Haifa, a city in nature • Save the sea turtles ○ Inbal Chen Bergev

(live here in the wild) - Good people help the little sea urchins to survive and the climax in the exciting ceremony of opening the nest.

The scanners

Towards the month of May, an ad was published by the Nature and Parks Authority (RTG) regarding the recruitment of volunteer scanners on the beaches of Haifa, to locate nests of sea turtles. A WhatsApp group was opened for registrants with a name in the spirit of the mission: "Turtle of the Hour". After a short training session in Bat Galim in the early morning , the real work began.

The scanners work alone or in pairs and are divided into different sectors on the Carmel beaches: from the Navy Yard to the Allenby Bridge, and from the Maxim restaurant to the student beach. All of them were trained to locate the tracks of a sea turtle that came up from the sea to lay its eggs on the beach. Sea turtles leave large tracks that are easy to identify - similar to tractor tracks, so if you were lucky and found footprints of a sea pincer and a sign of a nest, you must invite the authorized RTG inspectors to open the nest and move it to a protected place.

The full picture

The messages in the WhatsApp group that was opened for scanners are somewhat reminiscent of reports from fighters from the field: "First line in our area", in our sector there are fewer successes", "Starting a scan in Bat Galim", "Ending a scan on the student beach", but the Mishkan reveals the full picture - "An excellent start for this morning ! 81 brown turtle eggs".

Traces

Beach scans are done by volunteers aged 18 and over who have passed the training session. At first light you will go for a pleasant and quiet walk in your area and for an hour you will observe the fresh sand in search of footprints of sea crabs.

Verdit Malka says:

"This is the third year I've been scanning the Carmel beaches. It's a great feeling to contribute something to nature. The scans are suitable for all ages and especially for retirees like me, who get up early in the morning anyway. It's a great opportunity to go for a walk at first light on the beaches of Haifa and also do something for nature."

Yehuda Azriel, volunteer:

"This season we did 15 days of volunteering. At 5:00 in the morning we already started the survey in the Bat Galim sector. We had the right to locate 2 turtle nests and we saw many more turtles rising but that did not end with laying. We are nature lovers, we have free time as retirees and we are volunteers of the RTG in cleaning the paths of the Carmel Park and saving the sea turtles. When you know that you are a partner in the effort to save the endangered sea turtles, there is great satisfaction in that."

Rotem Sde a naval inspector, adds:

"Our group of volunteer scanners has been active for the third year. All the beaches in Israel are scanned by the inspectors of the Nature and Parks Authority, of which there are sections that are scanned by volunteers, such as on the beaches of Haifa. The scanning volunteers contribute to uncovering about 10 percent of all the nests on the country's beaches. It is important for us to keep in touch with the volunteers and thank them for their contribution. All our volunteers receive a gift for the holiday and a volunteer certificate and are invited to join the exciting day of opening nests."

What is the situation? Schmerzev

After sea turtle nests have been located, authorized RTG inspectors arrive at the reported point on the beach and move the nests into containers and from there to one of the six hatchery farms along the coast. In the hatchery farms there are additional volunteers called Shmertziv. The Shmertziv (a combination of a babysitter and a turtle) guard the nests From 20:00 in the evening until 08:00 in the morning. After the natural emergence of most of the nestlings from the nests, all the nests receive help that is not from nature and this exciting situation is called "opening a nest".

An astonishing ceremony

As a tribute to all the scanners on the beaches, the volunteers are invited to the nest opening ceremony which is an event that inspires amazement and admiration for the little sea turtles, for creation and also for all the good people who volunteer for the preservation of the sea turtles. On the morning of the ceremony, we received a lecture from Maya Kadosh, director of the Carmel Education and Information Center, about the types of sea turtles that come to Israel's shores, the spawning data and the activities of the volunteers and the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

runway

When Maya asked us to organize the runway for the Tsvoni, or as they are less familiarly known, the excitement reached its peak. It turns out that not only the Air Force has runways, but also the little ones. The activists on the spot organize a flat sand track and fence it with a long cloth in order to successfully lead the divers to the sea. After they are led with tanks to the runway, we are left to encourage the young divers and wish them to survive the world of the sea and the many dangers that lie in wait for them in it.

Why should sea urchins be saved?

The brown turtle lays about 60 eggs on land while the green turtle, found in the Alexander Creek area, can lay up to 120 eggs. Unfortunately, the eggs are eaten by nocturnal animals or trampled by tractors and vehicles that drive through the sands and destroy entire lives.

One in 100

The statistics in the hands of the RTG say that the survival percentage of sea turtles is about 1 in 100, which means that one sea turtle will survive out of an entire nest, but even for this figure they are willing to do a lot. , which is located at the mouth of Nahal Alexander and treats injured turtles from all over the country. The sea turtle rescue center takes in adult turtles who undergo a long rehabilitation before returning them to the sea. The turtles arrive with serious injuries to their lungs, due to the explosions of the top (operational marine activity), eating plastic, entanglement in nets and swallowing dangerous substances .

מה לעשות?

If you come across an injured turtle or a large turtle on the beach - you must call the hotline 3639*. Do not try to return the turtle to the sea, as it could be a turtle that came up to lay its eggs on the beach. If you put her back in the water she won't come ashore again. The Sea Turtle Rescue Center is expanding its ranks and recruiting more volunteers. You can read all the updated and comprehensive information on the website of the Nature and Parks Authority - Wildlife Conservation - Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

Note: The author, Inbal Chen-Bargav, is not a tour guide and therefore all the listings are recommendations only. Travelers must verify the degree of difficulty of the route and the route of the terrain and act according to their best judgment when setting out on any route or trip.

Inbal runs a Facebook community called "For me only (in) Haifa" which deals with paths, routes and nice corners in the nature of Haifa and connects nature and community.