Volunteer With Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional, Costa Rica
Volunteer With Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional, Costa Rica
Volunteer With Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Ostional, Costa Rica
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.
Become a sea turtle conservation volunteer and help conserve the populations of Olive Ridley Sea
Turtles in Costa Rica.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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
You can join for 1 week up to 4 weeks and we have places available all year round.
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.
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: