More than a scientist

By Farrah Leone

https://www.tamarindo.com/business/non-profit/the-leatherback-trust/

When you think of a scientist you might think of someone in a lab or working outside, but rarely do you think of someone in the classroom.  Veronica “Vero” Valverde works for the Leatherback Trust in Playa Cabuyal, Costa Rica and is one of the original members of their educational program, launched in 2017.

I met Vero when volunteering with the Leatherback Trust in November and just knew she was a perfect role model for women in ocean science.  She’s passionate, a leader, welcoming, driven, kind, empathetic, smart, and most importantly is involved in marine conservation. I wanted to know more about her story and learn how she spreads herself so thin.  From night patrol to day patrol to making meals for researchers to teaching children, she is truly dedicated to the bigger picture of sea turtle conservation.

When Vero was 15, she knew that she had to work in marine conservation after watching a documentary on coral reefs.  She told me about how she was enamored with the vibrancy of corals, the contrast against the orange little fish on her screen, and how she couldn’t believe there was so much color under the ocean.  And that’s when she thought to herself, “I want to be underwater, in that world”. That film led her to attend the National University of Costa Rica, the only university with a marine major, which eventually led her to start with the Leatherback Trust in 2015.

Veronica Valverde

The educational program started slow, with just 1 talk with 1 teacher in 1 school for a dozen children in 2017.  But in early 2019 the project expanded to a larger school in Liberia where she speaks to a school of 1,000 children ages 7 - 12.  Generally, she participates in 2 talks a day with her colleagues for classes of 20 - 40. Talks consist of general information about sea turtle biology with an emphasis on threats.  The Leatherback Trust brings in their equipment, scanners, tags, and even sea turtle embryos to show the children.

Vero says that most students are unaware that there are sea turtles in their own backyards.  “People cannot take care of what they don’t know”. Even though they might not know about the animals in their backyard, Vero says the students are becoming more aware of the threats to sea turtles beyond plastic straws and bags such as fisheries, lights at night, and loss of habitat.

“I think the hardest part is knowing how they can change it [threats to sea turtles] in their everyday lives”. The children were already making an impact by participating in the school’s recycling program and talking to their families about illegal vs legal sea turtle egg harvesting.

Future plans for the educational program include setting up an overnight field trip to the Leatherback Trust in Guanacaste so the children can get hands on experience.  The goal is to have about 40 children participate in a night patrol on the tiny beach looking for sea turtles and seeing their adjunct teachers in action!  

Vero is attending graduate school to continue her work with sea turtles!  Keep an eye out for her in the world of marine conservation!

Playa Cabuyal, The Leatherback Trust Monitoring Site

By Farrah Leone