This December I along with 11 other people from Texas Tech University went to Costa Rica to do a Raider Service Break that focused on sea turtle conservation. We worked with Verdiazul in Playa Junquillal. For our first travel day we flew in to the airport at San Jose. Not all of us were on the same flight, but we all ended up at the same location. After we all gathered at the airport we met Jessica and Kique, and were taken to a place similar to an Air BnB. While we were going to the location there were people standing on the side of the road just waiting for the bus to pick them up, and there were people walking down the middle of the road near what looked like toll stations selling food and water.
We spent a couple of days at the Air BnB during which time we went through an orientation. During the orientation Jessica gave a presentation about Costa Rica and Verdiazul. Jessica also had us play a stereotype game where she stuck a stereotype to our head and then the others acted it out, and we had to guess what it was. This was one of the more impactful part of the trip for me. One reason is because I have been stereotyped by people when I first meet them before they even get to know me. Also, it made me think about how often I have stereotyped people without even thinking about it. When we were not going through orientation we would all hang out and get to know each other a little more. After spending some time at the Air BnB we headed to Junquillal to begin working with Verdiazul. While in Junquillal we stayed at Hotel Tatanka which was within a short walking distance of Verdiazul.
During our first night in Junquillal we got the chance to help release one hundred forty-four baby sea turtles. Even though it was dark and it was not always easy to see the baby turtles it was still an amazing experience. It was great getting to see the little turtles make their way towards the ocean. That night we also had our first night patrol. I was a little nervous about the first patrol because I did not know how easy it would be to see in the dark since we would not be allowed to use any flashlights, and the only light sources we would have would be the moon if it was out and the red lights that the patrol leader(s) had. For the patrols we were split into two groups of six, and each group had a patrol at a different time. On the first night each group found at least one nest which had at least 80 eggs per nest. So, overall the first afternoon/evening was a very positive and eventful one since we got to release some turtles and each patrol group found at least one nest. The next day we spent most of the day picking up trash along the beach both large pieces and micro trash. We picked up quite a bit of trash, and made a temporary impact because a few people saw us picking up the trash and when they saw us doing it they also picked up some trash that was near them, and brought it to us to put in our sacks. After that day we spent most of our time working in the hatchery. Before working in the hatchery, we met with Danny, a man that works with Verdiazul. He taught us about the hatchery and he taught us more about sea turtles. He told us that the hatchery was built to keep the eggs in a safe location, from predators that might dig them up, until the eggs hatch. Furthermore, it is used to keep the area climate controlled so that the sand does not get too hot and cook the eggs. Danny taught us quite a bit about turtles. He mainly talked about Olive Ridley, Black, and Leather back turtles.
We learned that each turtle digs the egg chamber at a different depth, and that the turtle knows exactly how many eggs she is going to lay and that the chamber is just big enough so that there is no free space in the chamber. This was surprising to me. Before I went on this trip I assumed that all turtles just dug a general chamber a few feet down. Moreover, each turtle’s eggs take a different number of days to hatch. He also organized an activity for us to practice finding a nest and how to properly dig a hole to be able to gather the eggs from the chamber that way we would know what we needed to do if we found a nest during night patrol. He also taught us how to do a few different jobs in the hatchery. We took out the egg shells and checked for any turtles that hatched late, we cleaned out nests, and we dug out holes for new ones in the hatchery. I think it spoke quite a bit about him that he trusted us enough to work in the hatchery even though he had just met us since he told us that not just anyone gets to go in or even work in there.
By the end of the trip we had released over three hundred baby sea turtles, and found at least eight nests with an average of 80 eggs per nest. It made me start to wonder if we had done all that in just the few days that we had been there, then what do those numbers look like after a whole year. Also, the people at Verdiazul must have a lot of dedication to the work they are doing because all the things we were helping them with they have to do on their own when there are no volunteers there. Even though there are no beaches in Lubbock one thing that I can do is go to parks and other places and pick up trash to help keep different public areas a little cleaner.
-Aaron Perkins