Special to the town crier/ Courtesy of Lee Garverick BCS students excavate a Leatherback nest under the guidance of scientists from the Leatherback Trust.

Sixth-graders from Bullis Charter School traveled to Costa Rica during the mid-winter break this year for a service learning and environmental education project that focused on helping endangered Leatherback sea turtles.

The group traveled to Playa Grande in Las Bualas National Park, a beach where the turtles return to nest every year. Students and staff stayed at the Goldring Marine Biology Field Station, home of the Leatherback Trust, where they assisted a team of graduate students from several nations, joined forces with a group of high school biology students and met with local elementary students from Matepalo school.

One of the key projects students participated in during the trip was to rescue hatchling turtles that otherwise would have perished had they not made it to the sea at night. The hatchlings find the sea because they are attracted to the subtle reflections of moonlight on the ocean.

BCS students assisted graduate research students in excavating old nests and cataloguing the development level of unhatched turtle eggs to improve the odds for future generations. This involved locating nests, digging up the old eggs and looking inside.

The BCS student council said it feels this is an important issue and has voted to donate half of all money raised this year to the Leatherback Trust. BCS students also plan to keep in touch with students they met at Matepalo school via penpal activities and future visits.