Save The Turtles

Last year my kids came home from school wanting to buy a turtle t-shirt. The school had put on a presentation about turtle hatcheries in the area needing support. Each year they release turtles back into the ocean and if you buy a t-shirt you get to "sponser" a turtle. We didn't buy any last year and the kids were very dissappointed.

This year the assembly was even more impressive. Even my preschooler came home sad that so many turtles needed our help. I made a deal with the kids. If they did some extra chores, I would pay them and they could buy the t-shirt themselves.

Kierstin came home with a "Letter to the Parents" last week. I noticed two things. The first, the price of the t-shirts had gone up. Second, the following: "We...are fundrasing to help support the sea turtle hatcheries on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. The hatcheries obtain a percentage of the eggs from the poachers who take the eggs to sell at various markets."

Did you catch that? The school raises money, gives it to the hatcheries who then buy the eggs from poachers! Don't you think that is facilitating the problem?

Again, we are not buying t-shirts.