Can murals save sea turtles? This question was asked by graduate student Alyssa Irizarry, who worked with the School for Field Studies (SFS) to determine the effect of numerous paintings of ocean wildlife around the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. Everywhere you go in Baja, from small coastal towns like Lopez Mateos to larger cities like La Paz, you see these wonderful paintings depicting whales, sea turtles, and other creatures.
Many of these murals were created as part of a Rare Pride campaign that the Grupo Tortuguero ran. Rare (an international conservation group that I used to work with) learned how important social marketing can be in changing attitudes toward nature and their campaigns utilize a combination of murals, costumes, puppets and more. Other murals in the region were created by the famous Wyland, who has made a career out of painting huge murals to help humans feel a stronger connection to the sea.
Alyssa's research was illuminating. According to SFS, she found that the murals reinforce messages delivered to local students and adults through environmental education campaigns. While the murals alone don't necessary inspire conservation, but she says that, "sea turtle murals can provide the motivation for community discussion and participation in turtle conservation."
To see the murals yourself (and the live sea turtles, too), check out our upcoming trips page.
-Brad Nahill
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