Hi everyone, did you know that today is 'World Turtle Day'?
Now in its fourteenth year of running, the aim of this day (which is sponsored by the non-profit charity 'American Tortoise Rescue'), is to bring attention to, and increase the knowledge and respect for, all species of marine turtles, terrapins and tortoises, and to encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.
The 'Great Turtle Project' in Kosgoda, Sri Lanka, is one of our most established projects, offering volunteers the chance to work with green, hawksbill and olive ridley sea turtles, helping to release the babies into the wild after they have hatched, as well as look after some larger residents on the site! This project is a great insight into the importance of sea turtle conservation and it shows volunteers what projects like this one do on a daily basis to help preserve different sea turtle species.
To celebrate 'World Turtle Day' this year, the project staff and volunteers released 'George', a huge green turtle who has been resident in the centre since he was born five years ago, back into the wild. Not only was 'George' released, but another five green turtles, all six months old, were released into the waters of the Indian Ocean. What a fantastic day it must have been, and we cannot wait to hear from the staff and volunteers out at Kosgoda to see how it went! Keep your eyes peeled on here for photo updates as soon as we get them!
Also, somewhat by coincidence, we were sent through a review of the project by Sabrina, a volunteer who was out at the project working with turtles in February. Here follows her review:
"I spent 2 weeks at this project. During my time here, we took care of the turtles who are resident at the project (the big ones as well as the babies), we saw nests hatching, we released babies (and a big one!) into the ocean, we saw wild turtles laying eggs on the beach…I could go on. It was an incredible experience from the beginning to the end! Everybody I met was extremely friendly and welcoming and the other volunteers were great fun! Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, with amazing people and delicious food. I highly recommend this project!"
Wow – we're glad Sabrina had such a great time! If you are interested in joining this fantastic project to volunteer with turtles in Sri Lanka, then please don't hesitate to 'Enquire or Book Now' via the website page. Alternatively, if you have any questions about the project, please don't hesitate to email us ([email protected]) or call us (+44(0)208 885 4987). We look forward to hearing from you!
