Exmouth Train the Trainer 2013

Hey from Casey, the new GTCP program assistant.

I’ll begin by saying hello and introducing myself with a little background.

I hail from Dampier, Western Australia (yes, red dog country) where I began my passion in Marine Biology. To cut a long story short, I completed a degree after completing many years in the field. My first experience with GTCP was a week of ‘train the trainer training’ in Exmouth, Western Australia. The training went for a week, with the standard routine of waking up before dawn to be ready at the beach by sunrise. Whereby we were blessed to see some of the world’s most beautiful creatures, either passing casually by, or completing their mating ritual.

The training consisted of 5 very eager individuals to learn how to accurately train both volunteers and scientific students in the ways of turtle track monitoring. It’s safe to say, my skills at ‘walking like a turtle’ have been demonstrated many times now, and hopefully helped my interns understand how each different turtle moves through the sand and nests, whether it’s a green turtle,‘breaststroking’ through the sand, or a loggerhead, that lugs itself through the sand forming dew drops or J’s as they go. The training allowed me to not only become a better turtle tracker, but it also provided me with the opportunity to meet some of the greatest, and most passionate people I can now call friends. I would like to thank Keely Markovina and the people at Department of Parks and Wildlife, for providing me with this unique opportunity, as well as Karen Hattingh for allowing me to go off and become a more experienced tracker and teacher.

I have no doubt in my mind that you will hear from me and the Interns again very soon, but for now, keep an eye out for all the photos coming your way through the GTCP Facebook page.