A woman who was once called crazy for protecting sea turtles from poachers has helped to make her community a model for marine conservation in the Caribbean.

Suzan Lakhan Baptiste is Managing Director of Nature Seekers, a non-profit conservation group in the fishing village of Matura in Trinidad and Tobago, where female leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs between April and August.

Ms Lakhan Baptiste encountered ridicule and resistance when she first began standing up for the turtles nearly 30 years ago.

Since then, she has been honoured by the UN and other organizations, while her neighbours have become “strong stewards” for turtle conservation and sustainable tourism.

Ahead of next week’s Ocean Conference at UN Headquarters, Dianne Penn asked Ms Lakhan Baptiste what inspired her to fight for the biggest turtles on Earth.

Duration: 4’23”