Volunteer with Sea Turtle nesting season on Sal Island, Cabo Verde - 2024

The nesting season is a unique opportunity to work with adult turtles and help protect their nesting period to ensure their survival and development.

During this volunteering I had the opportunity to carry out many tasks such as:
- The recovery of GPS coordinates of the turtles
- Searching for identification tags
- Measuring the turtles
- Relocation of endangered nests

During this volunteering, I had the opportunity to learn a lot about turtles and the different threats they face in the future.

What I remember at the end of the experience is all the information I got about the turtles and the good time I had with the volunteers.

I would recommend this programme to anyone looking for a unique experience that they will not soon forget!

As a veterinary medicine student I'm really interested in wildlife. I found the project via Google and came here for 2 weeks. I did 1 week of the nesting program and 1 week of the hatching program. I'm very glad that I did this because you are able to witness all the aspects of both worlds!

With the nesting program you stay in a tent at a camp at the beach. It's basic (no shower, sand everywhere) but I think that was really part of the experience as well! every night you will go on patrol on the beaches to look for nesting turtles. The feeling when you see one crawling up to the beach in the moonlight is really magical! You witness the entire nesting cycle of how they make the nest and lay the eggs. I learned a lot and everyone is very helpful and friendly! I liked the variety at the nesting camp, in the morning you are able to do nest relocations of the nest that were layed in the night before (that had to be moved because of the light pollutions for example). It was great to learn how to do a nest relocation and everything was a really special experience!

At the nesting program it's really magical as well to see the baby turtles hatch every night. One night we had more then 260 babys which is amazing! Watching all the little ones crawl to the water is something you will never forget!

Beforehand I was a bit worried how I would cope with the lack of sleep but it was fine! Durnig the day you can rest a lot so at night you are able to go on patrol again! :)

In conclusion I had an amazing experience and learned a lot about turtle conservation and the culture on the island of Sal!

This is definitely a once in a lifetime experience! The living conditions at camp are very basic and you work only during the night which means you never get enough “good” sleep, BUT if you prepare yourself mentally for these conditions this will be one of the most fullfilling things you’ll ever do! I had no experience with turtles prior to this, so it was even more stunning to see these gentle giants so closely. The people at camp were all very friendly and welcoming, but after months of doing nightshifts they had already been very exhausted and slept most of the day. The other volunteers and I tried to busy ourselves with playing volleyball, cleaning the beach, going for a swim or playing cards but all in all the possibilities at camp are very limited so you may get bored after a few weeks.
All in all I would encourage everyone who likes to work with sea turtles and can endure basic living conditions to join the programm. (duration of my stay: 3 weeks).

I recommend this magical experience. I made new friends from all over the world. I felt very satisfied with the work done, I experienced a different month that made me reflect on many things about the life. The friendships were fantastic You have to be able to adapt to a different lifestyle, but there are many people ready to support you. There will be moments of fatigue and stress, but this experience will change your life. If you are ready, I highly recommend this experience.I felt very satisfied with the work done, I experienced a different month that made me reflect on many things. The friendships were fantastic.

The most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, magnificent mama sea turtles every day, jaw-dropping sunrises, the calming sound of ocean waves, an incredibly vibrant and kind group of people, the best summer of my life. This experience was absolutely life changing, and has inspired me to pursue similar conservation jobs working with sea turtles around the world. Not only that, but this experience provided me with some of the best people, many of whom I still talk to on a weekly basis. While this experience is tough at some times, I entirely believe that it is 10000% worth it. I know that I will look back at this experience as one of the best for years to come.

I volunteered with the project biodiversity for four weeks. It was a hard, but so worth it experience. I learned so much about turtles and myself. I slept under the stars, patrolled whole nights long and met the most amazing people. I saw an animal that I never imagined to see in real life, not only one but so many that I last count on my fist night patrolling.
Not only the turtles where beautiful the people as well. I felt very welcome. When I fist arrived the project explained everything very clearly, they showed me around the town and helped me prepare for my fist week at camp. Also during my stay at the camp they regularly checked if I was okay or if I needed anything.
I definitely got pushed out of my comfort zone, but in good way. The beach where we patrolled are like a dream, clear blue water and white sand. Every morning we would watch the sunrise with a nesting turtle next to us. An experience I would never forget!

I spent 2 months and a half with Project Biodiversity during the nesting season.
I feel really honored to have been part of this amazing experience.
As a volunteer you get the chance to work with professional, learn a lot, and live on a camp with people from different horizon all reunited for the same reason.
In my case I didn’t study anything about biology or conservation so having a direct impact with the sea turtles was a incredible privilege. I can’t be more grateful to have been able to give a little of my contribution.
I can just recommend this association ! The work and commitment they provide is pretty impressive and inspiring.

I had a short stay in Project Biodiversity team but enough to be able to say that if you're looking for an authentic volunteering experience, meaningful as well as being part of a cool team, do not hesitate to join them ! Work can be hard as you're going to patrol at night and walk for a few kilometers in the sand, but you have direct impact on helping the turtles and being close to these animals and seeing them nesting is a unique experience. Everyone in the staff is really nice and supportive as well as in the volunteering and field assistant team :)