Artist Paints Squee-Worthy Sea Turtles to Save Tiny Hatchlings.

Tall, and friendly, you would never guess that Alexa Caskey (AKA Alexa's Makin' Waves) had such an important mission. Her laid back style, and exuberant attitude are contagious, but it's her brush strokes and her giving that are truly stopping people in their tracks.

Alexa donates a significant amount of her profits to ocean saving non- profits. Her biggest contribution goes to the Sea Turtle Conservancy and their work to protect sea turtles World Wide. She doesn't do this from a posh studio in some gallery somewhere. No, she is roughing it. She travels cross country in 1988 RV with her rescue dog, Beans, her art supplies, and finished pieces in tow. She has been to over 50 shows in more than 10 states and will be spending the summer in a variety of shows in the Midwest.

The RV isn't just her transportation, it is her art studio, her home and a great topic of conversation if you run into it at an art show.But if you really want to see her light up ask her about painting waves or her incredibly lifelike and unbelievably adorable sea turtles.

Alexa has donated thousands of dollars to the Sea Turtle Conservancy, and her support is going to an exceptionally worthy cause. In fact, every sea turtle species in the world has been listed as Endangered, and only 1 in every 1,000 of those heart- melting hatchlings make it to adulthood. As hatchlings, sea turtles use the natural horizon line to orient their short, but treacherous path from their sandy birth place to the sea. Artificial light from beach lamps, street lights and other human activity often confuse the newly hatched baby turtles and many of these confused babies never make it to the open ocean.

On their way, baby sea turtles also face danger from predators such as raccoons, ghost crabs, dogs and humans. Habitat loss has been devastating nesting areas for many adult female turtles. Many scientists have seen that warming sand from climate change has impact the growing number of female hatchlings and the decline of their male counter parts.

Once they reach adulthood, sea turtles continue to face a wide variety of man-made perils that drastically out-number their natural ones. These include ingesting plastic waste, getting tangled in fishing gear, oil spills and wide spread poaching for meat, eggs and shells.

Alexa's mission to help save sea turtles with the Sea Turtle Conservancy and other organizations does more than just preserve the wonder of these amazing animals, it also protectsboth commercially viable speciesand many ocean ecosystems as a whole. Sea turtles are natural predators and foragers. They maintain grass beds and coral reefs so that tuna and other popular commercial sea food species can thrive.

Good work Alexa! Safe Travels and lets all work together to keep our oceans safe and healthy for sea turtles and other animals alike.