Sea Turtles
The sea turtle project runs from July to January and you can help in the hatchery and patrolling the beach during that time. There are four potential species of sea turtles, which can be seen nesting at the South Pacific beaches: Olive Ridley, Black, Leatherback and Hawksbill. However, all these species are in danger of extinction. Playa Tortuga beach, the beach nearby the research center, is an Olive Ridley beach. Although, it is possible that other species can be seen on this beach.
In
the past seasons the research center has successfully protected over
140 sea turtle nests and released more than 5000 hatchlings (each nest has about 100 eggs). During turtle season, nests
are moved to the hatchery where they are observed and constantly
protected. The researchers and volunteers collect important data about
the biology of the nests and make sure that the hatchlings arrive safely
in the ocean.
Mammal Research
Another
important aspect of the biological research center is the mammal
research project, an important study because these species are important
for the dynamic balance of the forest. The mammal research is conducted during the whole year. The reserve around the
biological research center has over 11 species of mammals, such as
raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, weasels, river otters, tayra and monkeys. The researchers and volunteers collect data on the mammals with camera traps and by studying their behavior, and they constantly collect information about their local distribution and movements.
Caimans and Crocodiles
Another great research project is the caiman and crocodile project, which aims at gathering information about
their distribution, their relationship with the environment, and human
impacts on the ecosystem. This is also ongoing throughout the whole year.
The research center wants an initial profile
of the population of crocodiles. By adding new information about the
crocodiles’ current status, the conservation and management of this species can be improved. Information about local movements of mammals can be used in reforestation plans for the coastal area.
Environmental Education and Butterflies
The
butterfly garden of the Biological Research Center offers visitors to
see butterflies and learn about their behavior. This, too, is ongoing during the whole year. The butterfly garden is
an educational alternative for tourists, but also for the whole
surrounding community. Often school kids come and visit the center, and
you can help educating them about nature, butterflies, and conservation.
Visitors of the garden can learn more about the butterfly cycle of
life, metamorphosis, anatomy, physiology, senses, food, ecologic nice and many more.
Green Life
Volunteers partners with the Biological Research Center to provide them
with more researchers and volunteers to help with ongoing research
projects and also establishing new research.
Volunteer’s responsibilities include:
- Help with ongoing research projects, such as the turtle, mammal, crocodile and butterfly research
- Install cameras in the reserve, check the cameras for activities and replace the batteries of the cameras
- (Nocturnal) monitoring of the animals
- Counting of the animals
- Marking of the animals and their locations
- Capturing of the species
- Help in the hatchery at night and during the day
- Patrol beaches during sea turtle season to collect eggs and bring them to the hatchery
- Release baby turtles into the ocean once hatched
- Other research project help – whatever is ongoing at the biological research center
Green life volunteers' position
Green Life Volunteers expects volunteers and interns to respect the areas in which you are working as well as
your project leaders, members of the community and other volunteers/ interns. In case you are experiencing troubles or conflicts, we'd rather know sooner than later if there is anything that is not working for you and we want to make you as comfortable as possible. Having said that, we cannot stress enough that flexibility and being positive and open-minded will go a long way in ensuring an enjoyable volunteer or intern experience.
Green Life Volunteers is available if you have any issues or need any help during your project. We are located in Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. However, you can always call or email us. We take good customer service very seriously, and we want you to feel comfortable from the beginning till the end of your time in Costa Rica. We will provide you with a 24-hour emergency number that you can call from your project site in case you need to speak to a Green Life Volunteers staff. Our staff will check in on you throughout your stay. We will make sure no miscommunication errors are happening and we are there to explain and solve problems.
We will also help you during your sign-up process to arrange your transport and arrival in San Jose! We will help you book your hostel, arrange airport shuttle pick-ups to the hostel, and guide you on how to get to your project location.
