Playa Del Carmen and Tulum Mexico Real Estate | VOLUNTEER TO PROTECT SEA TURTLES NEAR PLAYA DEL CARMEN

VOLUNTEER TO PROTECT SEA TURTLES NEAR PLAYA DEL CARMEN

One way to help protect the local environment, give back to the community and protect the flora and fauna of the Riviera Maya is to volunteer. Join the CEA to mark and protect sea turtle nests, to help collect and document important information about sea turtles and learn about the turtles that populate this magical area. Share the love the beach inspires in you!

The beautiful shimmering beaches of the Riviera Maya, all the way from Cancun to Tulum and including Playa del Carmen, become a mating ground, nesting site, and birth place for hundreds of thousands of sea turtles each year. In the beginning of May, female turtles begin to make the difficult trek out of the water and up onto the beach to realize the arduous task of making a nest for their eggs. Digging a deep hole with her flippers, laying her eggs, and then covering them can take hours for the heavy sea turtles. Once the nest is made, the new mother turtle then makes her way slowly back to the sea, leaving her precious eggs vulnerable to humans and predators.

The sound of flippers slapping against the enormous shell of a mother sea turtle as she diligently works to cover her eggs, is one of the most awe-inspiring natural sounds you will hear if you volunteer for the nightly walk with the CEA. Seeing these gentle turtles dragging themselves up the beach is a sight you will not soon forget. Working one on one with sea turtles is a special experience.

The CEA Centro Ecologico Akumal is the only organization authorized to work with the sea turtles in this area. Volunteers and professionals take nightly walks to monitor the beach for signs of turtles and new nests. They mark each nest, count the eggs in each nest, check the nests daily for hatchlings or disturbances and eventually help the baby turtles to the ocean, giving them a slightly better chance of survival. They also measure and record vital information about the mother turtles.

There is much you can do to help protect sea turtles, even if you choose not to volunteer, read more about turtle nesting season on the Riviera Maya for important information and tips.

You can volunteer to interact with and help these magnificent creatures and the wonderful people who study them by volunteering with the CEA. Volunteers are allowed to walk along and help every Monday through Friday night from 9pm to Midnight, May through October. Groups are limited to 10 people and reservations can be made by going to the CEA office in Akumal. Donations are requested: Adults, $15 US/$180 pesos; children 12 and under, $10 US/$120 pesos. For further information (not for reservations) please contact tortugas1@ceakumal.org or comunicacion@ceakumal.org.