Stanley Rodriguez Mendez has worked in the area of turtle conservation for 15 years. He was instrumental in founding Estación Las Tortugas, a project to help protect sea turtle nesting sites on the Atlantic (Caribbean) coast of Costa Rica. Due to the severe drop in turtle populations this past year, EcoTeach has lost no time in underwriting beach patrols to guard against poaching. Until this year, the three kilometer stretch of beach at Estación Las Tortugas was 100% poached. Through our joint efforts we have now brought this down to 30-40%. It is estimated that 50,000 turtle eggs will be saved by the efforts of our beach patrols.

We believe that education in the local communities — as well as for visitors to the area — is critical to long term sustainable economic support for these rural coastal areas. Funding for education in environmental sciences is nearly nonexistent, even though interest in these areas is great. The EcoTeach Foundation is working with Stanley to provide:

• curriculum development,
• educational materials, and
• volunteers to build an Educational Center for the benefit of local school children and visiting students. Follow the link above to learn more about the fundraising and construction progress of Las Siete Quillas, the new education center at Stanleys.