Turtle Conservation in Nusa Penida - Spring 2023
Hi everyone!
You may have noticed things have been a little quiet around here recently! I thought I’d share with you all the reason for that.
I’ve just returned home from an incredible trip out to South East Asia, where I was based at a turtle conservation to volunteer. This is a cause which has been very close to my heart for several years after visiting Asia 4years ago and learning about the difficulties turtles are facing. Massively due to human behaviours, such as plastic in the oceans, fishing nets and hunting. Ever since I’ve always wanted to return to make a difference if I could, even if it was only small.
I booked my volunteering through IVHQ and was based at Green Lion turtle conservation on the beautiful island of Nusa Penida, Indonesia. We stayed in their onsite accommodation, which was a short walk to the centre, which housed over 100 turtles during our time there. The turtles are either bred at the centre as part of their conservation programme or have been rescued and are there to recover from their injuries.
We had a range of activities including turtle and tank cleaning, turtle feeding, beach cleaning and crab catching. My favourite being turtle cleaning, which involved gently using a toothbrush on their shells and tummies. The tanks and turtles were cleaned every day and fed twice a day. Fresh fish was bought in and it was another job to cut it up into the correct size chunks, depending on the size of the turtle it was for. The turtles were removed from the tanks during this time into smaller, individual buckets to allow them to eat in peace. And also, their appetite could then be monitored.
The beach cleaning was another of my favourite activities as I’ve been itching to get started on making a difference environmentally! During our stay we were split into two groups to ensure everyone always had time each day with the turtles and the other half spent doing activities such as beach cleaning. We were each sent out with a bucket down to the local beach where we collectively filled several 50L sacks of rubbish in just an hour. Despite the beauty of this island it's hard to look past the amount of plastic there. This is partly due to the locals lack of education but waste is carried to these areas via the currents.
We were also lucky enough to be involved in a baby turtle release. Whilst we were at the project 250 turtles hatched, meaning there was the opportunity to release some before we left. These lucky turtles have received a huge advantage by having a rest after hatching, a feed and protection from us when heading into the ocean. The conservation leaders blessed the turtles before we chose a baby to release ourselves, we then lined the beach to place them down on the sand to make their own way into the ocean. It was a complete honour and dream come true to be part of the start of their journey!
The coordinators at the centre could not have been more welcoming and helpful towards us. They were a true inspiration with the dedication and care they showed day in, day out towards caring for the turtles. As well as wanting to make a difference in their community by looking after the environment and educating locals. I therefore cannot recommend this centre and experience enough for anyone wishing to make a difference in conservation. Or in general have a passion for animals. I would be more than happy to answer any questions or pass on details to anyone else wishing to get involved.
I am feeling truly blessed to have had this opportunity and will be bringing as much of their work home with me as possible!
And for now it’s back to work for me and getting my event season preparations into full swing!
All the best for the season ahead,
Jess x