Volvo Ocean Adventure & Caribbean Conservation Corp. Offer Sea Turtle Program

ROCKLEIGH, NJ -- The Volvo Ocean Adventure (VOA) and the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) have formed a partnership to provide an interactive educational tool to help children, students and adults around the world increase their awareness of the green sea turtle and the marine environment they inhabit.

During the Volvo Ocean Race, one of the world's most prestigious sailing events, racing yachts as well as other vessels and a satellite-equipped green sea turtle will provide a connection between environmental education and ocean related issues.

Volvo Ocean Adventure is a web site developed by environmental and educational experts that will focus on environmental issues related to oceans, lakes and rivers. The web site will follow the ocean going craft during the nine-month Volvo Ocean Race, a 32,500 mile sea odyssey, along with the sea turtle's natural meanderings, highlighting environmental news and topics along the way. The Volvo Ocean Adventure web site is interactive and will include lesson plans and suggested student assignments. Geared toward students aged 10 to 16, the educational materials are of the highest quality and are provided to teachers and students free of charge.

The Caribbean Conservation Corporation will be part of the marine aspect of the VOA educational program. During the trans-global Volvo Ocean Race, CCC will provide information about the sea turtles and marine habitats visited by the racing fleet. Volvo is also funding the satellite tracking of a green sea turtle from Tortuguero, Costa Rica, whose release will coincide with start of the Volvo Ocean Race in September 2001. Like the sailboats in the race, the migration route of the satellite tagged turtle will be followed on both web sites.

In addition, VOA will also sponsor a cultural and ecological field trip to Tortuguero, Costa Rica for a group of students from the United States. The students will be in Tortuguero to interact with local students and to take part in the release of the satellite tagged turtle.

"For Volvo, the VOA is part of our continuing commitment to a global policy of environmental care. By us helping to encourage young people to be more aware of our world, then maybe we can bring forward a new, more determined generation that will care for and improve our global environment,'' concludes Roger Ormisher, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Volvo Cars of North America, Inc.

The Caribbean Conservation Corporation is the world's oldest sea turtle research and conservation group. Each year, CCC conducts sea turtle nest monitoring and protection programs out of its field station in Tortuguero. Through its Sea Turtle Migration-Tracking Education Program, CCC has reached hundreds of thousands of people with information about sea turtles and the threats to their survival.

Volvo Ocean Adventure (VOA) is the educational outreach component of the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, a grueling 9-month round-the-world sailing race sponsored by Volvo Car Corporation.

SOURCE: Volvo Cars of North America