Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary Here I Come

Hello All You Keeping Track of My Caribbean Adventures,

I leave this Saturday to spend 10 days working at the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary in Bequia with the founder and owner Brother Orton. Here is the letter explaining the purpose of the trip. Wish me luck, this has incredible potential and I am truly excited.



Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary Trip Feasibility Study

In the continued effort to develop the Canaries Basin area to alleviate unemployment Community Club and I have been working jointly with the Saint Lucia National Trust. We are seeking to develop the campsite area in Anse La Liberte into an employment and income generating area. One of the main ways is to build an attraction that will draw tourists, especially tourists looking for an eco friendly experience. After many hours of research the best way to accomplish this is to convert the camping area into low cost huts and open a turtle sanctuary below the camping platforms. We are currently in the discovery stage of the process and the Saint Lucia Trust would like to send me on feasibility study/work trip for 10 days to Bequia Island to visit Brother Orton at the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary which is near Saint Vincent. http://turtles.bequia.net/

The goal of the trip is three fold:
1- to acquire the knowledge of the daily workings of a turtle sanctuary through hands on training.
2- to develop expertise in the care and raising knowledge of this endangered species.
3- to analyze the business aspect of a turtle sanctuary from the following aspects:
A-Infrastructure costs of building a facility.
B-Maintenance and food costs.
C-Daily Work flow.
D-Tourism
E-Operation budget
F-Fundraising through private and international groups.

By assessing all these areas during the 10 day trip, we will be able to access the feasibility of starting a sanctuary in Saint Lucia. This will be instrumental in writing a proposal with the experience and expertise of spending a week and half working at a turtle sanctuary. The experience will be captured using video and photos along with detailed notes for easy skills transference to members of both the Trust and Community Club. This working knowledge and developing partnership with the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary will give our proposal the weight and credibility needed to pursue funding and if the project is pursued those skills and knowledge will be transferred to the National Trust and Community Club. Lastly, it will help us develop a solid relationship with a possible “sister” sanctuary that we can share knowledge and resources with to assist in the development of an eco sensitive tourism product in order to preserve a species and a precious asset to Saint Lucia’s people and tourism.
After I return I will meet with the Trust members and Edsel to submit a full report with all the information that was gathered so we can continue working on the proposal.
I would like to request permission to leave for this work trip from Peace Corps,
Thank you for considering this request, below is the flight information details from Liat and the contact information for Brother Orton,
Lee Klejnot, Canaries Peace Corps Volunteer

Orton G. King
P.O. Box 36
Union Vale, Bequia
St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Cell: 784 493 3231 784 532 8013
Tel: 784.458.3245 784 458 3596
Fax: 784 457 3322
E-Mail: oldhegg@vincysurf.com