Be The Change!

Grade 6 Swiss international School
Be The Change!
On 7 March, Handhu, an Olive Ridley
turtle, got released back into the sea
after suffering horrific injuries the year
before. In their first IDU, grade 6 students
adopted Handhu and this magazine
reflects how they navigated the two
critical concepts of fairness and
development to protect turtles and
economic growth in marine
communities.

Be the Change!
Did you know that Qatar is the home of a number of
critically endangered marine species?
Did you know that our every day actions can either
destroy or protect these beautiful animals?
By using their ATL skills in LLE and INS, our students
have created this booklet to educate our school
community about how we can develop in a sustainable
way that is fair to all the residents of our planet.
None of our learning would be possible
without the generous support of Dadu
Children’s Museum, The Olive Ridley
Project and The Ministry of the
Environment and Climate Change Qatar.
Turtles are a keystone species.
In order to fully understand
their situation, we adopted an
injured sea turtle.

Gathering Data
In 1945, the life expectancy in Qatar
was roughly 40 years old. Now, Qatari
nationals look forward to a long and
prosperous future due to the country’s
commitment to development. So how
do we support global development (a
human right) without harming marine
life?
Let’s ask our experts!
We were incredibly privileged to be able to speak to some
of the best turtle experts in the world! Not only did Mr
Jasim ( the director marine affairs MOECC) bring his team
to educate us about the local situation, we also got a
private tour of turtle hospital where our beloved Handhu
was being treated. Dr Mariana and her team spent hours
teaching us about turtle medicine and animal conservation
in countries like The Maldives, Kenya, The Seychelles and
even Oman.
As you can imagine, we became experts at our ATLs of
note taking, gathering important data and creating
innovative solutions to real life problems.

Turtles: Older than
Mankind - Anas and
Ward
The world would die without keystone
species, meaning the earth needs them to
keep ecosystems stable; one of those is going
extinct. Want to know which one?
Let’s take a deep dive to the world of
turtles…
Did you know that turtles have existed since the late permian
epoch( 200-300 million years ago)? Turtles are fascinating creatures, but
they have a longer history than us! In this article, you will learn about their
history and how we can preserve them
Sea turtles belong to the order Testudines, whose first specimens date
back to about 220 million years ago, making them one of the most
primitive groups of reptiles that still inhabit the earth. So to be more
specific, let's take a deep dive into the world of Archelons.
Archelons have walked on earth before mankind with the dinosaurs. Wait,
does that make them dinosaurs? No, they are part of a group called
Pantestudine (Pan-test-udine), while dinosaurs are part of a group called
Archosauromorpha(Aka-soura-morpha) Still, they are related, living at the
same time as being part of a clade called Sauria. The Archelons could
weigh up to 3 light tons and ate meat such as jellyfish. Yet turtles are still
here today. How did they live for so long? How are they still here? How did
they become extinct after living for millions of years?

Turtles have existed since the late permian epoch, they evolved
many times in different ways! The first appearance of turtles was
a reptile called Eunotosaurus, This reptile is a Stem turtle. Stem
turtles are animals that definitely relate to turtles but are not
them. Then, there was a Eorhynchochelys. This reptile developed
a shell under the stomach. Then, the Proganochelys came in. This
reptile was the first who had a proper shell. Finally, the
Desmatochelys was the first proper sea turtle to exist, it was
huge. The total length of it was 2m. In Qatar, there are 5 species
of sea turtles that can be observed.
Archelons first appeared during the Triassic period, meaning they
came at the same time as Dinosaurs, marine reptiles, lizards,
crocodiles, and more. This was part of some of the early stages of
life on earth. These creatures lived through every life stage on
earth until now, some of these stages were when the dinosaurs
went extinct because of asteroids and volcanoes. So how did
Archelons survive?
Essentially, since their physical processes were so slow and
required so little energy, they could survive on scarce resources
during and after the dinosaur extinction. The conclusion is based
on the discovery of a turtle fossil in North Dakota that goes back
60 million to 65 million years. The specimen belongs to a turtle
species that is assumed to have survived global extinction
because fossils of the same species were discovered in rock layers
deposited up to 75 million years ago.
The global extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, known
as the K-T boundary because of its unique signature in rock layers,
was most likely caused by a meteorite strike, though the exact
sequence of events is still being debated. Some researchers
believe the meteor triggered a series of world-shattering volcanic
eruptions, which may or may not have been caused by the meteor.

