About Us

Save the Turtles, Inc. (formerly named Save the Turtles of Parismina, Inc.) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to protecting endangered sea turtles by supporting community-based conservation projects and developing international education programs that will inspire active participation and a global community of sea turtle stewards. We provide financial assistance to Caribbean coastal communities of Costa Rica that protect sea turtles through methods that are sustainable, environmentally responsible and enhance the lives of people who share the habitat. Our vision for the future includes assisting sea turtle projects around the globe.

©Robert Van Damm

Sea Turtle Protection

Currently, our focus of sea turtle protection is the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. This richly bio-diverse area is a vital nesting habitat for the green and the hawksbill turtles and the fourth most critical nesting habitat in the world for the greatly endangered leatherback. The leatherback is so close to extinction that the emptying of just one nest of eggs has huge implications for its survival as a species.

While we also work for the protection of the green and the hawksbill, the preservation of the highly endangered leatherback, its eggs and hatchlings is an important focus. In the future, we plan to extend our support to all endangered species of sea turtles of the globe.

Intercultural Education: Our Global Vision

There is perhaps, no creature more globally shared by the peoples of the world than sea turtles. Both land and ocean dependent, they lay their eggs on beaches around the world. The tiny hatchlings that emerge from the sands of these shores will, if lucky enough to reach adulthood, embark on journeys that mark thousands of miles and many international waters.

The unbounded nature of the sea turtle has inspired in us a global vision. In this vision, school children in Africa, Mexico or India, for example, will reach across waters to learn about sea turtles with children in the United States, Costa Rica, or Sri Lanka. Imagine that through a shared interest in these gentle giants, children around the world will learn first hand about each other’s cultures, differences and most important, each other’s similarities.

Our History

Our Grass Roots Beginning

Save the Turtles, Inc. originated as Save the Turtles of Parismina in 2001 when we began providing support to the community of Barra de Parismina, Costa Rica. For five years, we worked diligently with the local turtle association, Asociacion Salvemos Las Tortugas de Parismina (ASTOP) and the community of Parismina, assisting them in their goals for developing a successful conservation project. Their project has saved thousands of nesting turtles, eggs and hatchlings, and the effects will be felt for generations to come.

The people in the village also benefited greatly. Its volunteer homestay program brought economic advantages to families, financial independence to many single woman households, and locals found new opportunities for employment as turtle guides.

The local turtle association in Parismina, Salvemos Las Tortugas de Parismina (ASTOP) has its own website www.parisminaturtles.org that describes its community-based turtle conservation project. (Please Note: this link is only for informational purposes – Save the Turtles, Inc. does not monitor the information or programs of their website or any other).

Save The Turtles Goes Global

While the success of Parismina’s project was truly inspirational, it was always sobering to acknowledge that just beyond its boundary sea turtles and their eggs were being decimated. Of particular concern was the leatherback, for which extinction loomed somewhere in the near future. Satellite tracking had revealed that the species does not necessarily nest on a natal beach but may return to nest anywhere within a large range area. It was disheartening to think that the nests of these turtles that were protected one season might be lost the next because they nested somewhere beyond the borders of the project.  Ultimately, the global nature of the leatherback and sea turtles in general brought us to the realization that truly effective sea turtle protection was going to require a truly global approach. 

As a result, we have broadened the scope of our mission and developed a two-fold strategy that includes education as well as habitat protection. Our new action plan includes a goal to support additional community based sea turtle projects on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and eventually, beyond. In 2007 we made a decision to change our name to Save the Turtles, Inc. to reflect our expanded mission.

Direct Assistance to Turtle Conservation Projects

• Make available financial support to Caribbean communities with existing turtle conservation projects as well as those interested in starting new ones. Extend this support worldwide in the future.
• Inspire innovative approaches to species conservation, approaches that stand to benefit both sea turtles and human communities into the future.
• Support locals interested in addressing turtle and egg depletion through educational outreach programs conducted within their communities and in outlying areas.
•  Provide funding to communities enabling them to acquire land for purposes of sea turtle protection.

Raise Global Awareness Among Youth:
The Future Stewards of Our Earth.

• Inspire youth worldwide. Raise awareness of threats to sea turtle survival through education and interactive activities that encourage active participation.
• Encourage a global community based on sea turtle protection and education
• Offer educational/scholarship and experiential opportunities to youth interested in furthering their knowledge of sea turtle conservation and preparing for environmental careers.

Save the Turtles, Inc. is an organization exempt from U.S. federal income taxes under section 501 (c) (3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, and contributions are accordingly tax deductible

Please visit our Donation pages, so you can help us continue
to save sea turtles.

Thank you and welcome to our global connection!

Courtesy of the NOAA Central Library Photo Collection