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Good 4.21rating (52)

Let's Protect the Turtles and Beach Clean-Up

location
1 - 10 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+
Verified

Highlights

  • Volunteer and be part of organized beach cleanups in order to protect our oceans
  • Achieve successful results through collaborating with your local team
  • Be in contact with a beautiful places, surrounded by nature, and three awesome beaches when doing cleaning activities

Highlights

  • Volunteer and be part of organized beach cleanups in order to protect our oceans
  • Achieve successful results through collaborating with your local team
  • Be in contact with a beautiful places, surrounded by nature, and three awesome beaches when doing cleaning activities
  • Be assured that you are safe and enjoy all the activities the program has to offer
  • Participate in free time activities for free


  • Especially good for

    Age 18+
    Singles
    Couples
    Families
    Groups
    50+

    About the program

    Join us to help with community and environmental related tasks and especially to rescue the sea turtles and Beach Cleaning.

    This Refuge is located on the Caribbean coast, Paraiso of Pacuare in the Poblado of Barra of Pacuare Noth, surrounded by towns such as cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo, etc. The main reason for this project is to protect our Biodiversity from all the dangers that threaten it: such as humans, ...

    About the program

    This Refuge is located on the Caribbean coast, Paraiso of Pacuare in the Poblado of Barra of Pacuare Noth, surrounded by towns such as cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo, etc. The main reason for this project is to protect our Biodiversity from all the dangers that threaten it: such as humans, pollution, etc. It is for this reason that your help as a Volunteer is very important.

    We work with all the Internatioional Parks LA AMISTAD of Costa Rica, Wildlife Refuge, Wetlands, Biological and Forest Reserves

    This project pretend to protect More than a half of the Turtles are in extinction. Loss of habitat is the number one threat to turtles around the world. Other threats include the baby turtles using like pets and eggs trade, overconsumption for food and medicine, pollution and climate change. 

    The Trash can travel through all the rivers and oceans of the world, and accumulate on beaches and in ocean gyres. These wastes damage physical habitats, transport chemical pollutants, threaten aquatic life, and interfere with human use of rivers and river, marine, and coastal environments.

    1. BEACH CLEANING: This program is about beach, ocean, and coastal cleaning expeditions. Retrieving plastic from our environment is our main purpose. Volunteer role at our camp is creating good team work while at our activities. Volunteer roles also include camp related chores, like cleaning equipment, classifying plastic for recycling and reusing. Also keeping personal space clean and maintaining general camp order. The volunteers can expect to be in contact with a beautiful park, surrounded by nature, and awesome beaches, while we do the beach cleaning activities. We expect that the volunteers have a positive attitude, and good team building and social skills. Team collaboration and respect among the team is always expected from the volunteers. At this volunteer camp you can help us make a difference in our efforts to maintain our environment and have a great time doing it!!! 

    2. SAVING THE TURTLES: Our projects have the most beautiful vegetation and attractive environment.

    We work with leather back turtles from March to October and with the baulas, green, carey and careta turtles.

    Green Sea Turtes: Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are not actually green but take their name from the colour of their body fat. These turtles are hunted for both their eggs and their meat, which is widely held to be the most delicious of all the sea turtle species.

    The volunteer will be trained in sea turtle monitoring techniques and will work under the supervision of the Research Coordinators. They will work mainly with adult Leatherback turtles, adult Green turtles and Leatherback hatchlings. Some Hawksbills may arrive to the beach but it's not very common. The primary responsibilities of the Volunteers will include leading night beach censuses, conducting morning beach surveys, tagging and collecting data, and relocating and excavating nests.

    Monitoring activities are carried out along 6 km of nesting beach. Volunteers will be in charge of leading volunteers and/or groups of students while on the beach, explaining the beach protocol and supervising them on the process of data collection.

    Volunteers are expected to participate in other activities carried out by the Reserve like environmental education activities,  beach cleaning, recycling projects, or other needs of the station. Volunteers are expected to work long hours throughout day or night, often with little sleep.

    The place is surrounded by nature and is very safe site for volunteers, it is a small community where everyone knows each other and help each other, the Coast Guard station is 200 meters from the project, we don’t have electricity yet, but we have a solar panel that provides us with electricity to charge phones laptop etc. and it provides light for the night.



    Typical day

    1. BEACH CLEANING: 

    Schedule:

    Volunteer work schedules are generally in the morning hours, 8am till noon 12:00am. Since walking the beach is sometimes tiring to do all day long. We divide our work day in morning or afternoon shifts. / 8am-12:00am or 1:00 pm
    Weather is better in the morning for the ...

