Volunteer With Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional, Costa Rica

Volunteer with Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional,
Costa Rica
Volunteer in Costa Rica and become a sea turtle volunteer, helping to conserve and protect the
populations of vulnerable Olive Ridleys. The project takes place in the spectacular Pacific coast of
the Nicoya Province on the beach where Olive Ridley turtles come up in thousands at a time for this
phenomenon of nature called "arribadas".
You can join for 2 weeks up to 12 weeks and we have places available all throughout the year.
Individuals, groups, students doing research all welcome.
About the Project
Become a sea turtle conservation volunteer and help conserve the populations of Olive Ridley Sea
Turtles in Costa Rica.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, Ostional Beach & the "Arribadas"
This project is located at Ostional beach, within the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) in the
Guanacaste Province. It is an important nesting beach for three of the world’s seven species of sea
turtles, and has been active in sea turtle conservation for the past 40 years.
The project directly works with the Olive Ridley turtles

nesting in Ostional, and our volunteers will often be lucky
enough to witness first hand the rarely-seen
biological spectacle of the arribadas – one of nature’s
true wonders. Thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles leave
the sea simultaneously, bumping into and crawling over
each other as they ascend the beach in their endeavour
to lay their eggs. At first a few hundred turtles arrive,
followed by a steady stream of females for the next three
to seven days (usually during the last quarter of the moon
before New Moon). The Olive Ridley sea turtles (and its
Atlantic cousin, Kemp’s Ridley turtle) are the only species
to stage arribadas which are known to occur at only nine
beaches worldwide: in Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras,
Surinam, Orissa in India and Costa Rica. Of these locations, Ostional beach is considered the second
most important.
Given the large amount of Olive Ridley Sea Turtle eggs laid in the arribadas, their harvest for human
consumption has become an important source of income to the Ostional community. Members of
particular groups are legally allowed to collect and sell a percentage of these eggs laid within the first
36 hours of each arribada. Early harvest of eggs has no impact on population, as many initial nests are
dug up and destroyed by later nesting turtles. Hatching success in Ostional is usually below 15%, which
is very low when compared with almost 90% for Olive Ridley eggs at solitary nesting beaches. Although
the cause of low hatchling success is not fully clear yet, it may result from the large number of eggs
destroyed in an arribada, high temperatures and bacteria and fungus contamination.
The purpose of the Ostional Olive Ridley Turtle Conservation Project is to determine and understand,
using robust and consistent statistical methods for
data analysis: nesting ecology, population numbers,
hatching success, hatchling production, mortality of
hatchlings and sex ratio results at both solitary and
mass nesting events. Understanding the population
fluctuations is crucial to design effective conservation
and management strategies for a successful sea
turtle conservation program.
Marine Conservation Volunteer Opportunities
As an Olive Ridley sea turtle volunteer, you will assist

with:
 Measuring the carapace (shell) length and

width of nesting adult turtles
 Helping with data collection for master books (record time, zone, activity, etc. of the turtles)
 Supporting researchers with tagging and general checking
 Nest exhumations
 Beach cleanups (to remove debris that would impede the movement of nesting females or
hatchlings)
 Sports and cultural activities
Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/costa-rica-sea-turtle-volunteer
Volunteer with Dolphin Research in the Ionian Sea

in Greece
Become a marine conservation volunteer and participate in dolphin research in the Ionian Sea,
helping to provide a marine environment that provides long-term viability for the species. The research
focuses on the Bottlenose Dolphin and the Short-Beaked Common Dolphin, in the Amvrakikos Gulf
and the Inner Ionian Sea archipelago. We have places for Cetacean Volunteer Researchers to join
for one or more weeks from June to September each year.
Individuals, groups, families and students doing research all welcome.
About the Project

Research Activities
An opportunity for marine conservation volunteers

to take part in Bottlenose and Short-Beaked
Common Dolphins research in the Ionian Sea. You
can help with some of the following activities
during your stay:
 Monitoring dolphins within the research area

through the use of specific surveying
techniques,
 Dolphin photo-identification, used to identify individual dolphins and their traits, in an attempt
to fully understand how expansive and diverse local dolphin populations are,
 Recording dolphin behaviour and group sizes, in addition to how different groups interact -
data is logged with GIS software,
 Collection of data regarding other marine species such as sea turtle, tuna, swordfish and
seabirds - data which gives the project scientists knowledge of how the area is faring in a broader
context,
 Inspection of dead dolphins in order to understand cause of death, as well as to collect
biological and genetic data that can help to enhance further investigatory projects
 Assessment of how local dolphins interact with local fisheries, and how their interaction
can fuel positive change in the area for the marine environment
Dolphin research volunteers will be working alongside the project

researchers on a daily basis, and upon sighting a dolphin
volunteers will be expected to log angle and distance from the boat,
as well as recording the size and spatial distribution of the
dolphins (assuming there is a group). Work in general is fast-paced,
and a lot of data needs to be recorded in a short space of time, so
volunteers need to be alert continually throughout the boat
journeys.
Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/dolphin-research-volunteer-project-greece
Volunteer in Costa Rica on a Pacific Sea Turtle

