Sealife is in constant danger of mankind who destroys their habitat, pollutes the oceans and hunts them relentlessly. Luckily the turtle conservation volunteer program in Costa Rica aims to change the faith of marine wildlife through education, controlled incubation in hatcheries and initiatives to slow down hunting, habitat loss, and pollution.
Volunteer in sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, and join a team that works hard day and night to help raise the numbers of sea turtles. In the project, you will be working with one or various species of sea turtles including olive ridley turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, green turtles, hawksbill and leatherback turtles. Each turtle is endangered to a different degree and is handled differently according to their numbers and habits.
Arrival to the program are most Sundays.
On arrival you are greeted by our friendly coordinators and taken to your accommodation. Next day you meet with all the volunteers and interns that came the previous days for orientation.
In orientation we cover topics like:
-Do’s and dont’s in the country
-How to get around and weekend travel
-Your projects
-Communication, SIM cards , and currency.
-Social meet ups with other participants.
There are no requirements for this program other than being able to communicate at the project and work well in teams.
There´s an extra weekly fee for working with sea Turtles. See our costs section for more information.
By becoming a volunteer in turtle conservation in Costa Rica, you are joining a team that works hard day and night to help raise the numbers of sea turtles. In the project, you will be working with one or various species of sea turtles including olive ridley turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, green turtles, hawksbill and leatherback turtles. Each turtle is endangered to a different degree and is handled differently according to their numbers and habits.
Turtles in Costa Rica:
Oliver Ridley: The most common type of sea turtle in Costa Rica weighing around 95 pounds. They nest during certain moon cycles and come in small groups to the beach, where they can lay from 50-100 eggs at a time.
Hawksbill: The critically endangered Hawskbill turtle has been chased and hunted almost to extinction due to its colorful shell. When they nest they lay around 120 eggs.
Leatherback turtles: The kings in terms of size, Leatherbacks can weigh around a thousand pounds and nest in both the Pacific and Caribbean beach and lay around 70 eggs per nest.
Other sea turtles found in Costa Rica:
Green Turtles: These turtles weigh around 250 pounds and nest on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The program does not typically work with this species.
Loggerhead turtles: These sea turtles are also endangered due to poaching of their nests and their hunting. They nest in the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, lay around 125 eggs per nest and can weigh up to 350 pounds.
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