Celebrating Female World Ranger Week
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This post was first published by Paso Pacífico. It is posted here with the permission of the authors.
World Female Ranger Week started on June 23rd and ended on June 30th. Organizers of this special week interviewed five of our women sea turtle rangers as part of their mission to “amplify the world of female rangers around the world”. We hope you’ll consider donating to our World Female Ranger Week fundraiser to support the work of these amazing women! Hear from them below.
Liessi Calero became a Paso Pacífico ranger because she loves nature and believes that more people should dedicate themselves to wildlife conservation. Her favorite part of her job is getting to work with turtles.
“I really like it when we release sea turtles into the ocean and hold workshops to exchange ideas. I also love the turtle births and the release of hatchlings,” said Liessi.
Liesse added that her job as a ranger has allowed her to make a bigger financial contribution to her family.
“My family is very happy with what I do in my work because, being in an area where there is a lot of trafficking of turtle eggs, they tell me that what we do makes a difference.”
Darling Delgado, also a ranger for Paso Pacífico, said that her work as a turtle ranger has inspired children in the community, including her own kids.
“I have nieces, nephews, siblings, and children who are motivated by my work to protect the turtles. They like my work and aspire to be rangers”, said Darling.
Since she’s started working for Paso Pacífico, two of Darling’s own children have become Junior Rangers.
“My community feels very happy because we motivate children to protect animals. My family feels happy because I have learned so much about turtles compared to when I first started”, said Darling.
Karen Lacayo became interested in a ranger career after attending a series of environmental workshops.
“The example we give to others, especially children, of our commitment and love of nature is a fundamental way to raise awareness of the importance of conserving our flora and fauna”, said Karen.
Like Darling, Karen said that the kids in the community, especially girls, are inspired by their work.
“Many girls who study environmental education with us and collaborate with our beach cleanups say they want to be a ranger when they grow up”.
Miladys Rodriguez became a ranger to share the importance of protecting the environment.
“It makes me happy that certain children have approached me to tell me that they want to be rangers when they grow up”.
Miladys also said that adults have approached her wanting to be part of the Paso Pacífico team. As a result, they’ve gotten involved in environmental activities.
“With the help of the Paso Pacífico team, I was able to improve my skills and confidence by being involved with them”.
“I realized the richness and variety of our ecosystems, but also that we weren’t preserving them and they were being destroyed and at risk of extinction. At that moment, I fell in love with it”, said Elena.
She added that the community approaches the rangers in times of need.
“The community approaches us sometimes when they need help, because they know that we will do our best to help them. What we do is for the good of our people, our community, and our children”, said Elena. “All we do is for the well-being of Mother Earth because we want to see that our children play and that they continue to breathe fresh air”.