Volunteer Costa Rica: Sea and Marine Turtle Conservation

  Costa Rica

• Central Pacific Coast: 
Osa Peninsula
• Eastern Lowlands: 
Gandoca,  Tortuguero

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: open

Description: The Turtle Conservation Projects are designed to give our volunteers a hands-on experience in marine and sea turtle conservation. No prior knowledge or experience is necessary. Volunteers applying should enjoy manual work, handling wildlife, and working unusual hours; as turtle nesting occurs during the night. The main objective of this Project is to protect the turtle nests from human poachers, predators, and more recently from the erosion of the beach. The main work of the volunteers involves: night patrols and hatchery shifts, beach cleanup and hatchery construction. They will also:

- Patrol the beach
- Release the newborn turtles
- Collect research information
- Prevent natural predators eating the eggs
- Maintain construction and infrastructure of site
- Clean the beach
- Transport food and water to the campsite from the river
- Collect data about breeding, nesting and incubation
- Digging up nests and transferring eggs to the hatchery
- Monitor the artificial hatchery

Depending on the type of work that you are performing, your hours can vary between 4-8 hours in the morning, afternoon, or night. Patrolling activities will typically be performed at night while research is conducted during the day.

Highlights: The activities during your free time will be dependent on the location. You may decide to take advantage of the local culture and spend time within the community over the weekend or explore nearby beaches and towns.

Great weekend activities include:
* Surfing (In some locations)
* Swimming (Be cautious of strong currents)
* Hiking

Qualifications: Language Requirement is Basic Spanish. If you are interested in learning more Spanish, we offer Spanish Language Courses that can be taken prior to project placement.

Cost in US$: USD 765 for 2 weeks

Experience Required: no

Age Range: Must be 18 years of age or older.

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

uVolunteer, Volunteer Travel Abroad's Mission Statement: uVolunteer's mission is to provide meaningful and affordable volunteering placements to our volunteers without sacrificing neither service nor quality; and the capacity to deliver this volunteer resource and funding directly to grass root projects, local non-governmental and public organisations in rural and urban communities in need worldwide.

Year Founded: 2005