Volunteer in a Sea Turtle center in Costa Rica (Ostional)

As a volunteer at the Ostional Sea Turtle Project in Costa Rica, you will be working to protect sea turtles on the beach in the National Wildlife Reserve of Ostional in the Province of Guanacaste.

Ostional is one of the top choices worldwide for those looking to help sea turtles. This beautiful national park is currently short-handed despite being one of only 2 areas in Costa Rica where turtles arrive every day.

About once a month we see something called "arribata," which is when turtles arrive en masse – usually about 3,000 turtles in a matter of 3 nights, but at times as many as 10,000! And, of course, approximately 45 days after the turtles lay their eggs, all the adorable baby turtles hatch and make their way to the water. It's a incredible sight to see!!

The lodging is very comfortable, there is Wireless Internet and even Satellite TV. The staff is friendly, professional and at least two of them speak English.

There is the option of staying with a local family, or in the volunteer house (up to 12 people living together divided between 2 rooms with bunk beds). The price is the same, and the food is really good too (not easy to find at lots of national parks!).

Ostional is very close to the beach towns of Nosara and Samara and will certainly provide a once-in-a- lifetime experience!

Ostional is one of the top choices in the world right now as far as sea turtle projects go. They are currently short-handed despite being one of only 2 areas in Costa Rica where turtles arrive every day.

More Information

1. Introduction

The National Wildlife Refuge Ostional, is located on the Nicoya Peninsula, in the area of Santa Cruz and Nicoya in the Province of Guanacaste. It was inaugurated November 17, 1983, with the primary objective of protecting the sea turtles nesting on this beach.

The refuge has an area of 791 acres of land and nearly 20,000 acres of marine space, covering a coastline of 200 meters wide including mangroves, and a stretch of 3 miles wide at the marina, including from Punta India to Punta Guiones.

2. What do we do and what do we protect?

The refuge projects three of the seven nesting sea turtle species that exist in the world. These are: Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and Black (Chelonia midas agassizii). The Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) has been observed near the coast, but we still have no spawning records. All these species are declared endangered.

Only two species of marine turtles display a unique mass nesting behavior. This behavior is known as an Arribada. The significance of this reproductive phenomenon was first observed by the scientific community in 1961. By producing large numbers of offspring most organisms like sea turtles can insure their survival even after predation occurs.

This particular park is fortunate enough to be amongst the top three Arribada sites in the world in terms of size and frequency of arrivals of Ridley turles. This phenomenon occurs once per month throughout the year. The Leatherback and Black turtles nest in small numbers at Ostional between the months of October and March.

3. Volunteer Activities:

Part of the activities being carried out include night patrols to eliminate illegal looting, protecting baby turtles (while hatching births), beach cleanups and general maintenance work on the facilities. We also need help doing research projects. Due to staffing shortages, volunteer support is critical!

All this work requires a great amount of effort and many hours of work, the completion of which would be impossible without volunteers.

The nesting season varies depending on time of year. July to December is the peak season in which the number of turtles by Arribata average about 200,000 within 6 to 8 days. Conversely, January to June is the low season in which turtles number 10,000 to 15,000 within 3 to 4 day periods, but this “low” season is when we have the opportunity to observe the largest Leatherback and Green turtles in the world. They can reach 2 meters in length!

4. General Requirements

The Refuge is conducting research projects with populations sea ​​turtles, it is recommended that the minimum number of days in the ASP than two weeks.

The work schedule is variable in the park and includes daytime working hours as well as and nightime. Every workday is between 4 and 8 hours, depending on current workloads. These vary considerably in time and can extended to 8 hours – sometimes longer.

Volunteers receive one day off per week to perform other personal activities, such as surfing, which is done right in the area (Playa Ostional and Playa Guiones, which are also part of park and have waves suitable for this sport). Also nearby to Ostional (Nosara) you’ll find the opportunity to take part in canopy (zip-line) tours, exploration of rivers and estuaries for those who like bird watching and kayaking.

We ask volunteers to give us a minimum of two weeks of their time. This is because of the training involved. Volunteering much less than two weeks means you’ll barely finish your training before departing the project.

5. Volunteer Guidelines

The volunteer must comply with the rules established in the Refuge during their stay:

• 1. Sign the guestbook at the Refuge.
• 2. Keep the bedrooms clean and tidy, as well as the deck and kitchen of the facilities.
• 3. The consumption of alcohol and any drugs within the Refuge, or returning to the park under the influence of alcohol or drugs is strictly forbidden.
• 4. It is strictly forbidden to smoke inside park facilities, and can only be done in open areas. Cigarette butts should be thrown in the trash and not on the beach.
• 5. You must use appropriate attire for a public institution. Therefore the following are prohibited: walking in common areas of the facilities (including the kitchen, deck or walkways) in a bathing suit or – in the case of men – shirtless.
• 6. Leaving the park on your day off is at your own responsibility. The volunteer must communicate their plans (so we know where you are in case of emergency and if you’ll return for meals) and must be ready to continue with their work schedule the next day. If you can not make it back the park on time, you must call the office and explain your absence. Good communication – as well as your safety – is important to us.
• 7. No food or drink are allowed in the bedrooms. This is in order to prevent infestation by cockroaches, ants and mice. Food may only be consumed in specified areas.
• 8. Volunteers must use outdoor showers and remove their shoes in order to avoid excess sand in the internal showers and bedrooms.
• 9. Use of red lights when walking along the beach at night is mandatory. Photography or video at night (between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am) is also prohibited, unless using infrared light. (This is for the safety of the turtles.)
• 10. Curtains and door must remain closed after 6:00 pm in order to avoid lighting the beach. 11. Conserve energy by turning off lights, television and fans when not in use.
• 12. The kitchen is available and open from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm. It is important to respect the designated mealtimes: breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 am, lunch 12:00 to 01:00 pm and dinner from 5:30 to 6:00 pm.
• 13. Playa Ostional has dangerous currents. Activities such as swimming and surfing are at your own risk. 14. Only official Park Service vehicles will be allowed on premises.
• 15. The use of shelter facilities and common areas are for your pleasure and enjoyment. Use them responsibly.
• 16. It is prohibited to bring strangers (people without proper government or volunteer identification) into the park without permission or without notice. This is to protect your personal belongings and those of others.
• 17. It is your responsibility to wash your own clothes. You must bring your own detergent and cleansing products.
• 18. It is your responsibility to wash any utensils you use in the kitchen or to eat. Please dry them and put them away accordingly.
• 19. Any relationship between the Refuge staff and facility users is strictly professional. Any relationship other than this kind is completely prohibited in the workplace.

6. Volunteer accommodations

The park has water, electricity, satellite TV and wireless Internet (if volunteer brings their own computer) as well as lodging facilities (2 rooms with 3 bunk beds to each room). There is also an option to stay with a local family.

7. What must volunteers bring?

Basic equipment that a volunteer must bring:

• comfortable beach clothes such as t-shirts, shorts. Clothes of a dark color recommended for beach
• patrols
• A waterproof sleeping bag for cold, windy nights
• Comfortable closed-toe shoes or sandals for beach walking
• Head flashlight (red light preferred)
• Hand flashlight
• Batteries
• Small, waterproof backpack

The facility will provide the rest of the equipment (gloves, bags, bins, field notebooks, etc).

To view our pictures from Ostional Sea Turtle project