seaturtle.org : MTN : ARCHIVES : Sign In

Marine Turtle Newsletter 58:29-30, © 2001

Sea Turtle Restoration Project 1992 Volunteer Expeditions

Kathy Nielsen
Earth Island Institute, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, California 94133 USA Tel: ⁴¹⁵ 788-3666, Fax: ⁴¹⁵ 788-7324

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project is sponsoring trips to three olive ridley nesting beaches in 1992: Nancite and Ostional in Costa Rica and Playa La Flor in Nicaragua. As a volunteer on one of these trips, you may witness an arribada, the mass nesting strategy of the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). During an arribada, thousands and thousands of turtles nest in a few days - on a peak day, some 20,000 may arrive. In any event, chances are excellent that you will get to see some of these endangered turtles. In addition, leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), the largest of all sea turtles, are seen occasionally on these beaches, as are Pacific green turtles (Cheloniam m. agassizii) and hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata). At Playa Nancite, volunteers will be assisting Costa Rican and North American scientists with their work; at Ostional and Playa La Flor, volunteers will help with studies of the sea turtles and with the model sustainable egg harvesting programs that occur at these beaches. The money raised from the trips allows the Sea Turtle Restoration Project to help support these international sea turtle conservation programs. The cost of each trip includes lodging, transportation, and food within the designated country. It does not include airfare.

Playa Nancite, Costa Rica: A remote beach in Santa Rosa National Park, Playa Nancite is accessible only by foot or boat. The dry tropical forest of Santa Rosa National Park supports an incredible array of wildlife, from howler monkeys and iguanas that visit the field station almost everyday to crocodiles and coatis that are seen less frequently. Volunteer responsibilities may include nightly beach patrolling to count and tag sea turtles, locating nesting females that have transmitters on them, taking radio transmitter readings, helping perform ultrasound tests on the turtles, and locating turtles from a boat. Staff and volunteers will share cooking responsibilities and will stay in the field station or in tents. Trip dates and costs are: 7/18-7/27 ($980), 7/29-8/7 ($980), 8/9-8/16 ($880), and 8/18-8/27 ($980).

Ostional, Costa Rica: A small community on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica that surrounds an olive ridley arribada beach, Ostional has implemented a sustainable egg harvesting program. The area is a national wildlife reserve, but it is threatened by encroaching development. Spending many hours on the beach, teams will gather data on behavior, population, and biology of olive ridleys. In addition, time will be spent meeting with community members as a way to learn about and aid this model program. Volunteers will stay in the field station and will prepare meals together. Trip dates and costs are: 8/20-8/29 ($980), 8/31-9/6 ($800), 9/8-9/20 ($1250), 9/26-10/5 ($980), 10/7-10/16 ($980).

Playa La Flor, Nicaragua: Located on the Southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua near the Costa Rican border, this beautiful beach is partially bordered by a mangrove lagoon that is home to thousands of herons and egrets. In past years, Playa La Flor had a sustainable egg harvesting program. Unfortunately, our project last year found Playa La Flor filled with desperate people who were harvesting virtually all of the sea turtle eggs to meet their own survival needs. These trips will be exploratory in nature: working with the Nicaraguan government's natural resource agency and the University of Central America, volunteers may gather data on the olive ridley population of Playa La Flor, estimate sizes of arribadas, and meet with the community and others in order to help develop a management plan for this beach. Teams will cook together and stay in the field station or in tents. Dates and costs are: 9/23-10/2 ($670), 10/4-10/13 ($670), 10/15-10/24 ($670), and 10/26-11/1 ($500). Please call or write Earth Island's Sea Turtle Restoration Project for more information and applications.