Sea turtles are key members of the earth’s life chain. Unfortunately, all seven species of sea turtles found in the world are presently considered endangered. Their extinction would not only be a devastating loss of biodiversity, but it would also have a detrimental impact on the ocean and beach ecosystems to which they belong. The Costa Rican coastline serves as nesting grounds for 3 species of sea turtles: the Olive Ridley Turtle (lepidochelys olivacea), the Green Sea Turtle (chelonia mydas), and the Leatherback Sea Turtle (dermochelys coriacea).

Located between two of the best surfing spots in Costa Rica (Jacó and Playa Hermosa) is Playa Tulin, an area that is protected by the government and is used as a turtle refuge. Thousands of sea turtles inch their way to Tulin Beach every year between June and February in order to lay their eggs. The survival of these marvelous creatures is greatly dependent upon volunteers who sacrifice of their time to ensure the turtles’ continued existence. Outward Bound Costa Rica is proud to send our participants as volunteers for this project. Some of the work done by volunteers includes:

• Monitoring nesting activity (including species identification, collecting biometric data and tagging turtles for data collection purposes)
• Patrolling and protecting against poachers and predators
• Collecting eggs and placing them in a secure hatchery area
• Releasing newly hatched turtles
• Performing maintenance and improving the refuge facilities

Through working in turtle conservation, volunteers gain a high level of personal satisfaction, as well as intellectual, emotional and sociocultural enrichment. Most importantly, volunteers perform the work that is necessary to make a difference in the world by saving turtles and protecting the environment.

Most of the sea turtle conservation work takes place at night out of necessity. If you are interested in participating in a sea turtle conservation project as part of an Outward Bound Costa Rica course, you will have the opportunity to complete several other activities as well. When students aren’t involved directly with their service project, they may enjoy beach activities such as surfing, boogie boarding and snorkeling. Other options could include rafting or kayaking the Tulin River that empties into the Pacific Ocean there at Tulin Beach.

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