    Typical day

    1. BEACH CLEANING: 

    Schedule:

    Volunteer work schedules are generally in the morning hours, 8am till noon 12:00am. Since walking the beach is sometimes tiring to do all day long. We divide our work day in morning or afternoon shifts. / 8am-12:00am or 1:00 pm
    Weather is better in the morning for the beach and coast clean ups. Walking the beach and coastlines and then separating the plastic retrievals for proper recycling, or reusing purposes. After each clean up, we generally clean and wash all the equipment (reusable bags) and uniforms.

    Volunteer Camp Chores:
    If a specific day we do not do a beach clean up, we use our time productively doing chores in our camp volunteer camp. Cleaning uniforms, washing our equipment, painting for maintenance purposes, or simply helping out preparing meals.
    With volunteers we also help out in several ecological projects implemented by the program. We have a Butterfly farm, an Hydroponic garden, or helping out maintaining the trails for birdwatching like sign elaboration and painting.

    2. SAVING THE TURTLES:

    The turtle activities of the volunteers are: 

    • night patrols in different shifts (one group goes from 20:00 to 00:00 and another from 00:00 to 04:00)
    • working in the care nursery where they carry all eggs to guard them until they hatch (this is done in periods of 4 to 6 hours 24/7 depending on the number of volunteers who have the project) 

    We also work in social work such as 

    • make composting with coconut fiber
    • recycling program for plastic
    • maintenance work the volunteer house take turns every day to help in the kitchen
    • cleaning the beach
    • bird monitoring
    • different occasional social work


    Free-time activities

    Beyond the adventure: While other programs offer stunning sunsets and rainforest hikes, ours goes beyond the typical itinerary. Jenny, your dedicated program leader, weaves in personalized touches and meticulous attention to detail, crafting an experience tailored just for you so you can feel part ...

    Free-time activities

    Beyond the adventure: While other programs offer stunning sunsets and rainforest hikes, ours goes beyond the typical itinerary. Jenny, your dedicated program leader, weaves in personalized touches and meticulous attention to detail, crafting an experience tailored just for you so you can feel part of a true costa rican family. Additional to the volunteer, you can ask Jenny to set you up differentiated adventures from bespoke tours to surprise picnics under hidden waterfalls to hand-picked accommodations reflecting your preferences, everything is curated to exceed your expectations. Prepare to be pampered, surprised, and utterly captivated by Costa Rica's magic, all under Jenny's attentive care.

    On their free time, volunteers have plenty of activities. Since we are secure inside the project, we don’t only count with our own activities, but can also participate in the project activities without an additional cost.  The Guanacaste Area counts with beautiful beaches, supermarket, and  restaurants.

    All these activities include:

    • Snorkeling
    • Surfing lessons
    • Kayak tours
    • Paddleboard tours
    •  Hiking and Trailrunning
    • Waterfall visits
    • Beach soccer
    • Dancing lessons
    • Waterpolo
    • Beach Volleyball
    • Fusball


    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 18 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

    Language Skills

    You need to speak English (basic level)

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

    What's Included

    What's Included

    Services by Volunteer Now Costa Rica

    • The fees include three times of meals and accommodations in shared dorms.
    • We provide all the equipment needed for this project.
    • Pick up is included.
    LOCAL TRANSPORTATIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED

    Accommodation

    Accommodation is shared with other volunteers in our dorm style accommodation.

    Food & Beverages

    Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner, fruits - typical food from Costa Rica but we also have special food for vegetarian volunteers.

    Internet Access

    Limited access at the project site

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Airport Pickup at Juan Santamaria International Airport

    An airport pickup isn't included within the program fees either.

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose. We assist you to find cheap flights to Costa Rica. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Costa Rica provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Costa Rica you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Costa Rica. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    Volunteers can arrive any day of the week in daily hours. Minimum stay: 07 days

    Volunteers arrives to San Jose, staying at our hostel (not included), the next day preferably Monday morning take a bus that takes them to a nearby town, (3 hours), then another bus is taken to another community (30 minutes) and must then take a boat that takes them to the project (30 minutes). 

    We can provide and arrange your transportation to and from the airport with our trusted drivers if you'll like to but it would have an extra cost to the hostal and next day to the bus station.


    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program fees

    1 week (min. stay) 364€
    2 weeks 728€
    3 weeks 1,091€
    10 weeks (max. stay) 3,638€
    Average fees 364€/week

    Program fees

    364€ per week 1 - 10 weeks Age 18 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES


    Duration

    1 - 10 weeks

    Deposit

    The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.


    Final Payment

    Your final payment will be agreed with Volunteer Now Costa Rica during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.

    4.2
    Top Pick
    One of the top picks on Volunteer World, according to travelers

    Location


    Meet your project coordinator

    Jenny
    52
    reviews
    4.21
    Good
    2004
    Founded

    Verified by Volunteer World

      Very high response rate
    Spoken languages: Spanish, English
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    Travel dates

    1. - 1. Jan 1

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