I support the Czech project We Protect Sea Turtles long term, so I am glad to share what has happened in recent months. Hana V. Svobodova sent out the turtle newsletter for May to August 2026 - full of joy, hope and a few things that hurt. Every photo in this article comes straight from the field.
Papua: finally at the place we have been helping for three years
The trip to Papua was the biggest experience and the biggest challenge. Only 16 days in the field, but the journey looked like this: 4 trains, 5 planes, 5 hours by car and 3 boats. At the end were beaches where hawksbills and also leatherback turtles are protected - critically endangered colossi. Hana saw females with a carapace 160 cm long and 112 cm wide, and their hatchlings, roughly twice the size of hawksbill hatchlings.
Even bigger joy came from meeting the colleagues in person - people from UNIPA Papua university and local conservationists she had only known remotely. It is a very well run project with a clear goal, oversight and science based methodology: nests are protected from heat and predators and everything is carefully recorded.
Working with the local community remains the hard part. The university runs nine education houses in five villages, yet much work lies ahead. In the village of Waw-wayah two dead turtles were found, killed for meat for a church celebration, and turtle shell bracelets were on sale at the market in Manokwari. Protection works, but changing minds is a long road.
Bali: when a rescue turns into a tourist trap
On the way back the team stopped in Bali for two days to film a documentary about so called turtle rescue centres that in reality work more like tourist traps. Thousands of small turtles were waiting for tourists in pools, along with dozens of adult turtles that were perfectly healthy, and turtle eggs spent the whole two month incubation in buckets covered by about a centimetre of sand.
Please be careful about such places. If you want to see turtles, check in advance how the centre works and look at the photos. If you see turtles displayed in pools, do not go - your money there supports the exact opposite of protection. Sadly, real turtle conservation still does not exist in Bali.
Sulawesi: conservationists carry on despite the problems
From Bali, Eva travelled to western Sulawesi and met three supported organisations. They evaluated the season, reviewed the methodology and discussed the complications - which are sometimes unbelievable. Five metres below the surface someone stole a heavy iron structure built to support coral restoration, just to sell it for scrap for a few rupiah. The structure was found, the thief was not. In eastern Sulawesi, the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation built a new protected stretch of beach.
Borneo: a new boat means safety
Great news came from southern Borneo. Thanks to the Vakovako platform, 100 % of the 80,000 CZK target was raised for a new boat. The rangers live on an uninhabited island - the boat lets them rotate shifts, bring supplies and above all provides safety. If something happens and you have no boat, you have no way to leave. They also practically rebuilt their house.
Education continues too. Southern Borneo runs three education programmes every month alongside demanding beach work, when rangers move up to 15 nests to safety in a single night. In eastern Borneo, on Maratua island, volunteer Jana teaches children English and about turtles, collects rubbish with them and talks about protecting the island. She also visited Sablon, who runs craft workshops teaching people to make souvenirs from coconut instead of turtle shell.
Sri Lanka: a new hatchery and 60,000 hatchlings
Ranger Mahesh finished building a new protected hatchery on another beach and has already released an incredible 60,000 turtle hatchlings this year. Behind that number are thousands of hours of work, night patrols, nest relocation and protection from predators and poachers. Gayan also does great work, patrolling the beaches near Dickwella every day.
Sri Lanka also hosted a bamboo straw making workshop. Channa Suraweerra from the Wildlife Department wants selected skilled officials to learn the craft and pass it on to local people, so bamboo straws can be made and sold to national park visitors. A small thing with a big impact - and the plan is finally becoming reality.
There is also a very sad story. On ranger Malitha s protected beach in southern Sri Lanka hatchlings emerged at night. Before dawn someone cut a hole in the fence and stole them. They were sold to a resort manager who then sold them to tourists to release into the sea during the day. It shows again how much power tourists have: when they stop paying for bad treatment of turtles, stealing turtles stops paying off.
And what happened in Czechia?
Plenty. In June Hana was a guest on Czech Television s morning show, an interview came out in the Vinohradska 12 podcast and several others followed. I also recommend the article in the magazine Forum ochrany prirody, which looks at the project from entirely new angles. A benefit concert for turtles took place in Pilsen.
The greatest joy comes from schools. Children at two primary schools prepared Snacks for Turtles, another school held a Turtle Fest, one organised a Run for Turtles, girls from a ceramics club made turtle necklaces, eighth graders ran a ReUse Day and pupils elsewhere helped even during after school care. Children do concrete things, experience success and see that helping is normal. That gives real hope.
Someone patrols the beach, someone builds a fence, someone moves nests, someone teaches children, someone repairs a boat, someone makes bamboo straws and someone sends a small donation. All of it together is nature conservation - and that is exactly why part of the proceeds from my editions goes to sea turtle protection.
