Redemption arc: from poaching to protecting sea turtles
Is it ever too late to change?
Because Roni Nelson Batista Ramos used to hunt turtles to feed his family on Cabo Verde in West Africa, but he’s now one of a dozen former poachers working for conservation organizations to protect the endangered animals. And despite not even realizing this could be how they make a living, it’s working really well.
I originally found this story last year, but it’s worth retelling!
Decades ago, the turtles had been used for food, medicine, or sold to the black market, until increased awareness of their threat led to a big conservation push, and new laws criminalized the killing of threatened species.
Per Mongabay, there were 1,253 illegal catches of female turtles on Boa Vista island in 2007, which declined to just 20 in 2024. And over the same 16 years, loggerhead turtle nests increase more than 700%, making it the third largest nesting population in the world.
Five out of the seven known sea turtle species roam the Island, so these folks have a tough and important job, and their success is amplified through organizations like the Turtle Foundation using drones with night vision, getting dogs to help sniff out concerning scent trails, and involving the local communities to get the best information possible while creating these guardian jobs.
And while the threats are far from over, if these people completely changed their outlook to save their fellow species, and maybe others can too...
What else is going right in the world
Beavers stop London trains from flooding
A London tube station that used to flood from heavy rain, like many of New York City’s subway stations do, was fixed when beavers were re-released into a nearby park. The park actually used to be a golf course, and the beavers naturally dammed up a creek inside of it, creating a pond and wetland that absorbs rain like a sponge. In turn, it reduces nearby flooding. A win-win situation! (Lauren Frayer|NPR)
12 award-winning inventors
12 finalists were announced for the European Inventor Award for innovations including an effective malaria vaccine, a method of taking dead batteries and turning them into usable new ones, a living air biofilter, a magnetic propulsion upgrade for existing trains, and much more. (European Inventor Awards).
Transforming parking lots
Cities around the US are upgrading parking lots. moving away from heat-increasing asphalt towards better models like topping them with solar panels, adding enough trees to shade at least half the lot, painting reflective surfaces, and even using permeable pavement that absorbs water to reduce flooding. (Aya Diab & Alexa St. John|AP)
Our community took action (big time)
🌞 Mihkel recently had their building add solar panels and batteries which has reduced their power bill by about 70%.
🚫 Data center proposals are getting shut down and even banned by Egust4729, aiden_base123, and Susan who are joining their neighbors in signing letters, protesting, and making their opposition loud and clear.
🧵 Michaela Palladino is sewing clothes out of thrifted bedsheets
🎨 madeleine_of_the_woods and their friends started an art project to raise awareness and funds for local species at risk.
🐶 Justaharmlessfire is helping elders in their neighborhood bring their pets to the vet.
🌻 Yards are transforming into wildlife refuges thanks to loryntrail, juliegoodenough is planting milkweed to help butterflies, cmelansonauthor is making a food forest for their neighbors, divalea is using thrifted containers for theirs, oakheartnj planted natives at an elementary school, and Ashley Marie is growing stunning passion flowers to help the Gulf Fritillary species.
📦 Castle’s husband started a community shelf at work to take and leave food, hygiene, and clothes donations.
🌲 Hartstrings Creations is making a card game from scratch based on the life cycle of forest ecosystems
🗑️ Day is going on walks every day to pick up trash
🖼️ Fantasyfawn is hosting an arts and crafts night with strangers to get to know their neighbors.
🫵 And… what about you?
+ Bonus stories!
Fathomverse, the game where you can discover real marine species by playing, just got a big update.
Europe removed over 600 dams last year, a new record.
Concrete towers are getting added to the ocean off of Cambodia to combat and stop bottom trawling (a method of fishing that drags against the ocean floor and destroys ecosystems).
This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. Over 1 million people are in our community across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by hitting reply. Brand illustration by Andrea Miralles. Thanks for helping spread some positivity, and see you next week for more.