It’s May and That Means Mother’s Day Mother’s Day is May 9 in the U.S. and May 10 in México. If you have been trying to think of the perfect Mother’s Day present or thinking you can never have too many mothers, let us suggest our Adopt-A-Mother Program. You can Adopt-A-Mother Turtle, Baby or the entire Nest by stopping by The CEA Center or by visiting our on-line store. Click here to read more about this program. Akumal Springs into Fundraising Action CEA’s Turtle Protection Program has certainly benefited from a couple of local fundraising events recently. It’s wonderful to receive local assistance, in addition to the support of our friends from afar. Click here to read about the Disco Night and the Pasta & Puppet Show occasions. Coming Together for Water As part of its conservation efforts, CEA hosted and participated in a workshop on Integrated Watershed Management, April 1–2. Amigos de Sian Ka'an, a Mexican conservation organization, and The Nature Conservancy, from the U.S., organized the workshop and invited CEA to participate. The main objectives were to share methodologies for developing water valuing processes, to understand the regional hydrological system and problems, and then to begin to create a shared vision for integrated watershed conservation and management in the whole state of Quintana Roo. A CD was also distributed with the results of the previous workshop on "Building the Basis for the Conservation of Water and Associated Biodiversity in the Yucatán Peninsula." Over 30 people from a variety of conservation organizations, government agencies and university students participated in the workshop. It was great to have discussions on the importance of water in society–the cultural, environmental and economic value of such a vital resource. The maps of the underwater river system in the Maya Riviera region were incredible and gave us a quick understanding of how fragile the water cycle is here on the peninsula, and of the potential threats to water quality through poor management of the land and water. Now we have to determine the best way to get both government and society to realize and act upon this dynamic, and to make sure we have a more integrated way of managing this essential liquid. CEA continues to participate in the process and hopes that, throughout the year, we may host a variety of workshops and meetings to advance the conservation of the rich biodiversity of the Maya Riviera, especially the Mesoamerican Reef System. “Trash for Food” Program Begins The Solidaridad Municipal government has begun a “food for recyclables” program in Akumal, Tulum and Playa del Carmen. They borrowed the idea from a small town in Brazil where the government gives the people basic food items in exchange for several kilos of recyclable garbage such as plastic and aluminum. People from the Akumal Pueblo are given one kilo of food (rice, beans, cooking oil, milk and fruit) for every five kilos of recyclables, including paper and glass. As a short-term measure, this is a great way to get people to begin to see trash as a valuable resource and help clean up the town. However, CEA will work with the municipal government to make sure that the advances made through the program do not disappear if and when the funds dry-up for such government programs, and litter begins to fill the streets once again. Also, for the moment, the glass and paper is collected but thrown into the local landfill, because the government does not have the infrastructure to deal with these two recyclables. CEA is working to complete this part of the cycle and get another service to participate, one that will handle the glass and paper, putting them back into use and keeping them out of any landfills. Also, with the wonderful help from volunteers, CEA takes its puppet show to the bi-weekly “trash for food” event, to help educate the local children about the value of recycling. We'll let you know how the program evolves. Earth Day 2004 in CEA A big celebration took place this April 22 at different places in the Maya Riviera. CEA organized some great events for Earth Day 2004, and invited everyone to join. Planning started about two months prior to the celebration. Work was done in combination with the enthusiastic team from Playa del Carmen, the "Consejo de la Juventud y el Deporte," the Tourist Council, the Environmental Department and wonderful support of private businesses, organizations and people from the Akumal community. Click here to read more. Celebrating Earth Day 2004 in Akumal At 8:30 in the morning we went to get the children from the community basketball court in Akumal Pueblo and bring them to CEA. We divided the children into groups and talked to them about why we were all going to clean the beach, gave them big black garbage bags, and split them up among the three beaches of Akumal, from Yal-Ku to South Akumal. Tourists and locals also joined in the clean-up. We found all sorts of garbage along the shore, from the ubiquitous plastic, to flip-flops, syringes, bags of household trash, Styrofoam, fishing line, and even a huge length of rope used to moor ships. Click here to read more. Upcoming Events Turtle Walks will start soon. You may now make your reservations on-line. May 14-20 is the next VIDAS Clinic. They will be in Tulum on May 14; Playa del Carmen May 15, 16 and 17; Puerto Morelos May 18, 19 and 20. Donations such as towels, collars, leashes and small children's toys may be dropped off at the CEA Center for the VIDAS Clinic. May 19-21 Symposium at the CEA Center. This year's theme is “The Riviera Maya: Scientific Research and a Sustainable Ecology.” July 22-31 is the Maya Riviera Sea Turtle Expedition. Contact Heather to make reservations. Special Thanks CEA wishes to thank Gobe Divers for their generous donation of snorkel gear to our Environmental Education Program and for their involvement in Dive for the Environment. We Need Your help Please support a program or project that you feel strongly about by making a donation directly to that program. A great way to support the Turtle Protection Program is to Adopt a Turtle; you can do this on-line using your credit card. Also if you are a Frequent Flyer and you have extra miles, you can donate them to CEA. Remember all donations are tax-deductible. And please, tell a friend about the organization. Most CEA Members join thanks to other members telling them about CEA. If you have questions about how you can become more involved, please contact us. Virus Alert Please be aware that there are many computer viruses circulating; some viruses take on the names of Web sites such as ours. To avoid getting a virus, never open any zip file unless you are absolutely sure who it is from and what it contains. To learn more about viruses, click here. Thank you for your continued support of CEA. We list our CEA Members and Contributors on our CEA Friends page. Please take a moment and make sure we have you listed. If you have a story or comment you would like added, please email it to us. If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or simply need to contact CEA, please click here.