Volunteer with Sea Turtles in Boa Vista, Cape Verde

( 1 Reviews )

Company : Turtle Foundation
Duration: 2 weeks to 6 months

Become a volunteer for sea turtle conservation and spend the “summer of your life” on Boavista, Cape Verde.

There are internships and volunteer positions available and most positions are available from June to December every year. These volunteer programs with sea turtles are operated to help protect eggs and the nesting sea turtles from poachers and other hazards. You will be able to work with local staff and other international volunteers and you will be able to really experience the culture and atmosphere of this paradise islands.

Volunteer Duties

Things you might be doing include walking beaches which are around 2 - 5km, finding nesting turtles, patrolling beaches day or night, tagging turtles, researching and measuring data, protect against poachers and work closely with local authorities to find them and helping with maintenance and other general tasks.

Requirements

Please note you do not need any previous experience to apply but you will need a positive attitude and be able to work long hours, sometimes days can be long and hard work whilst other times you could be patrolling beaches at night. A friendly attitude is also required and you must be able to be able to work with others and in a group. Living and working conditions can be difficult, there is a warm and humid climate but these placements are also very enjoyable where you will live close to the beach and get to experience a really different way of life.

Dates

Nesting season / working period: 15 June – 31 October

Durations

Short term volunteer for general duties including night patrols (minimum stay 2 weeks)
Long term volunteer – hatchery management (minimum stay 8 weeks)
Long term volunteer – night patrol leader (minimum stay 8 weeks)
Long term volunteer – morning patrols (minimum stay 8 weeks)
Long term volunteer – tourism affairs (minimum stay 8 weeks)

Booking / Enquiry

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One of the best experiences of my life!

I stayed 3 weeks in Boa Esperança camp in Boa Vista with 2 friends that travelled with me and, overall, our experience was very positive! Everyone, from the local staff to the other volunteers was always very nice and helpful. We got to watch turtles nesting every night and helped with tasks like counting and relocating eggs, tagging and measuring turtles, marking down the location of every nest that we found and helping the baby turtles return to the sea. During the day, we could swim in the ocean (the water is warm!) or sometimes go to Sal Rei (the capital of the island), usually by taxi.
One of the downsides I would say is all the free time we had because we only worked at night and during the day we didn't have much to do.
I would definitely recommend other people to volunteer for the turtle foundation! It was an amazing adventure working in such a different environment and making lots of new friends :)

By: Joana Gonçalves
Nationality: Portuguese