Volunteer Abroad Costa Rica – Turtle Conservation

Name: Volunteer Abroad Costa Rica – Turtle Conservation
Brand: Natucate
SKU: 204314
Rating: 9.5 (2 reviews)

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Species Conservation: Volunteering with NATUCATE

About

The species conservation project in Costa Rica gives you an opportunity to play your part in the survival of endangered sea turtle species by helping the animals to lay their eggs in a safe part of the beach and monitoring their clutches. You will act as a go-between between people and the natural environment, which will involve documenting the behaviour of these animals and their clutches. You will be part of an international team working at Costa Rica’s picturesque Caribbean Coast at the location Pacuare.

Experience all of the variety which Costa Rica has to offer and play an active role in helping endangered sea turtle species.

Highlights

Help conserve endangered sea turtles in Costa Rica
Witness Costa Rica's incredible biodiversity
Work and live in a beautiful hatchery, located at Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast
Meet people from all over the world

Natucate Conservation Scholarship 2020

You want to become active in conservation work abroad and broaden your hands-on conservation know-how? You would like to volunteer and would benefit greatly from financial assistance? Then apply for a Natucate Conservation Scholarship! This way you can expand your academic knowledge and receive fundings for your educational volunteer experience! Natucate awards three 500 US$ scholarships each year. Learn more about our 2020 scholarship options

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Questions & Answers

Reviews

9.5 Rating

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Volunteer

Impact 10
Support 9.5
Fun 10
Value 9.5
Safety 9.5

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First of all it is amazing that you live and work right next to or rather on the beach! Moreover you arrive in a super relaxed atmosphere and you are surrounded by a dazzling green nature, delicious fruit and fascinating animals. But of course another highlight of the turtle conservation projects is … the turtles!! You really get to know the conservation work in the hatchery as you take care of it during the day or during the night shifts – mostly in a team of two. The nights are definitely exciting as you keep watch of the hatchery and need to scare off wild animals that try to eat the buried eggs (raccoons, crabs …). Moreover during the nights the chances are higher for the beach patrol team to find a turtle that is laying its eggs on the beach or at least her tracks that often leads to a nest. If that is the case, the eggs are excavated and brought to the hatchery, where they are buried in a safer environment (no tourists, wild animals, poachers or incoming tide). The benefit is, that more turtles are likely to hatch and as you release them on the beach again and watch them crawl to the sea, also less are eaten by other animals. It is a unique experience to stand by the sea at night and watch those really tiny turtles make their way into the waves!

The camps in Montezuma and Sámara are not luxurious and you need to prepare for sand in the house as well as basic facilities! Moreover Sámara is more like an outdoor adventure, as there is no electricity and a really open house on a remote beach. It also took me quite a few days to get used to the occasional gallo pinto breakfast (basically rice and beans), as I usually don´t have such solid meals for breakfast! :D

In the end I am really glad that I participated in the projects as I met so many nice people in the projects as well as around the country and it was a really good and unique conservation experience in a stunning environment! I would definitely go again, if I had the chance:)

Hi there! I spent 3 weeks in Cosa Rica with NATUCATE and had an amazing time :) I am an outdoor and animal lover. Spending time supporting a conservation project was the perfect way for me to start my gap year after I graduated from High School. It definitley helped me with the decison on what to study. Having spent three weeks in this wonderful place made me realise that our environment is so important but also so fragile that it needs protection, which is why i decided to sign in for a bachelor degree in Biology.

My three weeks in Costa Rica went by way to quick and I made a lot of new friends. The accommodation is simply but the view to the beach, the good food and wonderful sunsets pay off the hard work! You definitley should not be afraid of crabs! You will see a lot while you try to prevent them to get to the turtle eggs!

I think September is a good time to travel to volunteer at the project because this is the time when you will see a lot of turtles :)

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

What is your favorite travel memory?

It’s hard to choose a favorite travel memory as each journey is unique and I have special memories of each one. That being said, one of my favorite memories is from my trip around Morocco.

I got lost and felt extremely stressed because I needed to catch my bus in time. All of the sudden, a father and his young child turned up and accompanied me for the 15-minute-walk to the bus station and thanked me for choosing Morocco as my destination. His friendly nature cheered me up straight away and thanks to him, I made it in time to catch my bus.

I also like to think back to the freedom I had during my gap year while traveling and living from day to day without fixed plans. That was a great experience!

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

It is always amazing to see how returning volunteers have grown, have gained more confidence, and of course how their time abroad helped them to choose what they would like to do in life. In many cases, time abroad has helped our volunteers to realize what is important to them and what they no longer need to worry about.

One of the funniest stories I’ve heard was from a volunteer in Costa Rica who described her first night shift and her fight against the crabs who were trying to conquer the turtle nests – in the end she stopped the crabs from entering the nest and no turtle eggs were stolen.

The way she was telling us the story was hilarious. Even though she was a bit scared during this first night shift, she was able to laugh while telling us the story.

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If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

This is definitely a hard choice and I could not choose a favorite project. However, our internship in Argentina is on my to-do list.

I have never been to Patagonia before and my colleague who has visited the project shared many great stories about it. I have always been in love with horses and have been horseback riding all my life, it sounds like a great opportunity to get to know such a unique country from horseback.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

We care for each and every one of our clients in a special way and it is important to us to build up a relationship with them. We would like to understand what their expectations are and if the project meets those expectations.

We keep in touch with them throughout their entire stay in the project, since we would like to make sure that the volunteers feel comfortable abroad.

It makes me proud when a volunteer after his/her return tells us: “I want to catch the next flight back to the project!” To us this means that we did a good job preparing and supporting our volunteers!

About Natucate

Natucate – our name intentionally combines the English words ‘nature’ and ‘(to) educate’, because it is our aim to reconcile nature and education. We offer educational wilderness courses, internships, sabbaticals and voluntary service abroad with a focus on nature, environmental and wildlife conservation as well as animal protection.

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Volunteer Abroad Costa Rica – Turtle Conservation

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