The turtles, along with other burrowing and water-living animals,
survived the dinosaur-killing whole-Earth extinction event, which
wiped out 90 percent of land-living animal and plant species,
including land-living turtles. So if Archelons were this strong why
aren't they here now?
Archelons as previously talked about lived many years on earth but
went extinct. But why? The increasing threat of egg or hatchling
predation by new marine or mammalian species may have led to the
extinction of Archelon meaning turtle eggs have been attacked
more and slowly disappeared after time. Wait if they were a
keystone species how is the earth still here but what about the new
turtle species Who are they and how did they come?
Have you noticed the animals I
chose?
Predators are an animals worst enemy: a stronger species ready to
feast on them and this is the same for sea turtle hatchling usually
they hatch at night to hide from predators but this could be
changed from light pollution. To understand why this is bad, turtles
follow the moon that points to the ocean meaning other lights
could distort their path and could bring attention to other
predators such as crabs, birds and more meaning less survival rate
but a question is: why don’t they just find a new nesting place?
So far in our generation there are Hawksbills,Greens,Olive
ridleys,Logger head, Leather back and the extinct ones Archelons
and Toxochelyidae’s now as said the strongest sea turtles
archelons went extinct so what about thes ones well they arent in a
good state either. Wait so how much sea turtles are there left?
There are around 6.5 million now your first thought is that theres
alot of turtles left are you sure though?
Billions of humans.
50 Billion birds.
4500 species of crabs and more…

When a turtle lays an egg, the gender of the turtle depends on the
temperature. If the temperature is 27 C or less, then the turtle will be
a male, but if the temperature is 31 C or more, then the turtle will be a
female. To recognise the gender of a turtle you can: Look at the sea
turtle's tail size. Male sea turtles have a longer tail that extends past
the edge of the carapace, while females have a shorter tail that barely
reaches the carapace. Or Look at the sea turtle's cloaca. This is an
opening or vent on the underside of the tail. Male sea turtles have a
cloaca that is closer to the tip of the tail, while females have a cloaca
that is closer to the body.
For thousands of years, turtles have used the same nesting
beaches because the temperature is just right and the eggs
won’t wash away. If we destroy a nesting beach, the turtles will
just stop laying or lay eggs in the road that has replaced their
nesting area.
Nesting is a complicated thing. How it works is that when a
mom lays its eggs the turtles when they hatch they memorize
their beach to grow up and lay their eggs in the same place -
meaning if we can calculate when they hatch we can know
when they will come back to watch or learn more about them.
Not just that: in the process of them growing by the time
they come back to their nesting place the might be new
buildings that could harm the mom or the new eggs
This is why you should never interfere with hatchlings or try
to “help” them get to the sea. The baby turtles need to move
or they will not remember their beach for when it’s time to
lay their eggs.
This little one will always remember the beach where she
hatched
DID YOU KNOW?
QATAR PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PROTECTING ENDANGERED
SEA TURTLES. EVERY YEAR HAWKSBILL TURTLES COME TO NEST
IN FUWAIRIT AND THE MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND
CLIMATE CHANGE HAS RESCUED 30C00 EGGS SO FAR.
SADLY, ONLY 1 IN 1000 TURTLES LIVE TO ADULTHOOD AND A
HAWKSBILL ONLY STARTS LAYING EGGS AT THE AGE OF 25!
THESE MAGNIFICENT CREATURES THAT SURVIVED THE DINOSAURS
MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE OUR PLASTIC POLLUTION,
GREENHOUSE GASES AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
SO HOW DO WE BALANCE FAIRNESS AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?
KEEP READING TO FIND OUT MORE!

