T

ens of young students from TK ABA kindergarten in Bantul, Yogyakarta, helped release infant turtles into the sea on Goa Cemara beach on Wednesday.

Before the turtles were released, the children were taken to a turtle hatchery set up by residents, who live nearby in Sanden village.

At the hatchery, the children were introduced to the species by Wahadi, chief of the Goa Cemara Beach Tourism Awareness Group.

Wahadi explained in detail about the animal’s life cycle, beginning with when they were eggs, and discussed their role in the ecosystem.

“We hatched the turtles from the eggs found along the beach by residents. We then put them in the hatchery,” he said.

The eggs placed by the residents in the hatchery were then left for 45 days to hatch.

Once hatched, the young turtles, locally known as tukik, were immediately released into the sea. The infants too weak to be released were held by the residents, who will nurture them for about a month before releasing them. The residents finance the program privately.

Wahadi said the hatchery was currently home to 100 turtle eggs, 19 of which had hatched.

“The 19 young turtles were released today. This program is important to make people love animals from an early age,” he said.

He said the turtle conservation program had been started spontaneously when residents launched an environmental program aimed at protecting the beach’s ecosystem in 1994.

The residents, he said, had planted 10 hectares of pine groves behind the beach, prompting residents to rename it Goa Cemara (fir cave) beach.

“In the beginning, the trees were planted to ensure strong winds did not affect coastal plants along the area and as barrier against strong waves,” Wahadi said. “Now, many residents are spending their time relaxing on the beach.”