Conservation Project
Volunteer with sea turtles in Costa Rica as one of our marine conservation volunteers, and join this
Olive Ridley and Green sea turtle programme in the spectacular Osa Peninsula on the southern
Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
As a marine conservation volunteer, you will take part in night surveys, monitoring nesting sea turtles,
relocating eggs to the hatchery and releasing baby turtles into the ocean. You will also meet lots of new
people and have time to explore the pristine wilderness of the Osa Peninsula. You can join for 1 week
up to 12 weeks from July to end January every year.
About the project
The Osa Peninsula is one of the most intensely biodiverse places on the planet and contains 2.5% of
the world’s species crammed into an area the size of New York City! The Corcovado National Park,
which takes up a third of the peninsula, is the crown jewel in Costa Rica’s park system and is home to
more than 500 species of trees, 140 species of mammals, 370 species of birds, 40 species of
freshwater fish, 120 amphibians and reptiles, more than 150 species of orchids and more than 6000
species of insect and butterfly. The waters around the peninsula are home to over 25 dolphin and whale
species, all four species of Pacific sea turtles, sharks, manta rays, tuna, blue marlin and sailfish – to
name but a few – and the Caño Island marine reserve in Drake Bay is a globally important mating area
for humpback whales from both the northern and southern hemispheres!
The Volunteer Programme
The programme has been working with local communities to protect sea turtles in the Osa Peninsula
for 12 years, and is based at Guaria de Osa, in Rincon de San Josecito Beach, on the north of
Corcovado National Park.
Sea Turtle Volunteer Activities
As a volunteer, you will be working under the direct supervision of a Scientific Supervisor throughout
your time at the programme. Activities include:
 Performing night surveys on the beach to find nesting turtles and help protect them from illegal
extraction and predators
 Relocating eggs to the hatchery
 Monitoring nests and baby turtles in the hatchery
 Collecting biometric data on the beach
 Releasing baby turtles into the ocean
 Nest excavation (exhumations)
 Beach cleanup.
 Maintenance of beach and camp
 Helping with local environmental education and English classes at the school of Rincón and the
local community
Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/costa-rica-sea-turtle-volunteer
Volunteer in Cuba with Coral Reef Conservation

Join as a volunteer on our Coral Reef & Coastal Habitat restoration project in the village of Cocodrilo,
located on the southern coast of Cuba’s Isle of Youth. Use your diving skills to contribute to the
Coral Reef Restoration project in the clear blue waters of Cuba, while also help restoring the costal
habitats on land according to community needs. You might also get the chance to contribute with Sea
Turtle Monitoring during nesting season (May to October) on the beach near Cocodrilo.
You can join for 1 week up to 4 weeks and we have places available all year round.
About the Project
The Coral Reef Conservation Volunteer project in Cuba has been established to further empower the
remote community of Cocodrilo, located on the south coast of the Isle of Youth, through sustainable
means.
Coral Reef & Costal Habitat Restoration
The Coral Reef & Costal Habitat Restoration Volunteer will contribute to an ongoing initiative to improve
and monitor coral reef and coastal health off the southern coast of the Isle of Youth in Cuba. Volunteers
will conduct work in the following areas based on the community’s needs:
 Coral reef monitoring

 Coral gardening
 Fish surveying
 Seagrass surveying
 Lionfish monitoring and capture
 Trash removal
 Invasive species removal
Volunteers will snorkel to conduct this work, except

for Coral Gardening and Lionfish Monitoring, which
require volunteers to scuba dive. Data collected will help support the environmental planning of the
protected area. You will be in the water for about an hour every day. Volunteer activities on land will fill
the remaining 3-4 hours of the morning and are based on the needs of the community.
Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/cuba-coral-reef-volunteer

Volunteer With Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional, Costa Rica

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Volunteer with Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional,

Individuals, groups, students doing research all welcome.

About the Project

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, Ostional Beach & the "Arribadas"

The project directly works with the Olive Ridley turtles

Marine Conservation Volunteer Opportunities

As an Olive Ridley sea turtle volunteer, you will assist

 Measuring the carapace (shell) length and

Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/costa-rica-sea-turtle-volunteer

Volunteer with Dolphin Research in the Ionian Sea

Individuals, groups, families and students doing research all welcome.

About the Project

An opportunity for marine conservation volunteers

 Monitoring dolphins within the research area

Dolphin research volunteers will be working alongside the project

Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/dolphin-research-volunteer-project-greece

Volunteer in Costa Rica on a Pacific Sea Turtle

About the project

The Volunteer Programme

Sea Turtle Volunteer Activities

Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/costa-rica-sea-turtle-volunteer

Volunteer in Cuba with Coral Reef Conservation

About the Project

Coral Reef & Costal Habitat Restoration

 Coral reef monitoring

Volunteers will snorkel to conduct this work, except

Taken from: https://www.workingabroad.com/projects/cuba-coral-reef-volunteer

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