Sea turtle rescue in
Qatar - Jian and Rita
Sea turtles are one of the most
imperiled animals on earth. In Qatar,
there are an estimated 3,000 sea
turtles that have been stranded in the
Persian Gulf. These endangered
reptiles need our help!
Sea turtles are keystone species ( Important species for their
ecosystem: Turtles help keep beach dunes, the seafloor and
coral reefs healthy, keep jellyfish populations balanced, and
more.) in the marine ecosystem. There are 7 types of sea
turtles, 4 of which you can find in Qatar; these are: green
turtles, olive ridley turtles, loggerhead turtles, and
hawksbills .Although sea turtles lack teeth, their jaws have
evolved into custom "beaks" that are tailored to their specific
food. They have skin-covered eardrums but not noticeable
ears. They have an excellent sense of smell and hear best at
low pitches. Although they have good underwater eyesight,
they are shortsighted on land. They are very well-suited to
living at sea thanks to their sleek bodies and big flippers. Sea
turtles, however, still have strong attachments to the land,
due to them having to lay eggs.

Why Do Turtles Get Stranded ?
turtles were injured. (Information from Olive Ridley
Project).
Sea turtles are one of the most endangered species on
earth. Population numbers have decreased by more than
95 percent since they were first described in the early
1800s. They used to be common sightings along the coasts
of Qatar and other Gulf countries, but are now slowly
disappearing due to a variety of factors including poaching
for their meat, illegal fishing, entanglements in plastics and
coastal development.
Sea Turtles get stranded by getting entangled in ghost
gear (Abandoned fishing nets, hooks etc.). Or, they could be
attacked by a predator, and drift towards the shore. Most
turtles get stunned by cold weather, and are paralyzed for
hours. Many turtle strandings are caused by human
activity e.g vessel strikes, entanglement etc. 37 dead and
injured sea turtles were found at the northern Aegean and
Sea of Marmara between 2010 and 2017, of which 34 were
loggerhead sea turtles and 3 were green sea turtles. The
frequency of stranding was 4.62 turtles per year. All green
sea turtles were dead, whereas 16 of the loggerhead sea
If you find a sea turtle stranded on the beach,
call the Ministry call center (184) to report
your observation and findings. Or, you could
call the national helpline for turtles (189). If
you see a hatchling emerging, do not interfere
with it. Switch off any bright lights and stay
clear of the path to the ocean. Do not pick
them up with your bare hands, or bring them
towards the ocean. You could pass germs and
bacteria to the baby hatchling with your bare
hands. Hatchlings need to imprint where they
were born, so they can come back later. They
need to warm up their muscles for the big
swim they have after they get into the ocean.

We have been lucky enough to partner with The Olive
Ridley Project. Out of 7 known turtle species, 5 are
present in the Maldives, The two most common are the
hawksbill and the green turtles. Those sea turtles are
endangered, that's why Dr. Mariana Fragoso (Resident
veterinary surgeon) and her team are saving the sea
turtles from immediate extinction. They are raising
awareness by posting on social media and giving
presentations to schools and the general public. So, as
individuals, we can also save the turtles by reducing the
debris that can be eaten by the turtles.
Moreover, people not only in the
Maldives but also in Qatar are
responsible for saving the turtles. For
example, the Environmental Science
Center in Qatar University, in
collaboration with the Protection and
Wildlife Department team, executed
the Qatar Turtle Project. The project
is funded by Qatar Energy and
monitored by the Ministry of
Environment and Climate Change.
This project targets all Qatar beaches
and specifically in Fuwairit, where they
helped release more than 31,000
hawksbill baby turtles to protect
endangered species. Last but not
least, it is everyone’s responsibility in
Qatar, be it residents or locals, to help
the authorities implement the plan
and make it successful.
As David Attenborough said “ Every breath of air we
take, every mouthful of food that we take, comes from the
natural world. And if we damage the natural world, we
damage ourselves.” Protecting sea turtles is essential for
a healthy ocean. Let's put our effort together and make
sure sea turtles exist in our ocean for future generations.

