Our Year 4 Flamingo class quite literally dived into the world of the sea turtle, joining Jackie Walker from Amanyara Nature Discovery Centre, and Amy Avenant and Katharine Hart from DEMA at Coral Gardens for an educational visit to witness first-hand how sea turtles are tagged in the TCI.
On arrival at Coral Gardens the children were greeted by Amy, Katharine and Jackie with a beautiful 5-8 year old Green Sea Turtle. Being able to take a really close-up look at it was an amazing learning opportunity. The children then received a fantastic and inspirational talk about how these Green Sea Turtles find their way to the clear crystal waters of our beautiful Islands. We were also told of the mystical ‘lost years’ of a turtle’s life and why they exist.
After the talk, the children then watched the experts measure the different parts of the turtle and record them for future reference. Once this was carried out the turtle was then tagged externally with number tags. It was explained to the children that if this little 5/8 year old turtle was ever caught and released in the distant future then the fisherman could ring DEMA or Amanyara and share its location and size. Thus informing us more about how these marvellous creatures move through the waters of this world. Once all this was done, we had the beautiful experience of witnessing the turtle being released back into the ocean and swimming off on its next adventure.
This trip has truly enhanced and brought alive our week of looking at different turtle species, feeding habits, migratory patterns, conservationists ideas and many more interesting aspects of Turtle learning.
Provo Primary, Flamingo Class, the parents and I would like to give a GIGANTIC thank you to Jackie, Amy and Katharine for this truly wonderful learning experience! Flamingo class and I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the parent volunteers who gave up their morning to allow this trip to happen.