Myrto is Finally Swimming Free - Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Let’s start with the introductions. Her name is Myrto, she comes from the Northern Aegean, and she’s somewhere between 15 and 20 years old. Myrto is one of the 70 to 80 sea turtles ARCHELON treats and rehabilitates every year.

She was found with a serious head injury in May, but after five months of medical care, extensive cleaning, treatment of her injury, and feeding at ARCHELON’s Sea Turtle Rescue Center in the Glyfada neighborhood of Athens, she is once again swimming free in the Mediterranean.

A small, specialized team including a veterinarian, a biologist focused on wildlife, an oceanographer, and trained volunteers work every day to rescue and provide care to sea turtles. The turtles remain at the Rescue Center for as long as necessary, until they are able to dive and surface without any difficulty in the Center’s training tank and until they are able to eat unassisted. Only then, once their health is fully restored, is the Center’s true purpose fulfilled at the magical moment they are released back into the wild.

One of the many lessons the pandemic has driven home is that humans do not exist independent of their environment. Every one of us is part of nature’s web, as is Myrto.

The collaboration between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and ARCHELON began recently, in response to the conditions created by the pandemic, which has significantly cut into the organization’s revenue. Through its grant, SNF is covering the organization’s expenses for a period of six months, so that they can continue their work without interruption.

After Myrto, it is Donatello’s turn.