Sauvons Les Tortues Marines En Voie De
Disparition De L'extinction !!
Les scientifiques ont passé des décennies à tenter de
résoudre les mystères de créatures incroyables qui
suscitent la curiosité. Savez-vous qui ils sont? Tortues de
mer! Ils sont extrêmement
importants pour notre
planète pour de
nombreuses raisons.
Sur 7 espèces de tortues
connues, 5 sont présentes
aux Maldives. Les deux plus
courantes sont la tortue
imbriqué et la tortue verte.
Ces tortues marines sont Endangered turtle in Persian Gulf
en voie de disparition, c'est
pourquoi le Dr Mariana
Fragoso (vétérinaire résidents ) et son équipe sauvent les
tortues marines d'une extinction immédiate. Ils sensibilisent
en publiant sur les réseaux sociaux et en faisant des
présentations dans les écoles et le grand public. Ainsi, en
tant qu’individus, nous pouvons également sauver les
tortues en réduisant les débris qu’elles peuvent manger.
De plus, ce sont les habitants des Maldives mais aussi
du Qatar qui sont responsables de la sauvegarde des
tortues. Par exemple, le Centre des sciences de
l'environnement de l’université du Qatar, en
collaboration avec l'équipe du Département de la
protection et de la faune, a exécuté le projet Qatar
Turtle. Le projet est financé par Qatar Energy et
suivi par le ministère de l'Environnement et du
Changement climatique. Ce projet cible toutes les
plages du Qatar et plus particulièrement celle de
Fuwairit, où ils ont contribué à relacher plus de 31
000 bébés tortues imbriqués pour protéger les
espèces menacés. Enfin et surtout, il est de la
responsabilité de chacun au Qatar, qu’il soit
résident ou local, d’aider les autorités a mettre en
œuvre le plan et a en faire un succès.Comme l’a dit
David Attenborough : « Chaque respiration que nous
prenons, chaque bouchée de nourriture que nous prenons
vient du monde naturel. Et si nous endommageons le monde
naturel, nous nous endommageant nous-mêmes. » La
protection des tortues marines est essentielle pour un
océan sain. Unissons nos efforts et veillons à ce que les
tortues marines existent dans notre océan pour les
générations futures.

What are we doing
to our turtles? -
Nathan and Vittoria
In the photo, nurse Tristan treats Handhu with
antibiotics. This article will explain more about how
Handhu ended up in hospital and what dangers he
will face in the wild
For over 100 million years, sea turtles have covered huge
distances in many of the world's oceans. They are extremely
important because they have a crucial role in the balance of
marine life. Humans have a role in their chosen activities to
protect them from harm, before it's too late!
Firstly, many turtles are harmed by human activity of fishing. For
example, fishing nets accidentally catch sea turtles and make
them suffer and could potentially lead to their death. Turtles need
air to breathe, as they are air-breathing reptiles. When they are
caught in the fishing nets for too long, they drown because they
are unable to come up from the surface for air. The main effect on
this is that human activity is reducing turtle numbers. ‘’ Trapped
in a net, the turtles are dragged through the water with no access
to the surface to breathe, causing them to drown. It is estimated
that some 4,600 sea turtles are killed by fishing nets hooks every
year in the U.S. waters” - Smithsonian Oceans

This story also connects to a turtle called Handhu .
Handgun was severely disentangled and rescuers knew he
was in a terrible condition as there was a deep laceration
to his right left flipper. Luckily he has recovered slowly and
is still getting treated. The nurses are aiming for Handu to
have a happy successful life now that he is treated with the
right care.
Secondly, an additional reason why human activity is
harming turtles is because of illegal trade in selling turtle
shells. For example, turtle shells are very popular and
people like to buy them. Evidence supporting this is that in
many places, turtle shells are used to make jewelry and
other luxury items to sell to tourists and this is
endangering turtles. A solution for this problem is to be a
valid customer and know the consciences for the innocent
turtles out there.
Moreover, a further reason that shows human activity is
harming the population of turtles is climate change.
Climate change is causing the earth to heat up. For
example, sand is also heating up and this is impacting. Male
and female turtle hatchlings change as a result of the sand
temperature. If the sand is hotter the gender is most likely
to be female. This means that the balance of sea turtles
will be more biased towards females and this could lead to
reducing turtle population in the future.
Finally, an increase in severe storms is another climate
change problem affecting turtles. For example, hurricanes
and tropical cyclones could make the problem of beach
erosion happen faster. This means that sea turtles' nesting
habitat are more likely to be flooded and this means that
nesting success rates will be lowered. This would endanger
turtles even in the future.
Even though Handhu was rescued in the Maldives, the
same issues affect turtles in Qatar.
Our beautiful country Qatar is home to 5 out of 7 turtle
species, but they are dying because of our actions. Now
250,000 turtles die per year and you probably didn’t know
that only 0.1% of turtles survive to nesting age - Dr
Mariana Olive Ridley Project. If you can make these minor
changes to your everyday life you will impact Qatar and the
turtles greatly.
What are these changes? You might be asking yourself,
they are small changes like turning of lights when not in
the room to save electricity or not wasting your food
because when you waste food it releases a greenhouse gas
called methane which is 82 times worse than Co2. These
are small changes that will directly affect Qatar and other
countries with vast turtle populations.

