Private Bilfen Antalya High Schools Students Met at Nature Conservation and Observation Event

As Bilfen Antalya High Schools Biology Department, in order to find the answers to questions “How can we better understand nature, how can we help protect nature better?”, we made a trip to Belek Beach, Turkey's largest turtle nesting area, on 17 and 20 September 2021, with our 9th graders. Our aim was to save live baby turtles who could not get out of the nest by their own efforts, and to control their access to the sea.

Guided by EKAD (Ecological Research Association) research assistants, we witnessed with great excitement the opening of the nests that they had followed up before. Hoping to see live baby turtles at every nest opening increased the excitement of all our students, and reaching healthy hatchlings made us all very happy. We were lucky because we had the opportunity to see the babies of two different turtle species, namely caretta caretta and chelonia mydas. Thus, our students were able to observe the morphological differences between both species.

When the nest openings were completed, Bilfen Anatolian and Science High School students collected the wastes that are harmful to all living things in Belek Beach, wearing gloves and following the hygiene rules, and left them in recycling containers.

We think that the participation of all our students in the field as a part of nature conservation studies contributes greatly to the increase of ecological awareness.