ONLY AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER – MARCH DUE TO THE TURTLE NESTING SEASON
Join our new sea turtle conversation project and assist in protecting endangered sea turtle species such as the Olive Ridley, Leatherback and Green Turtle. Take part in beach patrols to collect data on nesting sites and sea turtle activity, relocate eggs to specially constructed hatchery to protect the eggs during their at risk period, ensure hatchery is safe and secure to help increase hatching and population targets for these species.
Sea turtle and marine conservation projects are fun and combine your beach vacations with meaningful work which goes a long way in the concentrated efforts globally to prevent these enchanting marine creatures from going extinct. All seven sea turtle species are endangered today and without conservation turtles may soon be pushed to the brink of extinction. The most endangered species of sea turtle is the Kemp’s Ridley with less than 10,000 remaining in the wild. Sea turtles exist in an already fragile ecosystem where the hatching survival rates are low due to predators on both land and sea. Add to this the serious threat posed by human activities such as poaching, climate change, and pollution; it’s evident that they cannot survive and propagate without timely marine conservation efforts.
Our Sea Turtle and Marine Conservation volunteer programs will bring you to exotic locations that are nesting sites for turtles. By joining hands with local conservation groups you can help to secure the future of these creatures and also help raise awareness in the local community you will be living in. Volunteers work alongside with local conservation groups and go on beach patrols, witness nesting turtles, and hatching babies, assist with care of disabled turtles, feeding turtles and cleaning turtle hatcheries. Saving turtles and releasing older babies back into the ocean is a truly scintillating experience!
What is included
Support Staff – Accommodation – House Utility Bills – Pre Departure Support
Support Staff – You will have both pre departure support to ensure you have a smooth transition into a new culture and answer any queries you may have.
Accommodation – Living with your fellow volunteers and support team you will have the benefit of a tight knit family feel and always ensuring there is someone to chat to and plan your free time activities. For full information on the accommodation provided please see below in the dedicated part of the listing.
How do I get to the placement
Depending on your team allocation and location assigned you may be a short distance to the beach that requires patrolling on that shift. You have the option to walk, cycle or take a short shared taxi ride depending on the distance.
What will I be doing
The core pillars of the conservation project at this time are; Beach Patrols, Hatchery Supervision & Data Collection. Beach Patrols – Through the night you will be allocated a shift and beach stretch where you will monitor the beach looking for signs of nesting, during this shift you will log your miles and stretch of beach patrolled. Upon finding a nest, depending on location we would aim to transport these safely to the dedicated hatchery to increase their chance of survival and protect them from outside threats. Upon spotting sea turtles you will be responsible for logging the details for ongoing monitoring such as photograph, verifying species, approximate size, location etc.
Hatchery Supervision – When assigned on hatchery duties you will be supervising the location to ensure a safe environment away from any threats such as dogs or birds etc and making any necessary fence repairs or fixes.
Data Collection – Processing the data collected by the beach patrol teams or from your previous night shift, ensuring this is processed in a clear and accurate manner to share with our conservation partners both in Ghana and overseas.
Depending on volunteer team numbers and workload we also aim to run community awareness schemes to highlight the importance of sea turtles and their impact, tagging of adult sea turtles caught by fishermen and ensuring their safe return to the ocean and then providing this tagging information to worldwide organizations to assist in the tracking and monitoring of adult populations and establishing a fishing exchange where fishermen who have caught sea turtles as by catch can turn over the sea turtle to us for a fixed fee or item to prevent it being sold to traders for meat etc.
Who will I be working with
Depending on the numbers of volunteers at a time we aim to group volunteers into couples or small groups especially at the start of your trip until you complete the training and feel comfortable, however there may be periods of time further down the line where this is not possible due to the amount of beach to be covered during the patrols for example.
