Bajan sanctuary for sea turtles
Once endangered by over-fishing, Barbados’s hawksbill and leatherback turtle populations are returning to healthy levels thanks to Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP).

The project protects and monitors the turtles, creating a safe haven for them. They are sociable and tend to stay in the same area, following a steady routine. So long as they don’t leave a habitat, turtles can be seen playing and feeding along the inshore reefs.

If you take a catamaran cruise with Cool Runnings Barbados you get the chance to see and swim with these wonderful creatures.

In certain monitored areas, they have become accustomed to humans and here local fishermen feed and care for them, scraping barnacles off their backs and making sure their nesting areas are safe.

Started in 1987, the BSTP is a joint activity of the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, and the Fisheries Division of the Government of Barbados, with its aim to restore local marine turtle populations.

The teams at the BSTP provide a 24-hour response to public reports of hawksbills and leatherback turtles nesting and hatching. They also carry out nightly surveillance of beaches to monitor nesting activities and deter any potential poaching.

Occasionally, during the hatchling season – mid-July to mid-October – the BSTP organises a hatchling release. Keeping events as natural as possible, the BSTP will only intervene if hatchlings travel inland due to disorientation caused by lights. A rescue effort is then made to release them on a darker section of the beach, where they can walk themselves into the sea.

Switch off & save big!
A “switch off save big” water and energy saving project for hotels has been launched across the Caribbean by the Travel Foundation. Supported by Virgin Holidays and endorsed by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, the campaign will help accommodation suppliers across the region implement easy and cost-effective measures that will not only cut water and electricity costs but also make their properties more environmentally friendly. The Travel Foundation hopes to get more than 100 hotels to take part.

Nisbet injects life into trees
Nisbet Plantation Beach Club – the boutique hotel in Nevis – is building on its ambition to be the island’s greenest hotel with initiatives such as creating an organic garden and working to preserve its palm trees, in addition to having previously installed an artificial reef. The team at Nisbet is focusing on protecting its palm trees from the lethal yellowing disease that is spreading throughout the Caribbean and affects mature palm trees causing, eventually, the death of the tree. In an effort to prolong the life of the palms, the tree trunks are injected with antibiotics every three months.
• Visit www.nisbetplantation.com