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Costa Rica Sea Turtle Conservation
Much help is needed from local communities and volunteers to ensure the continued existence of the turtle species. At present, approximately only 1 in every 5000 eggs laid will grow to become an adult turtle. Human interference is not the sole factor responsible for this; however, human behavior does greatly diminish turtle population sizes. By volunteering on conservation projects and assisting during the turtle-nesting season you can help make a difference.
Project Location
Cahuita National Park and Gandoca National Park, on Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean coast in the Talamanca region, province of Limón.
Project Age Limit
Minimum 18 years, maximum decided on potential participants’ health.
Programme Information
We recommend that you arrange to arrive on Sunday, the day before your programme starts. You will receive an airport transfer to your accommodation where you can then check in and relax before the start of your programme. On Monday you will receive a comprehensive orientation and have time in the afternoon for a salsa class and to use the Internet. Tuesday morning will be an early start, as you will travel to the project location to begin your volunteer experience.
Why volunteers are needed?
The Gandoca project started in 1986 and the Cahuita project started in 2000, after realising that the area is an important nesting site for the critically endangered Leatherback and Hawksbill turtles. The poaching of turtle eggs, increasing coastal development, pollution and beach erosion have all become serious threats to the sea turtles of the region. It is estimated that over 99% of turtle eggs were taken annually from the nesting beaches before the project started. Although the taking of eggs has no immediate effect on the number of turtles nesting, the population could collapse in 20-50 years when no new females return to nest.
The projects in Cahuita and Gandoca are helping to re-establish a viable population of sea turtles. The project staff patrol the beach with assistance from volunteers, keeping poachers away from the nesting turtles, in the meantime collecting research information and helping newborn hatchlings reach the sea safely.
The main objective of the project is to protect the nests from human poachers, pests and more recently from the erosion of the beach. Before the project began, the poaching rate was over 95% but with the presence of our night patrols and the hatcheries on the beach, the survival rate has increased to over 90% last season.
Volunteer Activities
You will be involved in a variety of different activities depending on the time of year and which location you choose. For instance, during peak nesting periods, volunteers will spend a greater proportion of their time collecting the eggs and monitoring the behaviour of the turtles. The main work involves night patrols and hatchery shifts whereas daytime work may involve beach cleanup and small projects, including initial construction of the hatcheries.
Typical daily activities may include:
Night patrols during which volunteers led by an experienced patrol leader walk a sector of the beach searching for nesting females. Once a turtle is encountered, volunteers work directly with the turtle taking carapace and nest dimension measurements, collecting eggs and tagging the rear flipper of the turtle.
Hatchery shifts: The collected eggs are relocated on the beach or taken to the hatchery where the volunteers will build a new nest to specification and transplant the eggs. The number of eggs, nest location and turtle identification information (tag number) is then recorded by the hatchery attendant for further data analysis; this includes recording the hatchling survival rate. The hatchery is manned 24 hours a day in order to deter poachers and to monitor temperatures, which are vital in determining the gender of the baby turtles.
Midway through the season the duties of the hatchery attendants increase as the hatchlings begin to emerge. At this time, all nests in the hatcheries must be checked every 30 minutes and if hatchlings are encountered, they must be counted and released in the evening to an appropriate location along the high tide line and watched until they reach the sea.
Half way through October there will be no more patrols and only work in the hatchery with a lot of babies emerging. The season closes at the end of October when the last nest in the hatchery has hatched.
Daytime work may involve beach cleanup and small projects including initial construction of the hatcheries as well as hatchery monitoring.
Option One: Cahuita National Park (May to October) Cahuita is an unspoiled travel destination with a gentle, laid-back unhurried feel to it. The project is located at the north entrance of Cahuita National Park, on Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean coast in the province of Limón. The province is of vital importance to the national economy and ecology as it boasts the largest port in the country and contains a variety of the country’s ecologically most important and diverse tropical forest ecosystems. The area is also amazingly culturally diverse.
The area is rich with wildlife and you may see up to three species of monkey, sloths, crocodiles, caimans, anteaters and around 400 species of birds. Cahuita is also the only place on the Costa Rican Caribbean coast where you can find healthy coral reefs and the beaches are bordered by lush vegetation.
