This event is limited to fifty seats and they are being reserved quickly. If you would like to join us for a great evening of music in an intimate setting, be sure to reserve your seats soon.
Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli invites you to join us for a magical musical experience on Playa Blanca. All proceeds to support the sea turtle conservation efforts of our camp.
Cocktail reception with cash bar and light snacks begins at 7pm. The concert will begin at about 8pm.
Ayotlcalli souvenirs will be available for sale before and after the concert. Our t-shirts, hats, and other items make great gifts for the holidays. An adopted nest also makes a great gift idea or you can adopt your own. You can adopt-a-nest online or during this event.
The bar will remain open after the concert for any guests that would like to linger to visit with friends and neighbors.
If you have any questions about tickets or the concert or would like to make your reservation in-person for $MX300, contact info@ayotlcalli.org or call Patty (755-136-9607) or Mitchell (755-130-4297).
Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli invites you to join us for a magical musical experience on Playa Blanca. All proceeds to support the sea turtle conservation efforts of our camp.
Cocktail reception with cash bar and light snacks begins at 7pm. The concert will begin at about 8pm.
Ayotlcalli souvenirs will be available for sale before and after the concert. Our t-shirts, hats, and other items make great gifts for the holidays. An adopted nest also makes a great gift idea or you can adopt your own. You can adopt-a-nest online or during this event.
The bar will remain open after the concert for any guests that would like to linger to visit with friends and neighbors.
If you have any questions about tickets or the concert or would like to make your reservation in-person for $MX300, contact info@ayotlcalli.org or call Patty (755-136-9607) or Mitchell (755-130-4297).
Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli invites you to join us for a magical musical experience on Playa Blanca. All proceeds to support the sea turtle conservation efforts of our camp.
Cocktail reception with cash bar and light snacks begins at 7pm. The concert will begin at about 8pm.
Ayotlcalli souvenirs will be available for sale before and after the concert. Our t-shirts, hats, and other items make great gifts for the holidays. An adopted nest also makes a great gift idea or you can adopt your own. You can adopt-a-nest online or during this event.
The bar will remain open after the concert for any guests that would like to linger to visit with friends and neighbors.
If you have any questions about tickets or the concert or would like to make your reservation in-person for $MX300, contact info@ayotlcalli.org or call Patty (755-136-9607) or Mitchell (755-130-4297).
Back in August, Gabriel, an eighth grade student from Colorado visited the camp as a volunteer and to work on a school project about saving endangered sea turtles. Gabe’s family visits this area regularly and his older Elaine has been able to go on a night patrols with camp volunteers in the past.
Gabe made a great video as a part of his project and he generously shared it with us and gave us permission to share it with all of you. Damaris already said to Gabe, “…you deserve an A.” So, without any more introduction, here’s Gabe’s video which covers all that he did with us as a camp volunteer.
Not only was Gabe a volunteer with us, he also generously used his own money to adopt one of the nests he found and relocated to the corral. He can be very proud of the fact that his adopted nest had a hatch and release rate of 94.85%!
Our Adopt-a-Nest program is a fun and easy way to support the camp financially. For a small donation, you can track your own nest through data and photos (as available) from the time it is located on the beach, through relocation to the corral, and finally hatch and release.
Now is a great time to adopt because we’re busy finding lots of nests and the hatch time for them will nests found now will be early to mid-December when it is high tourist season here and we have lots of public releases where we can recognize our adopters to release participants.
If you are planning to be here during the season, let us know when and we can try to help plan your adoption so that the hatching is predicted to happen while you are visiting and can attend a release.
The 2019-2020 season is well underway. Already this season, we have rescued 333 nests totaling 30,277 eggs (but who’s counting?!?!). Our new, larger corral is almost full and we’re having hatchlings born almost daily now.
It is the perfect time for you to show your support for the camp by adopting a nest. When you adopt a nest, we will email you a personalized certificate recognizing you as the adopter. An adopted nest makes a fantastic birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, or any occasion gift. If you want to give an adopted nest as a gift, just let us know and we’ll recognize that special person on your behalf.
The adopter can expect to receive updates from us with pictures that may include the nest being rescued, the nest in the corral, hatchlings when they first emerge, and a release including hatchlings from the adopted nest. We will also include reports from our data collection system with all the nest details.
Rescuing a nest.
Relocating eggs to the corral nest.
Adopted nest hatchling released.
Adopted nest hatchling released.
Hatchlings in the dark of night, just after emerging.
Our Adopt-A-Nest program was a huge help to us financially last year and we hope it will be again in the new season. The program also helped people feel like they were part of the team as they followed their nest from the night it was found until the day the hatchlings were released. Please consider adopting a nest for yourself of someone special in your life.
Stay tuned for details soon about our new programs to virtually adopt one of our camp dogs or a sea turtle that we encounter and tag.
The Ayotlcalli Team.
