If you have an affinity for sea turtles, May 23rd — World Turtle Day — quite likely could be a special occasion for you.
The purpose of World Turtle Day — founded by American Tortoise Rescue in 2000 — is to raise awareness and respect for turtles and tortoises and encourage human action to help them survive.
Turtles hold a special place in the heart of ecotourism company Oyster Worldwide, whose conservation projects working with turtles in Costa Rica is one of the most popular projects for the volunteer travel specialists.
Turtle extinction is a great risk currently due to both natural predation from other animals and human poaching. Oyster Worldwide‘s turtle conservation project works to help prevent turtle extinction in Costa Rica.
Harriet Wray, Animal Welfare Travel Adviser for Oyster Worldwide, says:
“Animal conservation is a huge part of the volunteering projects here at Oyster Worldwide. Our turtle conservation project in Costa Rica is continually popular with our volunteers and it is very important to us to do all we can to help these animals survive.
“World Turtle Day is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the extinction which turtles and tortoises face, which I don’t think many people are aware of. We hope we can at the very least help people to learn a bit more about turtles and perhaps do what they can to help protect them.”
Oyster Worldwide‘s turtle conservation project takes place along the coastal areas of Costa Rica. As a volunteer on the project you’ll stay at a resort while protecting nesting and baby turtles in the area. You’ll help with the hatching of baby turtles and ensure turtles are returned safely to the sea.
The volunteer project runs in various dates through July to December. The project includes accommodation and food, as well as free time to explore the local area.
One week costs £879/US$1,142/1,016 Euros with each additional week costing £260/$338/301 Euros.
For more info, check out the Oyster Worldwide website at oysterworldwide.com.
