Sea Turtle Conservation Program

This volunteer program takes you to the heart of Tortuguero National Park and gives you the opportunity to become an active member of GVI’s conservation team. You will be conducting night-time patrols along the tropical beach, looking for nesting turtles, and counting tracks. If you find a turtle during your patrol, you may assist the experienced GVI Patrol Leader by helping to measure the turtle, count the eggs being laid, look for previous tags and distinctive markings and record the data. You may also be lucky enough to see and record the juvenile turtles emerging from the nest and record data on hatchling success, poaching rates and mortality rates.

The project is run in conjunction with partners such as the Costa Rican Environment Ministry. Volunteers receive continuous hands-on training on all aspects of the research. Opportunities exist on weekends for rainforest tours, canopy tours, visiting idyllic beaches and white water rafting.

How this program makes a difference

The conservation program in Costa Rica has had direct short-term results, including decreasing poaching rates on endangered marine turtles and their nests, and increasing knowledge of the turtle populations of a remote part of one of the most important nesting beaches in the world for Green Turtles. The data goes to national and international networks, is presented at international conferences, and used to in species and area management. The information is also correlated to data recorded by other GVI teams regarding jaguar predation of turtles in Tortuguero National Park.