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Our main activity is the protection and conservation of endangered sea turtles. Sea turtles always return to nest in the same place where they were hatched. Only the females come back to land when they reach their reproductive age, and only one in 10,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood. Sea turtles have lived on this planet for more than 100 million years. Of the seven species of sea turtles in the world, five species lay their eggs on the Gulf coast of Mexico; the Kemp´s Ridley, the Green turtle, the Loggerhead, the Hawksbill and the Leatherback. Apart from our sea turtle conservation work, we protect the environment in many sustainable ways, such as through eco-tourism, intelligent reforestation, community projects, beach clean-ups, recycling programs, environmental events, and especially through environmental education.
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We protect the nesting female sea turtles that arrive to nest on our beaches, as well as their nests and hatchlings that emerge from the sand and make their way into the ocean. Our conservation program includes beach patrols during the day and night, as well as moving nests from high-risk zones to safe areas and releasing hatchlings into the ocean. There are many ways to protect the sea turtles, and we do what we can to save them from extinction and protect their habitat. We also protect other species such as the blue crab, crocodiles, and other wildlife in the region, as well as the ecosystems of which they are part such as the beaches, the mangroves and the ocean.
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One of the most important strategies in nature conservation is through environmental education. Educating our future generations, we also ensure the protection of the future generations of sea turtles and the planet as a whole. We work together with various educational institutions, as well as with the local communities, realizing more than 200 conferences per year and organizing environmental events to raise awareness about the critical situation of the sea turtles, while addressing many other environmental issues. We would be more than happy to visit your school or university or, alternatively, organize an online conference, so please feel free to get in touch with us for more information.
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We have been organizing beach clean-ups for many years together with both the local communities and visiting groups to restore and protect the nesting habitat of the sea turtles. Thanks to these cleaning campaigns, in 2015, our beach was certified as a Blue Flag beach, an international eco-label. The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with Water Quality, Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, and Safety and Other Services. Our beach is the first beach in the Gulf of Mexico and to receive this certification
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Fundación Yepez A.C. is dedicated to intelligent reforestation, using sustainable techniques and planting native or endemic trees. We organize reforestation campaigns together with our local communities, schools, universities and different environmental groups. Reforestation is very important to our organization, not only as a way of fighting climate change, but also by planting native trees that bear fruit also we create alternative food source for many natural sea turtle predators.
In 2012 we founded and organized the First Regional meeting of Reforestation in the Tropical Humids of the Gulf of Mexico together with other NGO´s and environmental groups in the area, the three levels of the government, and with international organizations and governments to promote reforestation in the region. We also organize reforestation campaigns with schools, universities, the government and business partners throughout the year. We participate in events such as the National Reforestation Day, the international ENO reforestation campaigns, the National Conservation Day, Earth Day and many more. |
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Fundación Yepez A.C. has implemented a photo identification project for the sea turtles, as an alternative and non-invasive method to identify unique individuals, and to enable data collection, which helps evolve our conservation efforts. Fondo Ambiental Veracruzano initially funded the project and we continue to work in collaboration with the Wildlife Photo-ID Network and experts from different fields around the world.
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