A Day In The Life Of A Great Turtle Project Volunteer

Posted by Michael Starbuck on 23rd Sep 2016

Back in 2014, one of the team here at The Great Projects ventured over to explore the Great Turtle Project in Sri Lanka. Nikita thoroughly enjoyed her time on the project, so we got her to break down the average day for a volunteer on The Great Turtle Project!

7.30am – Breakfast is available from 7.30 in the morning and you will be greeted with the welcome sight of fresh fruit such as mangos, papaya, and bananas as well as bread and various jams!

8.30am – Volunteers need to have arrived at the sanctuary site by 8.30am at the latest. The first job of the day is to collect any baby turtles that may have hatched overnight. Volunteers need to take the babies from the hot sands into the cooling waters of the baby pool, where the turtles will remain for 3-5 days. If any turtle eggs have been brought into the sanctuary by local fisherman, then these must also be buried in the sand and the nest marked for the sanctuary records.

10.30am – It’s time for a well-earned morning tea break! After this you will be helping to clean and tidy the sanctuary, and take part in a beach walk to pick up any rubbish.

12.30pm – After a hard morning’s work you will be happy to hear that it is lunchtime and you will be given a wide choice of foods to pick from, from cheese toasties through to more traditional Sri Lankan dishes!

2pm – You will now be heading out to teach at a local temple, so please remember to wear respectful clothes (covering knees and shoulders.) Your group will take a bus to the temple site, and you will spend an hour teaching before heading back to the project site.

6pm – When you arrive back at the sanctuary you will assist with releasing the baby turtles when needed, as there are fewer birds around at this time and the young turtles have a much lower chance of being picked off as they make their way to the sea.

6.30pm – Once the turtles have been released, you will all head back to the house to enjoy dinner!

9pm – At 9pm, the house is locked by the housekeeper and volunteers are free to stay up and socialise until they fall asleep, although many do so almost immediately due to the exertions of the day!

There you have it! Please bear in mind that this is a rough guide of a day in the life of a volunteer so your activities may vary! One thing we can guarantee though is that you will have an amazing time volunteering with the turtles!

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