Miss PNG celebrates turtle day with kids

By ANCILLA WRAKUALE
CHILDREN at the Buk Bilong Pikinini (BBP) Library  at Koki, in the nation’s capital, were all excited on Monday as they took part in classroom activities such as reading and drawing sea turtles to mark the World Turtle Day.
They received a visit by BSP Go Green ambassador and Miss PNG Rachel Sapery James, who talked to them on the importance of protecting the endangered species of marine turtle, particularly the green turtle.
James told the children it was important not to destroy young turtles and to allow them to grow big so they could reproduce and replenish.
She told the children to tell their parents not to hunt small turtles to help save the falling turtle po­pulation.
The children were presented with BSP tattoos and armbands by James for their drawings and for taking part in class activities.
BBP executive director Ali Nott, in marking World Turtle Day, said the children were told of the importance of protecting and looking after the environment they lived in, including the forests and the sea.
She said the turtle po­pulation was decreasing globally and it was important to take the right action today to protect and allow the turtles to reach maturity and reproduce.
Nott said the idea behind the BBP was to encourage and promote learning, especially reading among children.
The project has seven libraries so far and is looking forward to expanding to other centres.
“Knowledge is power and so it’s important to educate the children while they are young and able to learn things quickly,” she said.