A Life-Changing Volunteer Experience
I wanted to give the biggest shout out to Carla & Zoe from GoEco and Cristina and Lorenzo who were on the ground in San Jose at CRLA. There were a few confusions in the beginning and apprehensions but after I raised that with them and was honest they went above and beyond to help me and I am forever grateful. My most memorable experience was working at night to collect data during an Aribada. I saw over 50 turtles nesting, which was both an exciting and serious process. I was truly grateful to be there, not only to witness but also to make an impact by helping. The team at Ostional was so hardworking and I was honoured that I was trusted to carry out such serious work. Learning that the work I was doing actually mattered and didn't feel like a tourist being entertained. To summarize, I was able to release turtles, go on daily night patrols, witness an arribada, and learn new skills in conservation which I am eager to further apply to studies/future work. I would gladly send over any pictures to GoEco (for example I was fortunate enough to help the volunteer coordinator there Jairo uncover newly hatched baby turtles!)
