00:00it's Friday night in the city of Misrata time to hit the beach young people come to show off
00:07what the ACVs can do the sand flies the engines roar the most popular beaches are those with
00:14especially soft sand ideal for drifting once the crowds are gone a group of volunteers led
00:23by environmentalist Bashir Swaib assesses the damage Libya's beaches serve a sanitary for
00:29various species of sea turtle they dig the nests in this soft sand okay it's a remarkable life cycle
00:39a turtle comes back to the very same beach where it was born about 18 or 20 years after birth it
00:46returns to nest guided by an extraordinary sensory ability it's our duty to provide a proper
00:53environment for them because we all need each other the loggerhead sea turtle lives in all the
01:02major oceans but the large sea grass beds off the coast of Libya in Egypt are essential for
01:08the survival of this endangered species research shows that turtles have been coming to the Libyan
01:15coast for at least 3,000 years to feed and lay their eggs now this habitat is under threat scientists
01:22say given its importance the area needs special protection but the last official conservation
01:29program ended in 2011 due to the growing political unrest and then civil war despite the presence of
01:39predators and the lack of public awareness we have not lost hope we continue working in this field
01:46entirely as volunteers and without any support driven by a sense of responsibility at first they try to
01:54talk to the drivers but the crowds weren't willing to listen pretending instead to build them up
02:00today they're searching the beach for nest using long sticks when they discover one they carefully remove the eggs
02:08transferring them to safer areas they need to work first as the soft eggs dry out quickly in the sun and
02:16have to be returned to the dumb sun as soon as possible volunteer moad bin sasi is teaching his children to
02:24care for the environment children need to learn this growing older doesn't mean you automatically care more
02:33about cleanliness or the environment a child needs to learn this gradually they gain experience over time
02:42to protect the eggs a wire marsh is buried above the nest the smell of the metal keeps wild dogs away
02:48Bashir's swipe measures the length and width of the nest and records the data despite a lack of
02:58institutional support for this work the number of turtle nest is growing from 271 in 2011 to 494 in 2024
03:11turtles only lay their eggs after dark the volunteers quickly clear up trash lying on the beach
03:16fishing nets can be especially dangerous to the reptiles when they drag themselves across the beach
03:21adults can weigh up to 160 kilograms
03:27later the team discovers a large turtle in the final stage of laying her eggs
03:32another success for the volunteer conservationists
03:38the exhausted mother makes her way back to the sea
03:41in about 18 years her daughters will return to this beach to lay their own eggs if we humans allow them to
03:54you
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