Location
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
06 July 2010 - 09 December 2010
Background Information
The Sea Turtle Conservation Program is vital for collecting baseline data that is shared with national and international networks enabling the continual improvement of species and protected area management. Furthermore, this facilitates policy makers in developing well informed policies for the conservation of sea turtles over the long-term. Tagging enables scientists to learn more about the natural history, migratory patterns and lifecycle of sea turtles. The immediate short-term impact of your participation is preventative as poaching rates decrease when known patrols and routine monitoring of beaches are taking place. If you choose to participate in any of the educational outreach on sea turtles in schools and the surrounding community, you will be imparting invaluable knowledge and ensuring the long-term viability of sea turtles by preventing future generations from supporting bad conservation practices.
Our volunteers come from all over the world in order to help save sea turtles. With the help of volunteers we have protected more than 16,000 sea turtle hatchlings over the last two nesting seasons and carried out a number of educational projects to raise local awareness about the importance of conservation on the Osa Peninsula. We rely on volunteers to provide the level of coverage that makes this project successful and it is our goal to provide an enriching personal experience for everyone who contributes their time to this project.
This program allows volunteers to participate in supervised research and provides the opportunity to get close to these truly magnificent creatures and other wildlife in their natural habitats while making a true difference to the conservation of these species.
Duties
As a volunteer you will:
• be an integral part of night beach patrols
• conduct morning beach surveys
• take biometric measurements of sea turtles
• record data and enter into database
• assist in applying identification tags
• monitor nesting sites
• take sand temperature
• cover nests with protective screens
• mark nests
• evaluate nesting and hatching success
Requirements
Our volunteers come from all walks of life and have a shared interest in helping to ensure the future of endangered sea turtles. Ideal candidates work well both independently and as a member of a team, enjoy being outdoors, don’t mind remote areas and most importantly have a sense of humor!
• In good health: the work is physically strenuous and requires up to 6 hours of walking at night in humid tropical climate on soft sand, and sometimes in heavy rain
• Must commit to a one week minimum (7 nights at the Piro Research Center or independent lodge in Carate)
• Must commit to working a minimum of 30 hours/week
• Must be age 18+ or accompanied by a guardian/group leader
Benefits/Costs
Everyone participating in the Friends of the Osa Sea Turtle Conservation Program will pay a $200 program fee. This fee covers basic administration costs and provides the funds necessary to pay field coordinators to supervise and assist volunteers in the field and ensures the longevity of the program.
We have restructured our program so that we can cover beaches all the way to Carate. In order to do this we are working in close partnership with some local lodges between Piro and Carate. Please refer to the accommodation section (p.8) of our Volunteer Manual to pick the accommodation that best suits your needs. The prices vary from $210-350 per week in addition to the one-time program fee.
Additional Contact Information
For more information please visit our volunteer page http://www.osaconservation.org/Volunteer.html If you have further questions, contact seaturtles@osaconservation.org