The sea turtle conservation program is a scientific-based conservation activity in which the organizations involved try to increase the amount of sea turtle hatchings in order to give higher survival rates.
The camps are located within walking distances from the beach. Apart from the sea turtles, you will also have high chances of seeing tropical birds, iguanas, monkeys... The biodiversity is a very important point of these places. The main goal of these projects is to help the recovering of sea turtle populations. The species of sea turtles that you can find on these beaches are Olive riddle, Leatherback, Black or green sea turtle, Loggerhead, Hawksbill turtle depending on which project and season you visit.
International volunteers support:
Buena Vista beach which is a nesting beach of approximately 1.8 km of length and limited in the north by the blind estuary and in the south by the river Buena Vista. The back of the beach is limited by a system of mangroves, which depend on water from the river and tides, beach slope is low ranging between 3 ° and 4 ° to swell, so the currents are strong which makes it an ideal place for surfing. The project is in the northern part of Costa Rica, in the canton of Nicoya. It’s located about 2,5 km from the Centre of Sámara (45 minutes).
The Extra fee indicated covers a period of TWO WEEKS, and includes:
- Transfer from the airport to a hostel in San Jose.
- Two nights in a hostel in San Jose, breakfast included.
- Orientation day, a day in which we give a cultural introduction to Costa Rica, safety and transportation recommendations, directions to the project and a tour of San Jose with lunch included.
- Accommodation and meals at the project.
The program has flexible dates depending on the availability of the project, with flexibility from 2 weeks to 4 months, but this includes an additional fee to the indicated fee.
İş Tanımı
Volunteers will be working in:
● Maintenance of the infrastructure and surroundings
● Cleaning of the beach
● Transport of alimentation from the river to the project (1-2 days per week)
● Collecting of the information about the nesting activity (collection and measures of the eggs in the hatchery, marking of females)
● Monitoring and watching over the hatchery
● Liberation of the babies
● Collection of information about the nests
● Exhumation of the nests of the hatchery
● Night and morning patrols (every day a week, the duration depends on how many turtles are around, and the time to patrol is determined by the ocean tide)
● Working with the community
● Cooking (with coordinators)
● Night shifts (3 night shifts: 22:00-00:00, 00:00-2:00, 2:00-4:00)
Konaklama ve Yemek
Hosting situation provided by the Project.
The accommodation is very simple and not a luxurious hotel. You will be sharing your room with several volunteers (shared dorm with 21 beds), of course you will still be having your own bed.
Konum ve Serbest Zaman
The ASVO Buena Vista Project is located about 2.5 km from the center of Sámara, in the middle of Buena Vista Beach. In order to get to the project, the Buena Vista River has to be crossed (with a kayak or by walking through the river when there is low tide). Behind the project are private properties with local people which can be helpful in an emergency case.
The beach (which is in a bit of an incline) is limited by Río Taranta (in the west) and by Río Buena Vista (in the east). Another prominent aspect of the project is a lot of flora and fauna (cows, horses, crabs, birds, snakes, insects (i.e., purrujas), etc.).
The hospital is about 2 hours away (in Nicoya), so be especially careful when swimming in the ocean and working with certain tools, etc.
The hatching space (turtle nursery) is located between the beach and the accommodation. The kitchen, the bodega (storage space), the toilets and the shower are located downstairs, the dorms (with 21 beds) upstairs. Additionally, a volleyball field can be found in the project.
The sea at the Buena Vista Beach is not very calm, that is also the reason why you must wait for the right moment to swim in the ocean, and if you swim you have to be careful, because otherwise it can be dangerous (i.e., a lot of tree trunks).
The project is not very close to a village, so it is very quiet and secure, and the environmental pollution is also less in comparison to other places.
Electricity is limited as it is supplied by solar panels and therefore depends on the sunlight. The electricity powers a couple of light bulbs and is also used for charging phones.
Notlar
The ASVO Sea Turtle Stations are permanent projects, so they receive volunteers all year long. They have a capacity of around 20 volunteers and there are no limitations in the number of female or male volunteers, but yes, we recommend volunteers to be adults (+18).
