The Great Turtle Project

I have just returned home after an amazing 2 weeks volunteering at The Great Turtle Project. Dudley, his family and their team were brilliant, so welcoming, friendly and helpful - from helping arrange trips during our down time to lifts to ATM and supermarket and the odd beer run. As volunteers we worked closely with them - preparing the hatchery, burying eggs, releasing turtles, feeding and caring for turtles, tank cleaning and site tidying, beach cleans, visitor tours and education. We were well looked after with 3 hearty meals a day aswell as tea and biscuits twice a day - what more could you ask. Being able to interact and get hands on with the turtles was an absolute bonus for me and the other volunteers - to see how much turtles enjoyed getting a back rub and actually doing it was incredible. Overall, I had a wonderful time and would thoroughly recommend to anyone even remotely thinking about it to go and take part - you will not regret it.

The Great Turtle Project offered a wonderful opportunity to experience the life-cycle of Green and Olive Ridley turtles. The owners offered basic accommodation with 3 home-cooked meals each day, a surfeit of wonderful Sri Lankan food. During my 2 week stay there were 5/7 volunteers who were all kept occupied with a variety of tasks each day, and given evenings and weekends free to explore Sri Lanka. The project was simple, aiming to ensure turtle eggs laid along the coast would be given the opportunity to hatch and get to the ocean. There did not appear to be any active research or data collection, or link to any academic department. There were a number ( about 12) of turtles kept for the public to see in bare concrete tanks. At age 4-5 plans were for them to be released to a semi-protected environment with regular provision of food. The family running the project were kind, friendly and appreciative and made the volunteers extremely welcome. They had devoted 38 years to their work and must be proud that the Green turtle has now been upgraded from an endangered species.. The highlight was certainly release of the hatchlings - what the project... The Great Turtle Project offered a wonderful opportunity to experience the life-cycle of Green and Olive Ridley turtles. The owners offered basic accommodation with 3 home-cooked meals each day, a surfeit of wonderful Sri Lankan food. During my 2 week stay there were 5/7 volunteers who were all kept occupied with a variety of tasks each day, and given evenings and weekends free to explore Sri Lanka. The project was simple, aiming to ensure turtle eggs laid along the coast would be given the opportunity to hatch and get to the ocean. There did not appear to be any active research or data collection, or link to any academic department. There were a number ( about 12) of turtles kept for the public to see in bare concrete tanks. At age 4-5 plans were for them to be released to a semi-protected environment with regular provision of food. The family running the project were kind, friendly and appreciative and made the volunteers extremely welcome. They had devoted 38 years to their work and must be proud that the Green turtle has now been upgraded from an endangered species.. The highlight was certainly release of the hatchlings - what the project is all about. I personally would love to see some participation in International studies or research. (Show More)

We are very pleased with our decision to join The Great Turtle Project in Sri Lanka as volunteers. The experience certainly lived up to our expectations. We pleasantly undertook various tasks, though some being strenuous, during our two-week stay. Tending the turtles was truly rewarding. Working alongside dedicated and friendly foreign co-volunteers from other parts of the world and local project staff definitely created happy experiences. Moreover, it gave us insight into different cultures through close interactions with them. We also engaged with a wide range of sanctuary visitors, a number of whom piqued our interest in some issues about sea turtle conservation through their intellectual queries, cares, and compassion for the sea turtles, but also the nature in general. These issues that warrant further thoughts or even actions include the ability of the sea turtles in captivity to adapt to the wild when released, and the vicious cycle that might have been created through buying eggs from local fishermen on an initiative of ex-situ conservation. These issues have really prompted us in finding out more about the ultimate and true goal of conserving the wild and the steps, regardless of their sizes, to bring about this goal. Finally, we... We are very pleased with our decision to join The Great Turtle Project in Sri Lanka as volunteers. The experience certainly lived up to our expectations. We pleasantly undertook various tasks, though some being strenuous, during our two-week stay. Tending the turtles was truly rewarding. Working alongside dedicated and friendly foreign co-volunteers from other parts of the world and local project staff definitely created happy experiences. Moreover, it gave us insight into different cultures through close interactions with them. We also engaged with a wide range of sanctuary visitors, a number of whom piqued our interest in some issues about sea turtle conservation through their intellectual queries, cares, and compassion for the sea turtles, but also the nature in general. These issues that warrant further thoughts or even actions include the ability of the sea turtles in captivity to adapt to the wild when released, and the vicious cycle that might have been created through buying eggs from local fishermen on an initiative of ex-situ conservation. These issues have really prompted us in finding out more about the ultimate and true goal of conserving the wild and the steps, regardless of their sizes, to bring about this goal. Finally, we must mention the care, hospitality, and advice of the project team led by Dudley. We also got their prompt help in organizing some of the weekend ventures, which we enjoyed so much. The project team did show us how dedicated they were in continuing their sea turtle conservation project. We sincerely wish them success in this respect, with betterment achieved along their way. (Show More)