WILLEMSTAD – On Monday 17 February, the new visitor and information center of Sea Turtle Conservation Curaçao (STCC) was officially opened in the Sambil shopping center.
A year ago, STCC unveiled a life-size work of art made from empty bottles and other waste material as part of the Art for Awareness campaign in Sambil to draw attention to the dangers of pollution for underwater life and especially turtles. Because of the success of this campaign, Sambil has offered STCC a location to continue and strengthen the the awareness raising initiative.
In the visitor and information center the life cycle of the sea turtle is shown, people are informed about research and protection of sea turtles and the work of STCC.
Art made by volunteers, but also by local artists Garrick Marchena and Giovani Zanolino is also displayed.
The owner of Sambil, Jonathan Cohen, came over from Panama especially for the opening. During his speech, he stated that combating plastic pollution and pollution in general is very important and that Sambil is happy to provide a platform for awareness initiatives. According to STCC director Sabine Berendse, the visitor and information center is an important step to stimulate environmental awareness. Minister Hensley Koeiman of Social Development, Labor and Welfare (Soaw) expressed his appreciation for the project. According to him, living in a beautiful place like Curaçao brings a responsibility to protect the environment and nature, and finally he called on the public to be an ambassador for a clean Curaçao.
The visitor and information center, which can be found in the corridor that leads to the Carrefour supermarket, is open today during the regular opening hours of Sambil.