$25 – Adopt a Nest (Golfina & Prieta)
$50 – Adopt a Nest (Leatherback)
Did you know that for as
little as $5 per month,
you can become a Sustaining Member,
helping to continue
the mission of Ayotlcalli.
The 2019-2020 season is well underway. Already this season, we have rescued 333 nests totaling 30,277 eggs (but who’s counting?!?!). Our new, larger corral is almost full and we’re having hatchlings born almost daily now.
It is the perfect time for you to show your support for the camp by adopting a nest. When you adopt a nest, we will email you a personalized certificate recognizing you as the adopter. An adopted nest makes a fantastic birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, or any occasion gift. If you want to give an adopted nest as a gift, just let us know and we’ll recognize that special person on your behalf.
The adopter can expect to receive updates from us with pictures that may include the nest being rescued, the nest in the corral, hatchlings when they first emerge, and a release including hatchlings from the adopted nest. We will also include reports from our data collection system with all the nest details.
Rescuing a nest.
Relocating eggs to the corral nest.
Adopted nest hatchling released.
Adopted nest hatchling released.
Hatchlings in the dark of night, just after emerging.
Our Adopt-A-Nest program was a huge help to us financially last year and we hope it will be again in the new season. The program also helped people feel like they were part of the team as they followed their nest from the night it was found until the day the hatchlings were released. Please consider adopting a nest for yourself of someone special in your life.
Stay tuned for details soon about our new programs to virtually adopt one of our camp dogs or a sea turtle that we encounter and tag.
The Ayotlcalli Team.
$25 – Adopt a Nest (Golfina & Prieta)
$50 – Adopt a Nest (Leatherback)
Did you know that for as
little as $5 per month,
you can become a Sustaining Member,
helping to continue
the mission of Ayotlcalli.
We have been back at patrolling every night and working hard to rescue our sweet babies. It has been a rough start to the season this year, and finally, we are ready to share what has been going on.
Since beginning our patrols this year, we have had many poached nests (68 so far), stolen turtles (7), nests eaten by dogs (6), and turtles killed by dogs while nesting (5). It has been hard to see, but we keep at it. We change up our start times and patrol routes in an effort to interrupt the poachers and scare away the packs of dogs.
If you were following us last year, you may remember some posts at the end of the season where we had ONE stolen turtle and three killed by dogs. We were so upset at the time. Looking back, those numbers for an entire season almost seem good. Good, really?
The authorities say they are having worse problems in other locations, so maybe we should be thankful. We just want to stop it. We agreed to keep this quiet while they responded, but we cannot be quiet any longer. It is getting worse and worse.
If we could, we would have two patrols groups go out each night and patrol the beach throughout the entire night. Unfortunately, we lack the funds to fill the ATV gas tanks for extra mileage, and really do not have enough volunteers to field two groups every night.
We have rescued 255 nests this season for a total of 23,035 eggs. Statistics tell us that to produce 12 adult turtles (replacing those killed so far this year), we need to rescue 14,117 eggs. These killings are taking away a large percentage of the difference we are able to make.
ATV Patrol
In an effort to get the word out, we spoke with local news reporters Fernando Arriaga, from TV Azteca Nacional. and Eliuth Patiño, conductor Noticias Megacable. You can see the interview with Damaris (our fearless leader) and Lupe talking about the poaching problems here:
With them was Brenda Escobar from Estereo Vida radio 90.5’s program Costa Grande en la Noticia.
Today we will be visited by another station, Capital Maxima 95.3.
What can you do to help?
First and foremost, do not eat turtle eggs or turtle meat. Believe it or not, there are restaurants that will serve them to you. Please help us spread the word about this.
If you live, or spend part of the year near us in Playa Blanca, consider joining our team of dedicated patrol volunteers. (This volunteer promises you that it is an incredible experience!)
If you are reading from afar, you can still help! Your donation will help us gas up and maintain those ATV’s!!!
Thank you, as always, for your love and support. We could not do this without you!!
The new season started in mid-July with our volunteers perhaps finding a few nests one night, none the nest, a couple of nights with nests, another night without… But in the past week or two, we’ve seen the activity really increase with our volunteers finding and relocating ten nests just last night. It’s a good time to remind anyone that’s interested to check out our adopt-a-nest program.
Portion of the GoCanvas Patrol App.
Adding to the excitement of the new season, we are very excited that this will be the first full season with our new data collection system made possible by the good people at GoCanvas.com. A special shout-out to Ewan, Zach, and Jason at GoCanvas.com for their efforts on behalf of the camp.
