ASVO Montezuma | ACICRC02-20 | 2023-03-03 - 2024-10-31 | ENVI,ANIM,EDU | Age: 18 - 99

The sea turtle conservation program is a scientific-based conservation activity in which the organizations involved try to increase the amount of sea turtle hatchings in order to give higher survival rates. The camps are located within walking distances from the beach. Apart from the sea turtles, you will also have high chances of seeing tropical birds, iguanas and monkeys. The main goal of these projects is to help the recovery of sea turtle populations. The species of sea turtles that you can find on the Montezuma beach are Leatherback (very rare), Olive riddle (most common), Black turtle (more in December) depending in which season you visit. Main Goals for all ASVO Sea Turtle Projects: o To patrol at night o To build hatcheries o To supervise hatcheries o To count baby turtles and to release them o To assist in the collecting of scientific data o To maintain infrastructure o To clean the accommodation o To clean the beach o To do exhumations o Community work International volunteers support: 1- Montezuma beach, which is located on the peninsula of Nicoya, province of Puntarenas and belongs to the conservation area of Tempisque.

Work: Volunteers will be working in: ● Monitoring the ocean turtle nesting at Montezuma beach ● Signaling of the beaches and construction of the hatchery of the sea turtle projects ● Night patrols for protection and collection of information about the sea turtles. ● Construction and reparation of the trails for public use at Montezuma beach. ● Maintenance of the infrastructure of the project ● Cleaning of the beach ● Support in environmental education activities and communal protection ● Night patrols: 6 days a week, 3-6 hours per night (depends on how many volunteers are here) ● Community work (Schools education workshops, building community spaces, street signs)

Accomodation and food: ( ) Hosting situation provided by Local Family. (X) Hosting situation provided by the Project. The accommodation is very simple and not a luxurious hotel. You will be sharing your room with several volunteers, of course you will still be having your own bed. There will be 3 meals a day, which are quite basic (a lot of rice and beans).

Location: MontezumaPuntarenasCostaRica

Location and Leisure: Montezuma is a little village surrounded by a lot of nature (beaches, rivers, waterfalls), animals (monkeys, iguanas, birds, whales, sea turtles, coatis, racoons). The turtle hatchery is about 5 minutes away from the house where the volunteers live. In the village are 2 supermarkets, the next ATM and the next pharmacy are located in Cobano. Some activities for volunteers to do in their free time would be surfing, hiking, horse-riding and going to Isla Tortuga. There is also a National Park called “Parque Nacional Cabo Blanco” located close to the project (about 9 km).

Airport: SJO

Train/Bus station: Volunteers will be picked up at the airport.

Requirements: ● Has to be an organized, structured person. (Very important). ● The volunteer needs to like it/needs to have the willingness to work in a natural tropic forest and beach and to work physically. ● Basic Spanish Level and/or basic English ● To be respectful towards the internal rules of the project ● To love nature, as the main goal of these projects is the protection of turtles ● To be in good physical condition as the patrols imply long walks along the beach at night ● To be open to share accommodation and bedroom with other volunteers ● To be very flexible and to do different tasks during the day which may involve cooking and cleaning as volunteers may be also responsible of taking care of the camp ● Interest in environmental issues. ● The volunteer should enjoy working with people and foster good human relations. ● Proactivity is a must. ● Volunteers must be ready to work independently even when the coordinator is not present. ● Honest, responsible, punctual, positive person. ● Leadership Skills. ● Good attitude. ● Open to flexibility of schedules. ● Optional skills (cooking-, carpentry-, electricity-skills etc.)

Volunteers will be picked up at the airport.

Language: eng

Extra Fee: 700 USD

The ASVO Sea Turtle Stations are permanent projects, so they receive volunteers all year long. They have a capacity of around 20-30 volunteers per week and there are no limitations in the number of female or male volunteers, but yes, we recommend volunteers to be adults (+18).