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Sea Turtle Conservation Volunteer

3.5
7 reviews7

The experience

Turtle Nesting Season (June-December):

- Making nightly patrols in search of nesting turtles, collecting data, and transporting the eggs safely to the turtle hatchery
- Keeping the turtle hatchery in order, keeping safe from predators and poaching
- Conducting turtle liberations

Engagement at the campsite:
- Helping with communal tasks (ie: household chores like cooking, cleaning, organizing)
- Beach cleanups
- Social media / Marketing

What you offer

24 hours of help per week

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Animal Care: Help look after and take care of animals.

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Additional fee required

Fee pays for: Benefits for travelers and Materials for volunteer activities

Description: Volunteers contribute an amount per day to cover expenses for food, maintenance of the project (materials within the camp and conducting conservation aspects), accommodation, ammenities, etc. Apply for more info!

What you get

1 day off per week

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Discounts on Tours: Get discounts for tours and excursions around town.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Free Hiking Tours: We’ll take you on excursions and hikes around town. For free!

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Requirements

Intermediate English or Intermediate Spanish

Between 18 and 40 years old

Accepts solo applications and also couples and pairs

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We are a conservation project that has a genuine interest in connecting people to nature, to feel a sense of empowerment in making a difference in the conservation of our beautiful Earth and the animals that need our help.
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As a volunteer, you will be involved in the night patrols searching for nesting turtles, and safely transport the eggs to the hatchery. You will benefit by getting hands on experience with the marine turtles that nest on our beach (tortuga Lora, tortuga Carey, and sometimes tortuga Verde). We have an off-site Biologist that visits the project weekly to give talks and answer any questions.

You will get to experience all that we are surrounded by, which is a protected wildlife zone on the edge of Corcovado Park - one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.

Activities & Shift

Night Patrols “Patrulla”
Depending on the tide, approximately between the hours of:
Shift #1 ~ 8:00pm - 12:00am
Shift #2 ~ 12:00am - 4:00am
Night patrols offer volunteers the opportunity to meet endangered sea turtles face to face and protect their eggs from being stolen or predated. These patrols are directed either by local Patrol Leaders or by coordinators or research assistants and usually last for four hours. Each patrol consists of at least two people who work a part of the beach, to locate turtles that nest and mark them either while they are laying eggs or immediately afterwards. The biometric data are collected in order to control the distribution and frequency of nests on the beach, the number of eggs laid in each nest, and the size and condition of each turtle found.

Rules

No alcohol/drugs are allowed on site and intoxication on premise is prohibited. There will be special nights (goodbye celebrations, birthdays, etc.) where we can order beer or wine for those who wish to drink a little bit, but for the majority we are a substance-free camp.
The work commitment is 4 hours during the night (patrols), and 2 hours during the day.
Positive participation is expected with: volunteer work, communal tasks: helping to cook, clean and keep the house clean and organized.
Lights off in rooms/house, and quiet at 9pm - 7am
Romantic relationships with locals is prohibited, as this causes a conflict of interest.