But really there is something that
is such an easy fix, its plastic,
plastic is such a big problem
because it does not decompose
which means it lasts for more
than 500 years and plastic bags
look like jellyfish which is a turtles
main source of food.
Plastic Isn’t all bad, it is
used everywhere in the
medical field such as
syringes those are made
of plastic and there are
pacemakers which save
600,000 people per year
and then some
bulletproof armor is also
made in plastic which so
far has saved more than
3000 and now in Europe
only 3% of food is
delivered spoilt because
they are wrapped in
plastic. Unfortunately, we
waste so much of it and this lands in the
ocean.
If these small, small changes are made then the Qatari
marine ecosystem will be in a much better shape and you
will see a beautiful ecosystem thriving below water, the
beaches will not be trash everywhere and it will be a silky
sand going through your toes. Just please take these
small changes into consideration.

Plastics: Good or Evil? - Jenna and Johann
Did you know that more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are
floating around our oceans? Around the world, plastic is used
in many different ways, some bad,
some good. Plastic can be used to
save peoples lives. But it can also be
used to harm many things such as
marine life. Why can’t we take 5
minutes to clean up after ourselves
and recycle? Or simply avoid using
plastic?
Turtles are very important to our
survival and without them our
oceans will suffer. Turtles are
endangered for many horrifying
reasons but the main reason is
PLASTIC. For instance, ingestion of plastic is one of the
critical reasons that make marine animals starve, choke and
die… When marine animals ingest the plastic the plastic
doesn’t degrade making the animal feel full. When this
happens the animal will not eat which leads to starvation and
death.
Don’t you wonder where all this plastic we dispose of in the
trash goes? Well, it goes into landfills and then straight to the
ocean. Once it reaches the ocean it stays there forever until
an animal eats it or gets entangled in it. Then, it can lead to
death or starvation, injuries and harm to the animal. So do
you really want to kill animals with our trash?
Plastic is an integral part of our
lives.Plastic is so cheap and easy to
make that we use it all the time.
Unfortunately, it’s not even recycled in
a proper manner. About 91% of plastic
is thrown away. So where does all that
plastic go? Every year, over 17 trillion
pounds (7.72 trillion kilograms) of
plastic are washed into the
oceans.There are five huge areas in
This image was taken from Doha News
the world’s oceans that are a “soup” of
floating trash. One of these areas, the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is three times as large as
France.Plastic pollution has particularly harmed marine life
and their ecosystem .These magnificent creatures are among
the oldest species on the planet Earth.You may be shocked to
know that themain reason that the sea turtles are
endangered species is because of plastic pollution.People are
dumping plastic everywhere and it is reaching the oceans.Sea
turtles and other marine animals are mistaking plastic as food
and are consuming it.The plastic damages their internal
organs which leads to starvation,eventually death. Do we say
goodbye to plastic or sea turtles?

