Volunteer with turtles in Greece (2013)

Summary

Polish your eco-credentials and brush up on your presentation skills at this conservation project in gorgeous Greece. Living in a cute beachfront campsite in lovely Lakonikos, your mission will be to protect loggerhead sea turtles and raise awareness about their plight. By day, you’ll survey the beach for nests, help protect them from predation and man an eco-kiosk to help educate visitors about the turtles’ importance. By night, enjoy campsite camaraderie over a team-cooked meal or just crack open some retsina and watch the sun set!

Summary

Polish your eco-credentials and brush up on your presentation skills at this conservation project in gorgeous Greece. Living in a cute beachfront campsite in lovely Lakonikos, your mission will be to protect loggerhead sea turtles and raise awareness about their plight. By day, you’ll survey the beach for nests, help protect them from predation and man an eco-kiosk to help educate visitors about the turtles’ importance. By night, enjoy campsite camaraderie over a team-cooked meal or just crack open some retsina and watch the sun set!

Accommodation

You’ll stay in one of the cute campsites that are strung along the beach of Mavrovouni. You’ll get a tent compartment to yourself but everything else will be shared – from the squeaky clean showers and toilets to the cooking and chores. The campsite will have its own mini-market and self-service restaurant, meaning your snacks and retsina need never run out!

Accommodation

You’ll stay in one of the cute campsites that are strung along the beach of Mavrovouni. You’ll get a tent compartment to yourself but everything else will be shared – from the squeaky clean showers and toilets to the cooking and chores. The campsite will have its own mini-market and self-service restaurant, meaning your snacks and retsina need never run out!

Departure Days (2013)

14 June 2014
28 June 2014
12 July 2014 (14n, 28n, 42n, 56n, 70n only)
26 July 2014 (14n, 28n, 42n 56n only)
09 August 2014 (14n, 28n, 42n only)
23 August 2014 (14n, 28n only)
06 September 2014 (14n only)

Duration

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 weeks are available

Life as a volunteer

You’ll wake up each morning as the sun rises over the mountains – approximately 07:00 – to conduct morning surveys. Duties generally include patrolling the 5-kilometre beach and locating any new turtle tracks and/or nests, recording data and measurements, and installing protective grids around the nests.

Morning survey may take anywhere from 1-4 hours, depending on the number of nests that require attention on that day. A

kiosk, located on the beach near the camp, is manned by volunteers from 11:00 to 20:00 daily, divided into three 3-hour shifts. This is to educate the public about the project, and also contains various turtle-themed merchandise (T-shirts, etc).
A
t approximately 21:00, public awareness presentations (PowerPoint presentations, short films and Q&A sessions) are conducted in campsites along the beach.

A group of volunteers will be required as needed (generally a couple of times each week) to harvest bamboo. This is then cut into certain lengths and assembled into bamboo grids that are used to mark and protect the nests.

Breakfast in the camp is on an individual basis, as not everyone is required to be awake for morning survey every day.

Lunch is prepared for the group by volunteers and is eaten at various times, depending on the activities of the day.

Volunteers also prepare supper, and everyone enjoys this meal together after the final shift in the kiosk. Cooking, cleaning, survey, kiosk and other duties are on a rotating basis and are shared by all volunteers.

In addition to the daily work, volunteers enjoy plenty of down-time during the hottest parts of the day.