Meet Christine & Joe from the Utica area

Andrew met Christine & Joe today and wanted to share their story:

Andrew: So tell me a little bit about what brought you to the cave today.

Joe: This is the first time I’ve been back in 50 years. I’m from the Utica area, but my wife is from Belgium, and has never seen this area. We currently live in Spain.

Andrew: Joe, you were a police officer, correct?

Joe: Yes, I was an officer for 20 years, and then I spent another 21 years in commissary. Christine was nurse, and now we work as first responders.

Andrew: I was told that you both do conservation work with sea turtles? Can you tell me about that?

Christine: It’s important for us to be engaged with our community. When we lived in Puerto Rico for a period of time, the work we did with Leatherback turtles was a good way to enrich our community while also preserving the environment. Most of our work was ensuring that no pedestrians interfered with the turtles while they were building nests or laying eggs. We also prioritized educating the community about how they can positively impact turtles, and how to contact the organization if they spotted a Leatherback coming to shore. It’s especially important that we engage the younger generations and educate them on how to care for their surrounding environment.

Andrew: What organization was this through?

Joe: 7quilas San Juan Sea Turtle Conservancy. They are a nonprofit and are entirely comprised of volunteers. It was started by a woman who was raised in Puerto Rico and from the first time seeing a Leatherback turtle knew she wanted to do something to protect them. It’s all grown from her. We also plan on doing work with turtles back home in Spain.

Andrew: If you could tell one thing to the world, what would it be?

Christine: That we need to focus on protecting our environment. Not only globally, but at the personal level too. Whenever we take a walk on the beach, we always bring an empty bag and try to fill it with litter. People don’t realize that their small actions can have a big impact on the world, and it’s important to pay attention.

Christine & Joe, thank you so much for your many years of public service service to people, your community, and Mother Earth You are angels among us that make the world a better place. Thank you for visiting