What we do:
Sea turtles are at risk around the globe. They are endangered throughout the world’s oceans, and several species native to the eastern Pacific (where Matapalo Sea Turtle Conservation is located) are nearing extinction. Factors that are contributing to this endangerment include pollution, poaching, and low hatchling survival rates. At the Matapalo Conservation, volunteers are key to the preservation of the sea turtle species native to Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
What You’ll Do:
Sea turtle conservation – As a volunteer, you’ll have the opportunity to be involved in the entire turtle hatching process. This includes taking shifts patrolling the beach in the evenings to locate female turtles who have come ashore to lay their nests.
Nests are then transported to a hatchery, where they can be monitored 24/7 on 6 hours per shift to protect them from poachers and predatory animals. You will take one shift every few days to keep watch of the hatchery. Finally, upon hatching, you will assist the baby sea turtles in reaching the ocean safely to ensure maximum survival rates. You may also help in the general maintenance of the hatchery.
Other tasks – Volunteers will also participate in sloth walks to monitor and record the migration patterns of local sloth populations. Additionally, you’ll assist us in gathering beach litter once per week ( Tasks may vary depending on the time of year) . You can expect to help with cleaning the kitchen and bedrooms once per week, the conditions are those of a camp, volunteers will be assigned the task of cleaning common areas, showers, toilets, etc. You’ll also have the opportunity to take part in community service work with local schools and community facilities.
Location:
The conservation project can be found in the small village of Matapalo. Located about 200 kilometers south of San Jose, Matapalo lies on the Pacific coast with the closest city being Quepos. The conservation is situated 100 meters from the ocean. The site is within 30 kilometers of the breathtaking Manuel Antonio National Park. Within walking distance is a waterfall in the mountains as well as surf shops, beach horseback riding, and hiking trails.
Information About the Turtles We Work With:
More than 400 olive ridley turtles arrive annually at our beaches. Our mission is to patrol in search of turtle mothers who look for a place on the beach to leave their eggs and then return to the sea. On night walks when we find turtles laying eggs, we take them and take biometrics of the turtle. Then the eggs are brought to a place called hatchery, where we take care of them until babies are born and we release them to the sea.
One important thing when we work in animal protection is: wildlife isn't predictable, so we cannot say exactly how your experience will be. We are only sure of one thing: mother nature is awesome and always surprises us. This is why we love to work with turtles.
Our Association is accredited by the Ministry of the Environment of Costa Rica, as such we must follow the guidelines for the proper functioning of the program, as all programs that aim to do professional work and offer the best experience to our volunteers must be aware of the rules to follow, since coexistence must be in a healthy environment and enjoy the experience.
1. Respect schedule work
2. Do not drink alcoholic beverages or drugs in the camp and the nursery or during work hours, you will have days off so you can go anywhere you want
3. Respect the rest times in the camp
4. Respect the staff and the other volunteers
5. Sexual harassment is totally prohibited
6. The person who comes to the camp under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be prevented from entering
Turtle season:
Mums laying eggs: June, July, August, September, October, November
Baby turtles hatching: August, September, October, November, December, January
Keep in mind that the sea turtle season is not all year round and that there are months of the year in which other work will be carried out at the camp. Our organization is supporting programs on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, the sea turtle seasons. Turtle season on both coasts occurs in different months, so we offer you the option, if you applied for the Pacific program and the turtle season is occurring in the Caribbean you can change your schedule at no additional cost and vice versa.
