Protect Sea Turtles in the Caribbean

In this volunteer program you support a turtle project in the northeastern area of ​​Costa Rica on the Atlantic coast near the border with Nicaragua. The sanctuary is located north of the province of Limon and covers an area of ​​800 hectares of rainforest and 6 kilometers of beach. It is located directly on the Caribbean Sea and is approximately 25 kilometers from the city of Limon.

The conservation project has set itself the goal of protecting the endangered Baula and Lora turtles. Every year, many thousands of turtles come to the Caribbean beaches of Costa Rica to lay their eggs there. As a volunteer, you'll help the local team watch the turtles lay eggs, guard their nests, and dig up the eggs to store in incubators until the hatchlings, if needed, so that they can be released back into the wild. The work in this project is incredibly exciting, as the turtles weigh up to 700 kg and impress with their beautiful huge shells.

Volunteers work together with local staff and from time to time with marine biologists to observe not only the animals, but also the environment and record the climatic conditions in the region. It is important to collect and analyze the data in order to identify changes early and to learn more about the sensitive ecosystem. In addition to the turtles, various mammal species, many reptile species and about 200 species of birds are protected and observed in this area. The reserve is surrounded by a vast rainforest and the frequently used means of transportation are small boats to navigate through the many channals. Around the sanctuary is the famous Tortuguero National Park.

Along with other volunteers or the project supervisors, during the nights you will be taking exciting tours along the Caribbean beaches to observe the rare turtles and monitor their habits and behaviors. The patrols are never done alone, but always in groups.

The Baula turtle comes to the beaches for nesting in the months between February and July, while the Lora turtles can be found in the months of July to October. So, sea turtles can be observed and protected in this volunteer project almost all year round, sometimes you will be able to see more sometime less.

You will be able to get close to the animals weighing up to 700 kg to admire their huge shells. Each sea turtle is examined and measured by volunteers and marine biologists, and their data are logged. The turtles' stored eggs are collected by the volunteers and placed in incubators, where they are kept safe until the hatchlings hatch. Subsequently, the hatchlings are released under guard.

The aim of this project is to protect the eggs of sea turtles from natural predators and poachers in order to favor the growth of the Atlantic population of animals. A large part of the turtle eggs are victims of poachers because the eggs are considered a delicacy, others do not make their way back to the sea once hatched due to natural predators. In addition, the adult sea turtles in the oceans are exposed to many dangers of modern humanity, especially pollution and fishing.

We would like to point out that nature is unpredictable and we cannot guarantee the number of sea turtles for a certain period of participation.

Note: The tasks may vary. They depend on factors such as number of volunteers, weather, season, current needs of the project, as well as self-motivation. Not every volunteer may be fully involved in all these tasks.

Weekends are the perfect time to enjoy an exciting hike through Costa Rican nature since the main attractions of Costa Rica is its system of national parks and protected areas, which cover around 25% of the national territory, in order to protect the rich variety of flora and fauna, which is estimated to contain 5% of the world's biodiversity in less than 0.1% of the planet's land mass. In addition, Costa Rica has countless amazing beaches on both the Pacific and the Caribbean Ocean. 

Costa Rica is the perfect place to combine volunteer work with tourism, enjoy activities like:

- Adventure sport
- Dream beaches
- Ecotourism
- Local culture
- Bird / wildlife watching
- Visits to unique National Parks
- Rural tourism
- Sightseeing and history in San José