Spend a holiday making a difference.
Devoted to preserving Costa Rica’s Leatherback, Green, and Hawksbill Turtles, Asociación
Salvemos Las Tortugas de Parismina works out of the hamlet of Parismina,
on the northern Caribbean coast. Costa Rica is one of the largest Leatherback nesting sites in the world, and the
turtles nest on Parismina’s beach from the beginning of March through June. The Leatherback is the largest living
reptile in the world, measuring up to eight feet in length and weighing between 1000 and 1800 pounds.
The largest hard-shelled sea turtle in the world, the Green Sea Turtle is often killed for its meat and shell. As a
result, only about 200,000 females are alive today. Between July and October, many come to Parismina’s beaches to lay
their eggs.
While the female Hawksbill Turtle lays up to 160 eggs at one time, Hawksbills are on the endangered species list
because people use their shells for jewelry and ornaments.
Every year hundreds of Leatherback, Green, and Hawksbill turtles lay their eggs on Parismina’s beach. Staff and
volunteers from the hatchery patrol the beach at night to watch for poachers, collect the turtle eggs, relocate them to
the association’s hatchery, and return hatchlings to the sea. Volunteers learn to identify turtle tracks, find nesting
turtles, and help with both the relocation of the eggs to the hatchery and the hatchlings’ release into the
ocean.
Volunteers can stay anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but shorter visits can also be arranged. wht a great way
to spend a holiday.