Sea turtle hatchlings follow the brightest light

This bittersweet story of a romantic marriage proposal with unintended consequences for marine life, is a good illustration of why Paso Pacifico Turtle Rangers have custom-designed red lights on their solar FLAP bags from the Portable Light Project.

A romantic marriage proposal on a Hilton Head Island beach Tuesday night had an unintended consequence -- the death of about 60 federally protected loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings.

A man had placed about 150 luminarias -- bags with a lit candle inside -- in the shape of a heart on the beach near Palmetto Dunes, according to volunteers with the Sea Turtle Project who monitor the nests.

After the proposal, the visiting couple apparently retired to their rental home without extinguishing the lights. An estimated 60 baby sea turtles emerged from a nearby nest a short time later and became disoriented.

Story via Ocean Sentry.

Saturday's Successful Coastal Cleanup

Volunteers hard at work in Ostional

Starting early in the morning, thousands of volunteers joined us in our efforts to protectNicaragua's waterways for the International Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual event organized by the Ocean Conservancy. Our volunteers worked along the coast from San Juan del Sur to Ostional, and up the riverbanks to Escameca.

Coastal cleanup includes our river banks.
These kids are lending a hand in Escameca.

This event serves several purposes. First of all, of course, we picked up garbage off the beaches and riverbanks. Secondly, we conducted a careful survey to allow greater understanding of current pollution patterns. This data will help us combat marine pollution in the future. Additionally, this event helped raise awareness as members of the community came together to tackle the problem of pollution.

As the event drew to a close, Paso Pacifico's National Director, Liza Gonzalez, thanked everyone involved:

“Paso Pacífico agradece a todos y todas las pesonas que de una u otra manera han puesto, un poco de su esfuerzo para hacer realidad este sueño, de ver una Nicaragua más limpia y más responsable con el medio ambiente."

Thank you, everyone, for helping us realize our dream of a cleaner, more environmentally responsible Nicaragua.

Midway Journey

The MIDWAY media project is a powerful visual journey into the heart of an astonishingly symbolic environmental tragedy.

The Midway Trash-a-Thon illustrates the importance of cleaning up our waterways.

Watch this video of two members of the Midway Journey project rummaging through a huge pile of garbage. It looks like they could be at a municipal dump, but they're just sitting among garbage collected on the beaches of the tiny, remote Midway Island, surrounded by thousands of miles of open ocean.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is September 19th.

September 19th: Get Read to Cleanup the Coastline

“Limpieza Internacional de Costas”

Nicaragua 2009

PROGRAMA

6:00a.m. - Salida de Managua

9:00 a.m. Llegada a San Juan del Sur

9:30ª.m. Palabras de apertura y agradecimiento Alcalde de la Municipalidad de San Juan del Sur, Jorge Sánchez.

9:45ª.m. Palabras de Liza González, Directora Nacional de Paso Pacífico.

10:00 Acto Cultural a cargo del grupo Folclórico de San Juan del Sur.

12:30p.m Almuerzo

3:00p.m. Cierre de Campaña Limpieza Internacional de Costas: Nicaragua 2009.

4:00p.m. Retorno a Managua

Noche Tropical

Event to benefit Central American forests, wildlife

Noche Tropical
September 11th
Brooks Restaurant
Ventura, CA

We're in the news at the Ventura County Star:

Local wines, a Latin-inspired meal and stories from the tropics will highlight Noche Tropical, a fundraiser benefiting the wildlife and forests of Central America on Thursday at BROOKS Restaurant in Ventura. 

“This fundraiser was inspired by realizing that there are members of the local community who care deeply about the rainforests and wildlife of Central America; these include local business owners who have generously donated to support our silent auction, and, of course, Restaurant BROOKS,” said Sarah Otterstrom, founder and executive director of Paso Pacifico, a Ventura-based nonprofit dedicated to conserving and restoring tropical forests and wildlife along Central America’s Pacific Coast.

For more information or to buy tickets: PasoPacifico.org/NocheTropical

Clinton Global Initiative

We look forward to attending the Clinton Global Initiative later this month where we'll be recognized for our work empowering women and supporting sustainable agriculture.

A relatively young organization founded by women, we launched our environmental programs in communities throughout the Rivas province of Nicaragua, with no thought for the gender of our participants. Over time it has become apparent that the success of Paso Pacifico's projects hinges on the generous participation and concentrated effort of the women in various communities where we work. 

For example, for two years Paso Pacifico has worked to mitigate climate-change by planting over a quarter of a million native trees. Tree nurseries were established by the community at large, but it was the women who developed techniques to germinate the seeds of rare trees, continuously weeded the seedlings, and who carefully planted the trees to avoid root damage. This reduction in greenhouse gases is the direct result of the actions of women.

Last year, Paso Pacifico initiated a program to train rural community tour guides. When the program began, the young women in the group lacked the confidence to speak publicly, but over time they proved to be more active in training activities than their male counterparts. Today, the young women are excellent guides and are poised to build a successful eco-tourism business. Other rural women who own fledgling eco-tourism businesses such as hostels, private reserves, and restaurants are also eager to strengthen their entrepenuerial skills. 

Paso Pacifico also provides training and materials for gardens that include fruit trees and diverse vegetable crops. Women have been the ones to take advantage of these efforts and have been successful enough that there is now an opportunity for excess crops to be sold for profit. Empowering women to earn income from sustainable agriculture will ensure benefits for the environment and communities.

To leverage our resources and ensure the continued success of our mission, we have begun to shift our focus to directly benefit women and strengthen their role in our programs. We have also begun to raise awareness that organizations and movements, at multiple political and social scales, benefit from the leadership and dedicated work of women.

As stewards of scarce natural resources, educators of a globally-conscious generation, and entrepreneurs driving local business, the women of rural Nicaragua play a pivotal role in the future of their region. We strengthen Nicaraguan women and girls as leaders in environmental sustainability by introducing new technology and market-based approaches in resource protection and sustainable development. We also build capacity through education and training in sustainable tourism, resource management, and organizational leadership.

Partners in Conservation Education

We're pleased to be joining forces with the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Leon (UNAN-Leon) in Nicaragua. We'll be working together to do conservation work, conduct research, and provide internship opportunities for students.

To celebrate our new partnership, they're joining us to help coordinate Nicaragua's 2nd annual International Coastal Cleanup Day, covering 12 km of beaches along the Pacific coast.

September 4: Media Event for Nicaragua's 2nd Annual Coastal Cleanup

September 4th, 2009
10:00 am
Restaurant Cafe El Garabato

An invitation for members of the press to learn about Nicaragua's participation in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, co-sponsored by MARENA and the Ocean Conservancy.

Cleanup day activities will take place along 12 Km of Nicaragua's Pacific coastline on September 19th.