Karumbé: Rescuing Uruguay's Sea Turtles From Plastic and the Cold

Founded in 1999 by a group of young biologists, Karumbé unites researchers, fishers and volunteers to protect five of the seven marine turtle species found in Uruguayan waters. Its stranding and rescue network, run out of centers in La Coronilla and La Paloma plus a hospital at the Montevideo zoo, has rescued and treated more than 800 turtles, releasing 40 to 60 percent of them back to the sea. Plastic pollution is the organization's biggest challenge: roughly 70 percent of turtles that strand on Uruguay's coast show signs of plastic ingestion or entanglement. Karumbé also reaches more than 1,500 children a year through environmental education and has contributed data to over 100 scientific studies.