An eco project from Banana Boat and Wunderman Thompson Colombia will help to protect sea turtles, which are currently under threat of extinction from warming seas and climate change.
Sea turtles – which are currently under threat from warming seas and hotter beaches – are unable to change their nesting behaviour enough mitigate the rapidly rising temperatures and so their survival remains under threat.
The new initiative from Wunderman Thompson Colombia and Banana Boat, in partnership with The Colombian Sea Turtle Conservation Program (ProCTMM), aims to lower the temperature of the sand as it influences gender during the incubation phase.
This is because eggs need to incubate at 27.7°C or lower in order for turtle hatchlings to be born male. In the last four years, 99% of sea turtles have been born female.
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“We’ve worked alongside nature to create an innovative solution that will help lower the temperature of sand and help creatures such as sea turtles thrive once again,” said Wunderman Thompson global chief creative officer Bas Korsten.
Inspired by the organic shape of turtle’s shells and made with natural materials, nest domes have been created to regulate sand temperature on the beaches, influencing the proper conditions in terms of shading and ventilation needed to hatch a better proportion of female and male newborns.
“It’s such important work to be part of, and we’re excited to be pioneering a project that could potentially make a huge impact all over the world,” added Korsten.
Edgewell Latin America marketing head Nicolas Cuberos said: “Innovation is the foundation for a brighter future.
“It’s a future in which brands like Banana Boat play a fundamental role as we have to find a way that our actions in the present do not negatively impact future generations – of both people and precious species like sea turtles.”
Designed with the help of marine biologists and engineers, the nests are a global scale solution with an open-source blueprint that will be made available to everyone, so they can be created and installed on beaches globally.
