Greentrack Homepage

Project details

This is a very exciting opportunity to help with an important conservation project. We need lots of schools to be involved in a project which is scientifically and educationally fascinating.

Be one of the first to track the endangered Green sea turtle from its island nesting site out into the Mediterranean Sea.

A joint project between:

The Marine Turtle Research Group (University of Wales)
MEDASSET (The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtle)
BCG (The British Chelonia Group)

Biology Department of King's College, Taunton, UK

In mid-July on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, an endangered Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) was fitted with a satellite-tracking device. Although in previous years the transmitter was attached to the back of a turtle, this year it was glued harmlessly to the horny scutes on the outside of her head. When she is at the surface and a suitable satellite is overhead, her exact position can be picked up and relayed back to the scientists.
As a migratory species, turtles can travel thousands of kilometres and cross regional and international boundaries to feed and reproduce.
The aim of satellite monitoring projects is to discover as much as possible about the turtles behaviour and habits. Transmitters provide us with detailed information on the turtle's movements: e.g. their breeding grounds, resting and feeding grounds, overwintering grounds and migratory routes and patterns.
The will help to indicate which coastal foraging pastures, beaches and offshore areas need to be protected.
The Greentrack website will allow you to follow our turtle (Esmeralda) as she swims away from her island of Cyprus and undertakes her migration to her wintering/foraging grounds. Greentrack will show you how to track her movements and allow you to understand more about this wonderful and endangered species. As far as we know, this is the first European website dedicated to satellite tracking of sea turtles in the Mediterranean.

If your school would like to be part of this exciting project, please send us an email (accessed from the homepage sitemap). The website became active in late August and the first data was available for plotting in late September.
To find out more about satellite tracking - look at the turtle info section.

Copyright 2006, Greentrack All Rights Reserved.
These tracking data have been made freely available for educational purposes within this website. They may not be published or used for any research or other purpose without the prior consent of Drs. Broderick and Godley of the Marine Turtle Research Group.
Permission is granted by Greentrack for classroom supervisors/teachers and students to make reprographic copies of worksheets, maps etc for noncommercial use. This permission does not extend to copying for promotional purposes, creating new collective works, or resale.