Sea Turtle Preservation Volunteer

Sea turtle preservation volunteers are needed to assist staff in conducting beach patrols to discourage poaching and to lend a hand at the sea turtle hatcheries in several national parks. Sea turtle volunteer positions are a fantastic way for volunteers to work directly with these amazing creatures while playing an integral part in a program that has radically reduced the number of turtles lost to poachers each year.

These placements are all very remote and require volunteers to live on-site in volunteer dorms within the national parks. These dorms are very basic shared accommodation and volunteers should expect to live in very rugged conditions while participating in work that can be quite physical. That said, for beach lovers, it is hard to imagine a more beautiful place to live while lending a hand in an important cause!

One of the main tasks of sea turtle preservation volunteers is to assist staff with the nightly beach patrols. Quite simply, by having large numbers of volunteers present on the beaches throughout the day and night it is extremely difficult for poachers to get their hands on the turtles. This simple concept has had an absolutely amazing impact on poaching rates; reducing them from well over 50% to less than 5%,( in some cases in only a handful of years). However, for this tactic to remain effective, a constant supply of volunteers are required.

Outside of beach patrols, sea turtle volunteers will also help with construction and maintenance of the sea turtle hatcheries, egg reallocation, documentation of the turtles and their habits, newborn turtle releases, and basic beach clean-ups.