Greece - Turtle Conservation

Volunteer role at the project

The turtle population of Kefalonia is under both human and natural threats and are as a result now endangered. Volunteers joining this project are a vital support to the local conservation team in protecting the loggerhead sea turtles, who migrate to Kefalonia to lay their eggs on the sandy beaches of the island. The team, with the support of volunteers, aim to continuously adapt their conservation methods in order to best improve the chances of survival for Kefalonia's sea turtle population.

Volunteers work 6 days per week. The majority of nesting and hatching takes place after dark so a significant element of the volunteer role takes place at night. Work is split into shifts and volunteers normally work 2 shifts per day.

You should be comfortable riding a bicycle, as this is the way you will travel to different nesting beaches in the mornings.

Tasks are managed on a rotational basis and may include:
• In nesting season: surveying beaches to find, record and protect turtle nests
• In hatching season: protecting the hatchlings from light pollution and ensuring they can crawl safely to the sea
• In hatching season: monitoring the hatching success of each nest
• Observing and recording turtle behaviour
• Measuring the level and source of light pollution, a key threat to turtles
• Measuring changes to the beach profile
• Beach clean ups
• Helping educate locals and visitors about the threats to turtles

Seasonal variation to the role
There is always lots to get involved in throughout the turtle season! The turtle nesting season on Kefalonia is normally from May to around mid-August and hatching season is normally from around mid-August to October.

During nesting season volunteers usually get involved in finding and protecting nests. Whereas during the hatching season, the work focus changes to hatchling rescue and completing nest inventories.

Throughout the season, volunteers get involved with beach profiling, plastic collection and measuring light pollution.

A typical day for our volunteers
A working day starts early, normally by cycling to nesting beaches at sunrise in order to record any fresh sea turtle tracks or nests. Afternoons typically involve measuring changes in beach width and slope, collecting plastics from beaches. During evening and night shifts, you will spend measuring light pollution on the beach, tagging nesting turtles or preventing hatchlings from coming into danger.