Location: Guatemala

Duration: Minimum 1 week commitment.

Cost: $200 USD initial reservation fee + $70 USD per week (depending on choice of accommodation). Includes 24 hour support, airport pickup & drop-off (including 2 nights accommodation whilst enroute to the project), in country orientation, accommodation. Does not include food. You will cook altougether with the other volunteers (you should budget around $5 a day).

Travel: You will be met at  Guatemala City International Airport and taken to the Project HQ by a project representative.

Work: Conducting Nocturnal Beach Patrols in search of nesting Sea Turtles, Data Gathering & Environmental Education.

Introduction

This sea turtle and mangrove conservation project is on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Sea Turtle are increasingly under threat and becoming an endangered species. Play your part in ensuring their survival.

Daily Life

You will assist in conducting nightly patrols of area beaches in search of nesting sea turtles, collection and burial of eggs in the hatchery and collection of research data. The turtle season is from June to December with peak months of August and September for olive ridleys.  For the much scarcer leatherbacks, (who, unfortunately are going extinct in the Pacific) the nesting season is November to January. 

• Sea Turtle Conservation and Research

During the nesting season volunteers are formed into patrols and spend nights walking the beach in search of nesting turtles. Once a turtle is found, volunteers wait until it has finished laying, collect the eggs and then bury them in a hatchery. Volunteers also receive voluntary donations from local egg collectors and bury them in hatcheries. Nests in hatcheries are marked and recorded in a log.
Once the eggs begin hatching (mid-July to January), volunteers assist in releasing the hatchlings and excavating the nests to determine the hatchling success rate, which is usually over 90%. Hatchlings should be released at night or early or late in the day, as close to the time they hatch as possible. They should NEVER be released during the heat of the day as there are more predators and the midday sun will dehydrate them.
Hatchlings should be released at the same level of the beach where a turtle would normally nest (somewhere above the high-tide line) and be allowed to crawl unhindered to the surf in order that they become imprinted on their place of birth and return to the same spot to nest. Also, they should be released at different points on the beach so that finned predators off-shore don’t get used to a free meal.

This is what the program is all about: collecting and incubating as many sea turtle eggs as possible. Here, the Hawaii Hatchery full of olive ridley nests waiting to hatch. Research in turtle biology is also conducted. Volunteers assist in measuring nest and sand temperatures, conducting daily crawl counts (counting turtle tracks) and monitoring and recording hatchling success rates. Crawl counts are especially important as they allow us to determine whether sea turtle populations are rising, stable or declining, and they allow us to monitor the effectiveness of our egg-collecting activities. Volunteers take part in these research activities and are encouraged to develop their own research projects.

We have also initiated a pioneer study to monitor the hatchling success rates of in situ olive ridley nests. If you´d like to volunteer on this project, please let us know, although it requires a longer time commitment, and some research and Spanish language ability.

• Caiman and iguana breeding

Crocodiles and other animals were once abundant in the south coast, but are rapidly disappearing due to hunting and habitat loss. Crocodiles and iguanas are captive bred on the grounds of the Park and off-spring are released into the nearby mangrove forests. Volunteers assist in the feeding and care of breeding caimans and iguanas, although there is not much work involved with this project and it is somewhat dangerous, so we limit the volunteers’ participation. 

• Environmental education

We believe that environmental education is key in addressing the root causes of environmental degradation in Guatemala and dedicates nearly 50% of its overall budget to such activities. Volunteers collaborate in environmental education activities including teaching extra-curricular classes in local schools, developing curriculum, and conducting beach clean ups, turtle releases and environmental fairs. In the past, volunteers have taken the initiative to conduct “green English” courses, and sea turtle puppet shows and plays and school improvement projects. 

• Community Projects

Successful conservation efforts in other parts of the world have shown the need to work closely with local communities. This is especially true in a country like Guatemala with its extreme poverty and social inequity, and where the resources and/or will on the part of the government to impose more stringent conservation measures are lacking.

This project is an integrated project that, while attempting to conserve the flora and fauna of the area also tries to offer local residents economic alternatives to improve the quality of their lives. Among the sustainable development activities that we have carried out, with the support of volunteers, are projects in potable water, waster water treatment, gender, eco-tourism, efficient wood-burning stoves and school construction. Volunteers also assisted in relief efforts following Hurricane Stan. If you are interested in developing your own community project in the area, please let us know.

Accommodation

The Parque includes a large central rancho with office/library, second-story dormitory, a large, open common area, a hammocks rancho, watchtower on the beach, and western toilets and showers. There are also two small visitor’s house where volunteers are welcomed to sleep. Food is not provided and volunteers usually cook and eat together (a great chance to socialize and bond), or eat with nearby families. The kitchen includes a gas stove, refrigerators, individual food storage bins and a pila.

Eighty meters away, just behind the coastal dunes, is the main turtle hatchery and holding tanks and a lookout tower. US-style 110 AC power is available. Accommodations are rustic but comfortable, and with the ocean breeze and roar of the surf in the distance, make for the ideal atmosphere to relieve the stress of modern life and take in the wonders of the Pacific Ocean. Internet service is available in the Parque as well as in Monterrico, 10 minutes away by bus.

Requirements

Spanish language ability is not required, but in general, your ability to speak some Spanish will greatly enhance your effectiveness as well as your satisfaction with your experience. Lessons are available.

* No minimum or maximum age
* Minimum 1  week commitment
* Full travel & medical insurance
* Necessary Vaccinations
* Necessary flights & visas 

NO commission is added to the cost of this project by Global Nomadic. We ask instead for a flat placement fee of £125 per project (paid securely via Paypal). We offer full pre-departure support, ongoing email assistance and a full range of discounts with our selected partners.

Send us an email enquiry to find out more, or click the 'Join this Project' button below if you are ready to get involved.