Protecting sea turtle nesting activity - Kyparissia
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About the project
Protecting sea turtle nesting activity - Kyparissia
📝 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
From May to late September every year, volunteers of all ages and backgrounds from all over the world participate in ARCHELON’s sea turtle conservation program in Kyparissia. The activities vary depending on the season (i.e. nesting season: mid-May through mid-August and hatching season: mid-July through late September), and include the following:
• ‘Patrolling’ the beaches every day (Morning observation), during which loggerhead reproductive activity is recorded.
• ‘Patrolling’ the beaches every night (Night observation), including measuring and tagging the nesting females.
• Protecting the nests in situ (with ‘fencing’) from both human activity and/or predation by mammals, and relocation of nests, when necessary.
• Constructing special ‘shading’ structures to guide hatchlings to the sea in areas where artificial light (from roads, shops, etc) may disorient the hatchlings when they emerge from the nest.
• Excavating nests after the hatchlings have emerged, in order to estimate the hatching success.
• Increasing public awareness of both tourists and local residents by operating a seasonal information station in Kalo Nero village, manning information tables, and organizing presentations at tourist facilities.
• “Patrolling” the beaches during the day to raise bathers’ awareness of the importance of the nesting beaches.
• Driving, maintaining equipment, maintaining the camp and its facilities (i.e. cleaning, etc.) and various jobs such as painting and carpentry. Artistic skills such as drawing and photography can also be quite useful.
• Following the protocol for dealing with injured or dead sea turtles, if necessary.
🏠 Accommodation on site
Volunteers will live in the campground designated by ARCHELON for the duration of their participation in the Project. The ARCHELON Research Field Station in Kyparissia is based at Apollo Village, a well-organized campground located right next to the beach in Gianitsochori village.
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. Although relevant experience is not necessary, the ability to live and co-operate with people of different cultures and backgrounds is essential.
Campground facilities:
• WC
• shower with hot water
• kitchen with basic equipment
• Wi-Fi
• a taverna (restaurant)
• café
• a very warm and friendly atmosphere
📍 About the location
The core area of the project is on a beach 10km long in the southern part of the Bay of Kyparissia, between the estuaries of Neda and the village of Kalo Nero, where an average of 780 nests are made each year.
🎒 Leisure activities
During your free time, there are several beautiful places to visit in the area: the Neda waterfalls (near the village of Platania) are located within an hour’s drive from the ARCHELON Field Station. Once there, you can walk in the shade of huge plane trees and oaks along the riverbanks, and swim in the Neda river. Another short trip will take you to one of the most important cultural sites of Greece: the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia, which was the sanctuary of Zeus and birthplace of the Olympic Games. On the way to Olympia, just half an hour away from the camp site, you can visit Kaiafas Lake. There, the combination of forest, lake, sea and definitely makes the area a unique place to visit!
⚠️ Requirements
- Applicants must be over 18 years old.
- They must be able to communicate fluently in English and must be covered by a personal health insurance policy.
- The minimum period of participation is 5 weeks. Exceptionally, returning volunteers can join their projects for 4 weeks.
- 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.
- Applicants must be in very good health and in good physical shape due to the projects' physically-demanding tasks and living conditions.
- Volunteers must bring their own camping gear (e.g. sleeping bag, tent, torch, alarm clock, etc).
ℹ️ Additional information
Participation period: From May to October. These sites together host about 50% of the nests of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in the whole Mediterranean.
Minimum participation is 4 weeks
Participation is arranged in full weeks, each to be calculated as 7 days from the date of taking up duties (e.g. if starting on a Tuesday, last day of duties will be Monday). The arrival date to the project site is the day before taking up duties. The departure day from the project site is the day after the last day of duties.
Once approved, successful applicants will need to pay their volunteer participation fee depending on the dates of participation, as shown in the Overview Table.
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 ARCHELON.
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 ARCHELON before the volunteer status is confirmed.
• You will need to be in the project one day before your first day of participation and you can stay one day after the last day of participation in the project.
• Each volunteer gets an exclusive ARCHELON “volunteer” T-shirt upon arrival.
• ARCHELON is not in a position to offer financial assistance. Volunteers are expected to cover their travel and personal costs along with their food expenses.
• 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.
Sign in to apply📷 Project photos
📅 Available sessions
Archelon2026
10/05/2026 at 00:00 → 30/09/2026 at 00:00
Archelon-02-2023
05/05/2023 at 00:00 → 30/09/2023 at 00:00
Archelon-04
01/05/2022 at 00:00 → 31/10/2022 at 00:00
Archelon-04
10/05/2024 at 00:00 → 30/09/2024 at 00:00
Archelon2025
10/05/2025 at 00:00 → 30/09/2025 at 00:00
ℹ️ Key information
Age required
18–99 years old
Solidarity donation
800.00 EUR
French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).
📍 Location
Kyparissia, Greece
Greece
🌍 Location info
Local currency
Euro Member Countries (EUR / €)
Timezone
Eastern European Standard Time
Local time: 21:09 (12/11/2026)
🛡️ Before you leave
✅ Features
🏠 Accommodation
🗣️ Languages spoken