Until mid-way through the 2018-2019 season, we collected all of our data by hand. Pencil and paper. On the beach, in the dark, in the rain, in the blowing wind. For each patrol event, we are required to collect the GPS coordinates and other details that vary depending on the situation. This meant that at least one volunteer had to have a smart phone with a GPS app for coordinates. We would look up the coordinates, then write them down on a log sheet. Later another volunteer would type them into a spreadsheet along with the rest of the information (species, date, time, # of eggs, whether we saw a live turtle, tag numbers if we tagged her, measurements, etc.). The handwriting was often hard to read, and coordinates were inconsistent because different Apps reported them in different formats. Paper sheets got wet and were sometimes torn or had smeared writing. We did our best and reported good data to the various governmental and advocacy organizations, but….
Google map with details of each patrol entry.
There had to a better way, didn’t there?
So, the search began for an app we could all install on our mobile phones that would allow us to type the data in as we went. Our search found the GoCanvas application which would enable us to design our own forms (collecting data we defined) and it even included a built in way to capture GPS coordinates and photos. As much as it seemed like a perfect fit, as a non-profit, we were pretty sure we would not be able to afford the cost of a sophisticated application like GoCanvas. But, it couldn’t hurt to ask, right?
Section of our corral chart showing the details of each nest in its’ location in the corral.
The response from GoCanvas was fast and it was positive. While the typical organization using their platform is nothing like us, they did actually have some relevant experience from working with an anti-poaching group in Africa that uses their GoCanvas to collect data for the purpose of protecting and sustaining the local Rhino population. Best of all, they were willing to work with us and because of their extreme generosity, we were able to begin experimenting with GoCanvas immediately. Within a few weeks, we were using it on patrols instead of the paper log.
Sample section of our Due To Hatch report showing cronological list of nests listed by expected hatch date.
Sample of Monthly Summary Report.
The next step was to automate the gathering of the remaining nest related data. For that, we used the GoCanvas platform again to create Apps that would allow the patrol volunteers to record the location of the nest in the corral. With that location data, we now have the ability to quickly and easily see what nest locations in the corral are due to hatch. This allows us to pay special attention to them and then record the date when the first hatchlings emerge. With the first hatch date now easily available, we can quickly clean out the nests when it’s time. It is critical to do the cleanout in a timely way because sometimes live hatchlings are stuck in the broken shells of other hatchlings and need a helping hand to emerge. By closely tracking our first hatch date, we can intervene with the cleanout at the optimal time – before it’s too late while also not being too early.
Now, with all this data available through GoCanvas, the final piece was to tie it together and we’re fortunate to have some volunteers with computer experience that could do that. Using a custom written computer program, we are now able to run a process each day that pulls patrol, corral location, first hatch, and cleanout data from the GoCanvas “cloud” and compile it into a single set of data for each nest.
This form in our custom system downloads GoCanvas cloud data and compiles it into our various output web pages, reports, and spreadsheets.
The daily process also generates a Google map that shows each patrol log entry including nests with eggs, poached nests, nests eaten by dogs, locations of dead or stolen turtles, places where turtles came out but didn’t lay eggs or dropped their eggs too close to the ocean where they were washed out, and other exceptions we encounter.
This data goes into several reports and web pages we generate to manage things at the camp and also into the format we’re required to use to do our external reporting.
With this data at our fingertips, the possibilities are endless in terms of what we can analyze and measure. Where is the poaching happening and when. How about places where dogs are eating nests? How long are nests taking to hatch now when the sand is moist but the temperatures high versus later in the season when the sand is dry but the temperatures are cooler? This data also makes it possible for us to have started our Adopt-a-Nest program which involves taking photos for our adopters during the patrol, first hatch, and release.
With GoCanvas making our data collection process so much easier, we can actually look forward to doing our reports at the end of the season because really, it’s already done. The reporting will be a breeze. No more piles of paper, no more trying to read the log sheets that are sandy, torn, and smeared, no more chicken scratch handwriting, and best of all no more typing into a spreadsheet.
This form in our custom program helps us keep track of our Adopt-A-Nest information so that we can be sure to communicate in timely way with our nest adopters.
Thank you again to GoCanvas for the generosity and willingness to help us be better at what we do. Thank you GoCanvas for your support Come see us sometime and checkout your system in action!
The second week of summer camp was another busy one with field trips to the Amigos de Animales dog corral and cat safe house. The campers got to spend time with the cats in their space and dogs on a nature walk and inside the corral.
Later in the week, the campers visited the nearby Bet Shalom Senior Home where they presented a puppet show all about sea turtles and the environment. After the puppet show, small groups of campers paired up with individual residents to read a book together.
Summer Camp
Finally, Friday night, after the closing ceremony, many of the campers returned to camp overnight and go on a walking sea turtle patrol. Unfortunately, the only encounter they had was with a deceased sea turtle but it was a learned experienced that reinforced some of the things the campers learned about the environment and the dangers faced by sea turtles and all sea life.
The 2019-2020 season is well underway. Already this season, we have rescued 333 nests totaling 30,277 eggs (but who’s counting?!?!). Our new, larger corral is almost full and we’re having hatchlings born almost daily now.