But if we still need plastic then there
are so many other ways you can
reuse plastic instead of throwing it
in the trash. For example, making
jewelry, because in the Oliver Ridley
project they take the nets and
plastic in the ocean that harmed
animals and use it to make jewelry.
Afterwards, they sell them and with
the money they buy medications for
the turtles. Another way is to take
your plastic and put it into a
recycling bin. Of course we can’t
take plastic entirely but we can
always reuse it!
But of all the bad things plastic does
there are also good things. Like,
plastic saves lives. Plastic is used for
police shields and armor/protection.
As plastic is not biodegradable it is
very hard to break it and can
protect you. It is also a lot cheaper
than leather, cotton, paper, etc and
it can keep things good for longer.
And, that is good because if you are poor or cannot
afford your food going bad or buying big bags of
groceries then you can keep the food you do have good
for 5-10 days just by wrapping it in plastic wrap. Plastic
wrap is also much cheaper than aluminum foil and is
better than aluminum foil.
Two experts from the
Ministry of Environment for
Qatar, Jassim Mohd Lari
(Head of the marine wildlife
section) and Mohammed E.
Ahmed (marine biologist)
visited our school to raise
awareness just for turtles
and explained to us why we
need to help and how. It used
to be 1 in a 1000 baby turtles
making it to adulthood but
now it is “10 in 1000 baby
turtles making it to
adulthood”.These are acts we
need to continue to do,
raising awareness, helping
the endangered and
reducing, reusing and
recycling.
In conclusion, we can’t
always get rid of the problem
but we can always make it better. Need an easy solution?
Well just start recycling and stop harming marine life and
leaving ghost nets and plastic in the water. As MYP
students we should be able to reduce and reuse. “ The
human race will regret it if we don’t act on plastic now”
Said by David Attenborough.

Is your boat helping or harming? - Ali
While Handhu was in hospital, he made friends with another patient called Aïcha. Aïcha
was a victim of a boat strike and is still in recovery after losing two flippers.
Aïcha is doing well after sustaining
horrific injuries. Her wounds were
treated with surgery, cold laser
therapy and manuka honey. This
brave little girl is now swimming in
the sea with the help of her medical
team.
ONE OF OUR KEY VALUES IS GRIT OR RESILIENCE. AÏCHA IS AN
AMAZING EXAMPLE OF DETERMINATION AND COURAGE. SHE IS ALSO
SO LOVING TO OTHER TURTLES WHO ARE FEELING DEPRESSED.

Why should we care about turtles?
We should care about turtles because turtles are a
really important aspect for the ocean. Turtles help maintain
coral reef production all the way up to transporting all the
essential nutrients that the beaches, coastal dunes and
oceans need. Without turtles, the ocean would not have the
ability to function on its own. Therefore, it is very important
that we protect all 7 species of sea turtles.
Can I tell you a story about a turtle that the Olive Ridley
Project saved? Their name is Aisha. Aisha’s gender/sex is
unknown, but we only know that she was found floating at
the Dhaalu Atoll resort. The resort staff rescued the turtle
as fast as they can. The resort staff called the Olive Ridley
Project. There was a lot of turbulence and there was a
storm, so they had to make a 2 day trip. For the 1st day, the
turtle stayed at the resort. The 2nd day, Aisha was
transported to the resort on November 4th, 2023. Aisha
suffered severe trauma to her front left flipper. Aisha also
has the front right flipper’s humerus bone completely
exposed and is also currently undergoing critical care
wherever she is injured.
There are many ways that turtles die. One of these ways is
boat strikes. 40% of turtles die from boat strikes every
year. The turtles get hit by boats because of many factors;
for example, when a turtle is surfacing to bask or get some
air, a boat might be coming where the turtle is, and, when a
turtle is breathing or basking, the turtle is vulnerable, so,
the body or the propeller of the boat strikes the turtle, and
the turtle is severely injured from the propeller. The speed
and power of the propeller or boat also determines the
intensity of the injury. .
There are only some solutions to this saddening problem. A
solution to boat strikes on turtles is that we could slow
down when a turtle is spotted basking or breathing in air. We
should also attempt to avoid driving over seagrass beds
because turtles sometimes hide there in case a predator is
hunting it. Under the seagrass beds, there might be a turtle
and the propeller might even kill the turtle instantly, which
has happened many times in the ocean. We should also stay
in channels of water to make the rates of hitting a turtle
lower by a lot.
You should always attempt to stop your boat when a turtle is
basking or breathing near your area and let the turtle bring
itself down after it is done with breathing or basking. We
should always remember to not go too fast on your boat. If
we do these things, we will be able to stop boat strikes and
we might be able to put a stop to the current situation that
is happening in the ocean. I hope this world can put an end to
the boat strikes and at least lower the amount of turtle
deaths by boat strikes from 40% to at least 15% to at least
help out the turtles a bit.

