Monitoring sea turtles in the foraging area of Amvrakikos bay

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Greece Youth activities Environment Youth activities Environment Permanent

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

ARCHELON, a nonprofit conservation organization active since 1983, runs a number of volunteer projects for the protection of sea turtles and their habitats in Greece every year. More than 500 international volunteers per year participate in our projects, including about 30 field leaders. Every year we are entering in internship agreements with 70 Universities and other educational establishments from all over the world.

💼 What the programme involves

During this project, volunteers will collect and record data on captured sea turtles, and then return them to the sea. Volunteers will receive training on how to safely and efficiently capture the turtles so that neither they nor you are overly stressed.

• Every morning, a team of three will go out in the dinghy into the Bay for the entire day. They will be going around spotting turtles which are either visible under the water surface or popping their heads out to breathe.

• One of the team members will dive into the shallow water, capture the turtle and return it to the dinghy, where it will be measured and tagged, relevant data will be recorded, and it will quickly be released back into the sea.

• Volunteers might also participate in turtle distribution surveys, involving point surveys from set locations around the gulf.

🏠 Accommodation on site

The fee for accommodation is included in the participation fee.

The accommodation will be in shared rooms in visitor centre of the Environmental Center of Koprena, with electricity and running water. Some cooking facilities will be provided.

🍲 Food

Sandwiches for the lunch break will be prepared by the team on board.

📍 About the location

Amvrakikos bay, Kopraina

Amvrakikos Bay is a semi-enclosed inland ‘sea’ in the northwestern part of Greece. It is made up of salt water entering from the sea, and fresh water and sediments deposited by the Arachthos, Louros, Vovos and Krikeliotis rivers. The Bay has a warm climate, shallow waters, many shallow lagoons, and marshlands. All these conditions favour the development of local flora and fauna, making the Bay one of the most important wetlands of Europe.

🎒 Leisure activities

During their free time, volunteers can go swimming, snorkeling or explore the area. Other interesting activities are birdwatching in Amvrakikos, or an excursion to the cities of Preveza and Parga.

⚠️ Requirements

1. Applicants must be over 18 years old.

2. They must be able to communicate fluently in English and must be covered by a personal health insurance policy.

3. A combination of participation in more than one projects is possible if the duration of stay in the second/ third of them is 4 weeks or longer.

4. Volunteers must bring their own camping gear (e.g. sleeping bag, tent, torch, alarm clock, etc).

5. Volunteers must commit to 4 weeks

6. Volunteers must be prepared to take part in a communal life, and to live and work in both populated and secluded areas, often as members of small teams and usually under harsh conditions.

7. Although relevant experience is not necessary, the ability to live and co-operate with people of different cultures and backgrounds is essential.

8. As with all projects, volunteers are expected to cover their travel and personal costs along with their food expenses.

9. Volunteers must know how to swim and be comfortable jumping into the sea from a boat.

ℹ️ Additional information

Participation period: From end-June to end-August (two fixed time periods).

Once approved, the Amvrakikos Project volunteers must pay a fee of €600 pay to our partner.

The arrival date to the project site is the same day of taking up duties. The departure day from the project site is the same day of the last day of duties.

Volunteer participation fees cover the cost of accommodation, administration, training and accident insurance coverage (up to a limit) as well as the annual subscription to our partner.

The participation fee is paid once (in a single payment i.e. no partial payments are accepted) and proof of payment needs to be sent to our partner before the volunteer status is confirmed.

Please note that:

• Volunteers will need to be in the project one day before their first day of participation and they can stay one day after the last day of participation in the project.

• The time of arrival in the project site needs to be sent by e-mail to the Volunteers Officer at least 5 working days before a volunteer arrives to take up duties.

• Each volunteer gets an exclusive “volunteer” T-shirt upon arrival.

• Because of the communal lifestyle, volunteers usually share living expenses, estimated at around €25-€30 per week. Anyone who does not wish to participate in the communal arrangement can estimate their expenses at about €15 per day.

Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.

📷 Project photos

Monitoring sea turtles in the foraging area of Amvrakikos bay

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📅 Available sessions

Archelon2025

28/06/2025 at 00:00 → 30/08/2025 at 00:00

Closed

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Amvrakikos Gulf1

21/06/2021 → 30/07/2021

Closed

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♂ 0/6 ♀ 0/6

Archelon2026

28/06/2026 at 00:00 → 30/08/2026 at 00:00

Open

0 / 12

♂ 0/6 ♀ 0/6

Archelon-08-2023/A

28/06/2023 at 00:00 → 26/07/2023 at 00:00

Closed

0 / 0

Archelon-02

15/06/2022 → 31/08/2022

Closed

0 / 0

Archelon-08-2023/B

02/08/2023 at 00:00 → 30/08/2023 at 00:00

Closed

0 / 0

ℹ️ Key information

Age required

18–99 years old

Solidarity donation

948.00 EUR

French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).

📍 Location

Amvrakikos 471 00, Greece

Greece

🌍 Location info

Local currency

Euro Member Countries (EUR / €)

Timezone

Eastern European Standard Time

Local time: 22:12 (12/11/2026)

🛡️ Before you leave

Security information

📞 Contact us

[email protected]

+32 2 888 67 13

Contact form

✅ Features

🏠 Accommodation

Shared dormitory Collective

🗣️ Languages spoken

English Greek