Edinburgh marine volunteers get their running shoes on to raise funds for conservation work on turtles!
From Monday 22 July 2013, seven Edinburgh-based volunteers from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) will each run a marathon between North Berwick and the Tay, whilst an eighth supporter will cycle the entire 183 miles back!
Each team member of “Together for Turtles” is running for one of the seven species of marine turtle worldwide, of which leatherback, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead are endangered and visit UK waters. The team are running to raise funds for the charity’s work with turtles through the MCS Turk and Caicos Islands (TCI) Turtle Project.
MCS has been working with fishermen in the TCI, a British Overseas Territory, to create a turtle management plan, the recommendations of which were approved by the TCI Government in May this year.
The funds raised by the “Together for Turtles” team will be used to promote these new measures in the local TCI communities, helping local communities fully understand the measures and why they are needed.
The route will start in North Berwick, passing Edinburgh on the way, run up the entire Fife coastal path and finish in Newburgh on the Tay. Each participant will be running a 26.2 mile section of this and the next runner will carry on from that point on the following day.
The team are volunteers with the charity’s Sea Champions initiative which offers thousands the chance to work with MCS on a variety of marine issues.
Halla Mohieddeen, is running on behalf of the Hawksbill turtle, from North Berwick to Leith. “The first turtles I came into contact with were the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, the second was a three-legged hawksbill called ‘Tripod’ off Malaysia. Despite her disability, she moved with incredible grace and left a profound impression on me.”
Matt Barnes, is representing the Green turtle, and will run from Leith to Kinghorn. He said:- “In Scotland, our summer visitor the giant leatherback is protected from damaging activities such as fishing, but not from our pollution. As turtles know no political boundaries all countries need to work together to save one of earths oldest existing creatures and MCS are doing great work in this area.”
Sarah Conner, is running for Leatherbacks between Kinghorn to Pittenweem. “I’ve always been passionate about our seas, spending as much time underwater as possible. Turtles were one of the first animals I saw when snorkelling as a child, and seeing the harm these gentle creatures come to due to humans inspired me to join the team.”
The dates for each participant’s run or cycle is as follows:-
| Timings: Date | Name | Start Point | End point |
| 22/07/2013 | Halla Moihiedeen | North Berwick | Leith |
| 23/07/2013 | Matt Barnes | Leith | Kinghorn |
| 24/07/2013 | Sarah Conner | Kinghorn | Pittenweem |
| 25/07/2013 | Elana Bader | Pittenweem | Tay estuary |
| 26/07/2013 | Susie Burnet | Tay estuary | Pittenweem |
| 27/07/2013 | Rhian Evans | Pittenweem | Kinghorn |
| 28/07/2013 | Caroline Mackay | Kinghorn | Leith |
The Together for Turtles team are still collecting sponsors at www.mcsuk.org/url/togetherforturtles
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