AISHA’S AMPUTATION SITES ARE ALMOST
FULLY HEALED. SHE CAN SWIM AND DIVE BUT
THE DOCTORS NEED TO OBSERVE HOW SHE
HANDLES STRONG CURRENTS WITH ONLY TWO
LIMBS BEFORE THE DECISION IS MADE TO
RELEASE HER BACK INTO THE WILD.
IF YOU WANT TO DONATE TOWARDS HER
MEDICAL COSTS, PLEASE GO TO
OLIVERIDLEYPROJECT.ORG

Can technology help
turtles? - Nicolas and Mahd
Have you ever wondered how modern technology can affect
turtles?You might have not but I have.Turtles are
magnificent species so we need to know how to save them
so we need to know how technology can affect them saving
them or harming them.Therefore let's get right into it.
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like from the
perspective of a turtle? Contaminated soil, polluted air, a soup of
trash floating in the seas - the world has changed dramatically with
the advancement of industrialization and modernization but is
technology bad indeed?
The world has many different things that prove that we have come a
long way from just sticks and stones. but what effect does it have on
others, not only humans. But marine animals and all other creatures
of this world? For one the humans have made plastic, plastic can be
very grim for marine animals including sea turtles. But what can it do
to help sea turtles?
There are all sorts of machines, devices and other gadgets that us
humans use to make us feel healthy and strong. But did you know they
can also help sea turtles? The common x-ray is used to see the sea
turtle's bones and other parts of its body. There is also an app that
multiple people use when they find a hurt/stranded/stuck sea turtle
and the app is called Conservation AI which uses AI to help a sea
turtle in a much easier way.

To act fast we will need your help.For you to donate to
ORP and adopt a turtle which you can donate the money
for the ORP to use your money to help the turtles get
better and raise awareness or just learn about them and
do a beach cleanup.No matter what you do it all helps so it
doesn't matter if all you do is pick up a piece of garbage
every day it all counts. This technology is great and all
but we don't have it in our hands everywhere so is this
just a prediction or is this technology taking play right
now
The cool thing is that the technology mentioned below
is being used now and is currently developing to be even
better.So now let's move on to the main point, how does
technology affect turtles?
Technology these days is fantastic it will be able to help
or harm badly turtles affecting them greatly so let's
look at both sides.Good:modern technology can help
turtles by tracking them throughout the ocean with
satellites allowing you to see where they nest and lay
their eggs after that you can protect that area. Another
good way to help turtles with modern technology is that it
allows making riskier surgeries possible by using lasers to
cut off infected parts of the body quicker and less painfully
and Let go of trapped turtles for example every year many
turtles get trapped and drown in the trawl nets that
shrimp catching boats drag across the ocean floor (thanks
to humans again) but now we have developed a way to set
them free.This happens by putting metal bars in the middle
of the net while the shrimp flow right through them the
turtles (and other big animals) get stuck so then are
brought out through a flap in the trawl net.
This technology can
be found almost
everywhere but
mostly in the
maldive because
there there is an
organization known
as the ORP (Olive
Ridley Project)
whose goal is to
save turtles.They
use a lot of
technology such as
satellite trackers to
find and figure out
the turtles swim path nesting location and hatching
location and the doppler wich is a device used to hear a
turtle's heart beat or more specifically the blood flow.With
that said let's move on into the conclusion.
“We need to work with nature not
against it” (David Attenborough)

