Save The Turtles!
Over the course of the summer of 2023 I volunteered on Crete, Greece for sea turtle conservartion. Over the course of 7 weeks, I helped the loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) around the Messara bay during the nesting and hatching season.
In 2024, I returned to Crete (Chania area) for more sea turtle conservation work.
In this blog I’ve logged my experiences during this project.
If you want to know more about what you can do to help the turtles of Greece, you can click here.
Turtle Summer - Week 7
The final week for my time as a volunteer has begun. Since hatching season was in full swing, we also had to get trained for excavations. Excavations happen 10 days after the first hatching event of a nest.
Turtle Summer - Week 6
This week was an amazing one - I saw my first live hatchling! It was on morning survey that we saw a hatchling that had gotten on its back and couldn’t flip by itself. It was still very lively, so after flipping it on its belly (with gloves ofcourse), we dug a trench to help it get to sea. It’s very important for hatchlings to make this walk by themselves - as opposed to carrying them - since they need to expand their lungs, develop their motor skills, and gain some strength in order to be able to swim.
Turtle Summer - Week 5
Week five has begun, and it is starting to dawn on me that almost two months in Greece may sound like a long time but it’s over before you know it. Fortunately, I still had three weeks of volunteering left and we were all desperately waiting for the first hatchlings.
Turtle Summer - Week 4
My fourth week started with yet another day off! My friends and I rented a car so we could drive up to the Cave of Zeus. We had seen some beautiful pictures online of a cave with stalagmites and stalactites all around, so we decided to give it a shot.
Turtle Summer - Week 3
My third week volunteering I’ve finally started to settle into my routine. Not that there is much of a routine though - every day really is different here. But I’ve gotten the hang of the morning surveys, kiosk shifts, and camplife.
Turtle Summer - Week 2
After the first week in Mátala, I already felt right at home. After one week, I had done every one of the shifts and found my place in the group. To start of this week, I got to join on the emergency relocation of a nest.
Turtle Summer - Week 1
I’m getting settled down. The few days after my arrival consisted mostly of spending time in or around the sea, doing my shifts, and hanging around in town. Not bad at all, if I may say so myself. As I’ve only just arrived, I got some inductions to teach me all the ins and outs of the projects.