The area that volunteers work extends from Cahuita National Park to the Hone Creek River Mouth - a total 14kms for the beach patrol. Three species of turtles nest on this beach: the Leatherback sea turtle, and to a lesser extent the Green and Hawksbill sea turtles. Cahuita experiences more problems with poachers than Gandoca, and as a result, the hatchery is kept under lock and key in a secure cages environment on the beach. It has to be monitored 24 hours a day and all nests must be relocated as soon as they are found.
For your day off you may want to spend time enjoying the national park and its wildlife, alternatively you can take the 6km walk up the beach to Cahuita town. The beach town of Puerto Viejo is also only a short bus trip away and it boasts great beaches, surf and nightlife.
Accommodation and Meals
Volunteers will be staying next to the ranger station of Cahuita National Park. A brand new accommodation block has just been built (April 2007) which is basic but comfortable. The rooms are fully screened by mosquito nets, and lockers and shelves are available for your belongings. You will be sleeping in bunk beds and sharing a room with around 6 other volunteers. Indoor and outdoor showers are available and bathroom facilities are also on a shared basis. All meals are included so you will be provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
Meals will be provided by staff from the park and will be Costa Rican style meals that will mainly consist of rice, beans, corn, meat, pasta, vegetables and seasonal fruits.
Option Two: Gandoca (February to July)
Gandoca beach is also located on Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean coast in the province of Limón. This region represents around 5% of the national territory and is one of the biologically richest areas of the planet with over 2% of the entire world's biodiversity and its cultural heritage is equally rich.
The Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge is located in a relatively inaccessible area of the country. Diverse ecosystems (beach, mangrove swamp, coral reef and tropical rain forest) are concentrated within this incredible area.
Volunteer Requirements
To participate in this project, it is best that you have a basic knowledge of Spanish. The project coordinators speak English but park staff usually do not.
Volunteers need to be enthusiastic and willing to work in a challenging environment! A lot of the work is at night, between the hours of 8pm and 4am. While on night patrol, volunteers will walk the beaches and cover a good distance. There may be times when volunteers will be asked to work both during the day and at night, since work could include both a night patrol and daytime hatchery monitoring.
Project Orientation
On Monday you will have a comprehensive orientation meeting. This will cover all essential topics such as banks and money, transport, places to see, safety precautions and work ethics. In this first meeting, you will also have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you wish. In the afternoon there will be time for a salsa class and a chance to use the facilities at the volunteer centre such as the Internet.
Accommodation and Meals
Volunteers have the option of staying at the Sea Turtle field station or with local families that have cabins available. In either case, rooms are shared with other volunteers. Toilet and washing facilities are also shared! Houses in the community have clean drinking water and electricity. At the field station there is also drinking water and limited electricity is provided by solar panels. Included in your program are all of your meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Staff from the park or the family you are staying with will provide these for you. The food is fairly basic, Costa Rican style, mainly consisting of rice, beans, corn, meat, pasta, vegetables and seasonal fruits.
Project Support
Throughout your stay in Costa Rica you will have the support and guidance of the project manager, the volunteer coordinator and their team. They will be able to help you with any questions or advice you may need during your time on the project. In addition, you are able to contact our UK staff 24 hours a day should you need to, via our emergency contact number.
Free Time
You will have one day free per week and this will be decided based on volunteer numbers and duties. You will also have free time throughout the day as most of the volunteer activities take place at night! During your free time you may choose to go to the beach, chill out at the accommodation, read a book, write a diary or play card games. The project staff will be able to advise you if you would like to make any additional excursions to other beaches, national parks or towns.
Getting there
You will need to arrange flights into Alajuela, to the Juan Santamaria International Airport. We strongly advise that you arrange your flights to arrive on the Sunday before your project starts. Upon arrival you will be met by a project representative at the airport and transferred to a hostel in San Jose.
When is it best to go?
You can join the programme at any time of year but the work that you will be doing will depend on the season.
In Cahuita, the nesting season runs from the beginning of March through to the end of July each year for Leatherback turtles, and from June to October for Hawksbill and Green Sea turtle nesting activity. The Leatherback turtle arrives mostly in April and May, while Hawksbill turtle peak arrivals are usually during September.
In Gandoca, the nesting season runs from the beginning of March through the end of July each year. The peak nesting period for the turtles is April/May with hatchling turtles emerging from mid May through to the end of the season. The number of nesting adult female turtles arriving on the beach drops off from June until the end of July.
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