Sea turtles are getting sorely needed help in Lagos, an African megacity on the coast of Nigeria.
They have Doyinsola Ogunye, a law-school graduate from the University of Lagos and an accomplished community organizer, to thank.
Ogunye links her work in the community with ecological activism, organizing beach cleanups that brings dozens of local kids out to the coast, where they routinely collect around 50 large bags of litter and plastic waste.
She’s been leading community cleanup programs for 10 years, and in 2015 leased a stretch of Nigerian seashore that she turned into an outdoor ecology classroom and improvement project for local kids.
Her volunteers also are restoring beachside coconut trees that were removed by development projects.
They protect the young coconuts from the elements, and grazing livestock, by surrounding them with brightly painted tires.
Numerous Lagos schools, businesses, and communities are now involved, and the effort has not only helped the beach environment, but also aided in protection of five sea turtle species that come ashore to nest.