Sea Turtle Adventures
At 36 square miles, Nevis is one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean, but, says Tara MacIntyre, a long time employee at Fours Seasons Resort Nevis, West Indies, “it’s truly a wonder, one of the most unique places in the Caribbean.”
One quality that makes Nevis so unique is its participation in sea turtle conservancy efforts. “We are the smallest island nation in the Caribbean,” says MacIntyre, “but probably one of the largest forces in the world for sea turtle preservation.”
“Part of what we do,” MacIntyre continues, “is train Four Seasons staff to recognize turtle tracks and help us mark off the nests so we can make sure people won’t disturb the eggs before they hatch.
We also have an educational program where the curriculum was designed by the Sea Turtle Conservancy for a sea turtle camp day for our younger guests,” she says. Kids enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor activities that include turtle tales, turtle watch beach walks, arts and crafts, postcard drawing contests, interactive games, puzzles and videos.
With the money the Resort makes from the camp day, they fund a program where they GPS satellite tag two turtles every summer, which the kids “adopt.” “We then release these turtles,” says MacIntyre, “and the kids who have gone through the program can track them online year-round.”
“It’s a program that we’re especially proud of,” says MacIntyre, “one that really gets guests of all ages really get a feel for what an amazing place this is.”