A Turtle’s Viewpoint
on Global Warming -
Ammar and Hugo
Are you aware that you are a culprit involved in, not one but
many crimes? You are destroying your own home and the
home of billions of creatures. Especially that of sea turtles.
As a hawksbill living in the Arabian gulf, I am experiencing
severe climate change. Because of you, it’s about to get
worse.
To start with, you humans are burning fossil fuels for your own benefit,
releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Thus trapping the
sun’s heat and making the globe hotter. Deforestation aids global
warming. When forests are demolished, carbon dioxide escapes into the
atmosphere, reinforcing what is becoming a prison of heat. The middle
east is among the places on the planet with very few greenery.
According to Jhon Mcmanus, geographical.co.uk, “Recent scientific
research predicts that, by 2070, the Gulf will experience heat waves
beyond the limits of human tolerance”. If that’s what will happen to the
land, what will happen to the seas, my home?
74,000 years ago, Qatar wasn’t a peninsula surrounded by the Persian
gulf. Global warming elevated the seas. 6000 years ago, the Persian gulf
came to existence. So did the nesting beaches of the hawksbill
population. But, the sea isn’t stopping there. Soon, our nesting grounds
will be engulfed by the sea. Sea turtles will lose the privilege of nesting
on beaches isolated from human civilization. Especially hawksbills.
That’s not the only problem.

Mr Jassim Mohammed Lari taught grade 6 exactly
how temperature affects our eggs. If it is less than
29 C, you will get males. If it’s over 35, you will get females
but ideally the temperature will fluctuate and you will get
both.
Endangered turtle nesting on a landing strip in Maldives
If a turtle was born where a hotel is being built, she will still
try to lay her eggs there. So turtles will lay eggs in hotels,
airports or busy roads because they will built over the
beach. There is not just one turtle laying eggs but lots of
turtles.
This is why humans must stop wasting food and fossil fuels.
Global warming will cause our nesting beaches to flood.
We need YOUR help!

Can Sunshine Make
a Difference?
ATL: generate creative solutions for
authentic problems.
It started as a joke between friends.
What if? What if we can use the floor to
stop climate change? What if we put
solar panels on the floor…
Luckily, Mr AlGammal and his friends
decided to try and make this crazy
dream a reality and their idea became a
company called Sunpave that created
walkable solar tiles for Al Thumama
stadium.
AÏCHA THE TURTLE TAUGHT US A LOT ABOUT GRIT AND RESILIENCE. MR
ALGAMMAL IS A PARENT OF A GRADE 6 STUDENT AND HE KINDLY SHARED
HIS STORY ABOUT HOW RESILIENCE AND CREATIVITY TAUGHT HIM TO
OVERCOME SOME MAJOR CHALLENGES.
Mohammad AlGammal holds an innovative solution to help our turtles

Climate change threatens every living creature in Qatar.
Unfortunately, solar panels take up a LOT of space. They
also need to be made of strong stuff to withstand the
desert winds and searing heat. This could make this option
ridiculously expensive.
Mr AlGammal works in the technical engineering
department of Texas A&M University and has over 14 years
experience in mechanical design, simulation and project
management. He also has a group of wonderful friends and
colleagues who are passionate about improving the world
we live in.
By working together, they designed a floor tile that
creates solar energy and reduces pollution and climate
change. This innovation earned them multiple awards and
they got to showcase their design during the Qatar World
Cup!
Sunpave won first place in the Sustainable Technologies/
Future Energy category in the “Create the Future Design
Contest”.
When I asked Mr AlGammal what message he had for my
students, he shared one of his biggest challenges: the tiles
are made out of materials like glass and it took a lot of
work and struggle to get the materials to be strong
enough to handle a lot of weight and impact. Plus, the solar
cells are incredibly fragile and shatter very easily. But the
team did not give up despite huge challenges and lots of
failed attempts.
The tiles are now strong enough to handle fire trucks!
They can also be placed in train tracks and marine vessels.
This will definitely make a difference to our cold blooded
friends like Handhu.
Many of us don’t realise that “comfort” is an enemy. We
need challenge and failure to reach our full potential. We
have to dream big and find friends who will work with us
and we mustn’t expect instant success.
WE ARE INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL FOR MR
ALGAMMAL FOR SHARING HIS STORY
WITH US. HIS SUCCESS IS A RESULT OF
GRIT AND INTEGRITY AND IT INSPIRES
ALL OF US TO DREAM BIG DREAMS.

Author Name
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magazine,
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Ridley
Project
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