Turtle volunteering in Greece

Zakynthos, also known as Zante and Fiore de Levante (Flower of the East) is a beautiful, mountainous Ionian island with 110 km of rocky coastline and turquoise seas. One of the sunniest yet most verdant of the Greek islands, home to 6,000 species of flowers (as opposed to 2,300 in the British Isles), it acts as a stopping off place for migratory birds and harbours 80% of the Mediterranean’s Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle nests.

This idyllic island has also attracted numerous package tourists and is battling to cope with a huge summer influx of bodies, waste, traffic, noise, litter and pollution. Tourism is fast taking over from other more traditional industries such as the production of olives and raisins. The tourist industry provides a far more lucrative way of life to the locals yet its exploitation is to the detriment of wildlife and countryside.

Our NGO partners work alongside the National Marine Park on the protection of a small corner of this island from over-development. Volunteers help by patrolling beaches, providing tourists with information on turtles and other environmental issues, saving any injured animals, and conducting beach and forest cleans. Our aim is to show how conservation and sustainable tourism can work together benefiting visitors, locals and wildlife alike. A new project raising money to build a Sea Life rehabilitation centre on the island has recently started so volunteers will also be involved in fundraising and promoting this incredibly important work across Europe.

Turtle monitoring occurs from May to October but there are different projects throughout the year. Volunteers can take advantage of the beautiful spring and autumn wildflowers and migrating birds, the presence of Monk Seals (Monachus monachus), olive and grape picking, Greek cooking, music and dancing. Locals say it is very hard to leave the island, and if you do you are bound to return again and again.

All food and accommodation is included in your fee, which will support local families. Also included is travel within the project, a weekend trip away, access to the internet and, most importantly, donations to the local NGOs to help support their valuable work. No formal training is required - you’ll be supervised and trained by the local staff. Knowledge of German and Italian would be useful to communicate with tourists. A driving license is extremely useful.

Be prepared for long hot hours of beach patrolling both day and night. You must be relatively fit, be prepared to work as a team or under individual initiative, happy to promote turtle conservation and talk to tourists as well as get involved in other ad hoc projects.

You will be trained to recognize and monitor loggerheads and their nests, providing tourists with information on their habitat and what’s needed to help with their conservation. You will also be taught about local flora and fauna. In addition you will have the chance to learn to sail, experience Greek culture, and learn to cook Greek cuisine (during the quieter out-of-season periods.) You will undoubtedly speak a bit of Greek by the end of your trip.

The accommodation will be in comfortable self-catering flats attached to Greek families. Internet access is available at the Wildlife Tourist Information centre and transport is available to get into town. Food will be a mixture of self-catering and locally cooked with the occasional barbeque party thrown in. Despite the popularity of the south of the island the area you will be in is blissfully peaceful.