food. The problem is real. The only way to slow it is to be more careful about what gets into waterbodies and eventually into the ocean. At times, problems like these can seem insurmountable, but there are little things that we each can do – that balloon that you picked up won’t end up wrapped around a seabird and that plastic bag you snagged right before it blew into the ocean won’t be mistaken for a jellyfish by our leatherback sea turtles. Small actions can make a big difference to marine animals.
So today, we have A CHALLENGE for you! As you are out and about, and you happen to see plastic about to get into a waterbody, simply pick it up and take a picture of it (or you holding it!) and post it to our comments on our Facebook page. At the end of our Twelve Days of Turtles (on 10 December), we will choose one of the photos (a random drawing of names) and send you a project t-shirt as our thanks for helping turtles and other marine life! Take the plastic challenge with us!
The St. Croix Leatherback Project is supported by the Sea Turtle Census Initiative, which is sponsored by The Ocean Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) organization, based in Washington, D.C., but working globally to protect our oceans.
The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project 