Going On a Giant Golden Bamboo Mission!

In our effort to rebuild the largest and strongest turtle hatchery—after the 2018 hurricane split our island in two and destroyed the previous one—we’ve been looking for ways to make it stronger, more sustainable, and more affordable.

After much thought, we decided to use bamboo. Thanks to generous donations that allowed us to harvest bamboo from private land, we’re ready to begin!

Why Bamboo?

Bamboo is a strong, renewable, and eco-friendly resource, ideal for building sustainable structures. Plus, using it supports our commitment to environmentally responsible conservation.

Harvesting the Giant Golden Bamboo

Harvesting large bamboo isn't easy. Bamboo grows in dense clumps, and the branches intertwine, making it very difficult to separate and extract individual poles.

We were not allowed to (nor did we want to) cut down the entire clump, because the root systems help stabilize the soil along riverbanks and prevent erosion. Also, we only needed about 40 poles, so removing everything would have been wasteful.

Using ropes, pulleys, and some mechanical leverage, we managed to harvest the largest golden bamboo pieces needed.

Next Steps

With the bamboo collected, we’ll start building the new hatchery—a stronger, larger structure that will provide a safe space for nesting turtles and help us continue our conservation work.