Almost all species of sea turtles are endangered with three of the seven existing species being critically endangered. It is estimated that only 1 out of a 1000 hatchlings survives to be an adult with the number one cause of sea turtle deaths being pollution.
Rithanyaa Kumar, a girl scout working towards her Gold award, and a junior at Hillsborough High School, discovered her love for sea turtles over the summer of 2023, where she went on a volunteer sea turtle conservation program in Costa Rica with her older sister. On this trip she was able to learn about sea turtles and spend time going on beach patrols, counting sea turtle eggs, and cleaning up the beaches.
After coming home, she knew that sea turtle engagement was an issue, and there was a severe lack of information, education, and unawareness about the ectopic in her community. She chose to take the topic of sea turtle endangerment and awareness for her Gold Award.
For her Gold Award project, Rithanyaa organized three virtual ‘workshops’ for girls from all ages. Each ‘workshop’ was a zoom meeting which consisted of a pre and post event survey, an interactive presentation, and a kahoot game on sea turtles, sea turtle endangerment, and how we can help in our daily lives.
“My goal for the project was not only to teach younger girls about the turtles, but give them solutions and resources to help them out.” Kumar said. “I wanted all of the girls to feel as passionate as I did and also empower them to know that they were able to make change”
To make her project sustainable beyond her personal involvement, the Girl Scout created a blog where she talked about her project, her volunteer experience, and information about sea turtles.
Kumar, who has been a part of Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Troop 60108 for 12 years, credits the girl scout community for making it a space to spread education and awareness to young girls about all different types of topics.
