Turtle Biologist

Our community focused turtle conservation project is located on the incredible Osa Peninsular, Costa Rica. Home to an incredible amount of biodiversity the peninsular is also home to communities trying to make a living in this isolated area. Unfortunately, this often leads to illegal activities such as gold mining or poaching.  This is why we strive to improve the employability skills and options for our local community by providing training and employment as much as we can. 

COPROT is a fairly new project, founded in 2018 to protect the sea turtles and support the community in our area. We require driven and innovative individuals that are looking to make a real impact in a developing rural area in Costa Rica. You must be able to live in minimal conditions and survive off of a mostly vegetarian diet while on camp.

Volunteers require no previous experience and all are encouraged to apply. We are looking for volunteers who are excited to collect data on nesting female turtles during morning or night patrols, teach and plan English lessons for our local people, take part in hatchling release days, learn how to garden, and are keen to be more involved with nature.

As a volunteer, you will participate in daily turtle patrols, morning patrols (3-5 hrs) or night patrols (4-7 hrs). On the patrols you will protect new nests, record data on the nesting female, excavate hatched nests, assist in the tourism element and release hatchlings! Our beaches are some of the most important in the region with almost 7,000 sea turtle nests each year. We strive to collect as much data and protect as many of these nests as possible.

If you are looking for a project that will give you the chance to experience one of the most biodiverse places on earth, encounter and protect sea turtles everyday and get involved in the local community, then COPROT is the project for you. 

As a volunteer, you will participate in daily turtle patrols, morning patrols (3-5 hrs) or night patrols (4-7 hrs). On the patrols you will protect new nests, record data on the nesting females, excavate hatched nests, assist with tourist experiences and release hatchlings! During the day, we will also have beach clean-ups, plastic upcycling, community workshops/English lessons, presentations, gardening and general camp maintenance!

In your free time you can go hiking around the jungle, go walk or swim at the nearby beaches (Playa Peje Pero, Rio Oro, Carate) where you can also play some sports such as soccer or volleyball! We also have yoga mats that can be used for yoga or doing some exercise. We also make bowls, pots, jewelry (bracelets, earrings, rings) and some functional items (soap holders, toilet brushes) out of the plastic that is collected at the beach. Additionally, there are some shared books available to read on our bookshelves.