Learn in the field.
Protect what matters.

I volunteered with SPOT from the beginning of July to the end of September 2022, 12 weeks of incredible experiences with marine turtles in North Cyprus. I am a marine biologist currently working on my PhD at the University of Barcelona in Spain, and even though my research focuses on marine mammals and turtles, I have never had such a hands-on experience working with turtles in the field, and better yet, in their natural environment. I learned so much from everyone running the project, and met really nice people that I now consider my friends :)

I worked the night shift with the nesting females on the two Alagadi beaches for about 9 weeks. The working hours were usually from 8:30pm to 5am (or until the last turtle returned to the water), with one night off every 5-6 days. We patrolled the beach all night and recorded all nesting behaviours of every female that we encountered, from her ascend to the beach, the number of body pits and egg chambers attempted, whether or not she laid her nest, and followed her until her eventual descend back to the sea. Once a female started laying the eggs, we looked for her pit and flipper tags to identify her, we assigned a code to identify the nest, and mark its position so we could find it and protect it once she was done. We also took the length and width measures of her carapace and put temperature data loggers in some of the nests. If she didn’t have any tags, a qualified person on the beach would go and tag her when she finished laying. After I got some experience handling the turtles, the team leaders started training me to put the flipper tags and take skin samples of the females that needed it. Another activity we did during nights was to bring “guests” with us to the beach and allow them to sit by a nesting turtle under a volunteer’s supervision, an unforgettable experience for adults and kids that helped them realize the reality of the presence of turtles in the area. During this time, I got to experience a bit of everything with both green and loggerhead nesting turtles, and I must say that working the night shift was, without a doubt, one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in my life! Nothing compares with the feeling of sitting beside a 1m-long nesting turtle!

The hatchling season started at the end of July, so we worked with both nesting females and hatchlings for several weeks. After seeing those huge females nesting for over a month, you wouldn’t believe how small the newborn turtles are, and they are absolutely adorable! You get to see the differences between both species, green babies are more blueish with a white belly and beautiful white lines along their flippers, whereas logger babies are smaller and completely black! The beginning of hatchling season was a lot of work and a lot of walking up and down the beach. The gestation period for turtles in Cyprus is usually between 45-60 days, so 40 days after the nest was laid, we put a ring cage around it and checked them every 30 minutes during night shift, in order to get the weight and measures of 10 naturally emerging babies (presumably the strongest ones from each clutch). We released the babies immediately after, and took off the ring cage to let the rest of the babies hatch naturally.

Once the nesting season ended in mid-September, all volunteers were working on the day shift, mostly doing the excavations of the hatched nests. In my case, I was trusted with leading the Alagadi day team along with another volunteer, coordinating the teams and excavations for both A1 and A2 beaches. We checked the nests every morning, starting around 5-6am, and looking for baby tracks as a sigh of hatching; we excavated the hatched nests within the next 48 hours. We also looked for signs of predation by foxes, dogs or birds, and noted if any nest was washed over by the sea during high tide, since that could affect the survival of the babies. During a nest excavation, we dug until we found the egg chamber, we counted the egg fragments (from babies that reached full term of development and hatched naturally), as well as the unhatched eggs, and any dead or alive babies still in the sand. We did this to estimate the success of the nest! Day shift was a lot of hard work, particularly on hot days, but it was very regarding, especially when you find hundreds of baby tracks coming from a nest and then count more than 100-150 hatched eggs! <3

Additional to the turtle work, SPOT also responds to turtle strandings and bycatch on the northern side of the island, so I also volunteer a few times to pick up a turtle and take it to the rehabilitation centre, and helped the veterinarian in a few necropsies. More importantly, we also organized public and private events with both, nesting females and hatchling releases, to promote the conservation of marine turtles and the protection of their habitat among locals and tourists, and to show the importance of Cyprus as one of the main nesting sites for these two species of turtles in the Mediterranean Sea.

During my time in North Cyprus, I was lucky enough to experience a lot of the work done by SPOT, and to meet lots of amazing international and local volunteers, as well as all the remarkable people that make the Marine Turtle Conservation Project possible every year. I would recommend this programme to anyone interested in having a real experience on wildlife conservation work. It’s not a vacation, it’s hard work, but what really matters at the end are the turtles. For me, to think that in 20-25 years from now, one of the hatchlings we helped and released in 2022 may return to that beach to lay her own nest, was enough to keep me going, and now I hope I can go back for another season, hopefully soon!

I volunteered with SPOT from May 6th 2022 - June 22nd 2022 earlier this year, and it's safe to say I absolutely loved it as I couldn't turn down going back a second time from August 22nd 2022 - September 9th 2022. During my earlier placement, I largely stayed on night work where I got to work directly with the adult turtles, from spotting turtles and their turtle tracks as you walk the beaches, to helping collect data on their activity before, during and after they lay. Data collection involved recording timings of the turtles behaviours, and during the laying and post-laying process, checking the turtles for tags and then tagging them when needed. Myself and several others were able to get trained up with tagging the turtles, and in turn given extra responsibilities like training other volunteers. During the latter of my placements, I was able to work with the hatchling turtles which were unbelievably cute for starters. I specifically was involved with excavating nests and this effectively involved recording the success rates of the nest and different factors that may have affected this. We also got to help release the turtles that hadn't initially made it into the ocean which was again amazing to see and be involved with. I gained lots of experience with accurately collecting important data which has given me a real head start for university field work. Also, there are night watch events, and hatchling release events where I was able to develop my public speaking skills, informing them of protocol and information on what we were doing at the project. Finally, seeing the reality of the breathtaking turtles was really eye-opening and witnessing it first-hand showed me even more of how essential it is to have conservation projects like this.

I must add that I was a bit sceptical about participating in the project originally, but without a doubt, it is one of the best decisions I've ever made due to the life long friends I have made, the experience I gained and it showed me that hard work and being in a unique environment can be so much fun!

I am a student at the University of Exeter and volunteered at SPOT from June 13th 2022 to August 12th 2022. This is a great time to visit as you are able to experience both the nesting turtle and hatchling season. It can be quite daunting to stay out for two months, but once there and settled in I wished I could have stayed longer!

I was on the night shift team, monitored nesting turtle behaviours, performed biopsies and flipper tags and during hatchling season, measured and released hatchlings. I was also lucky enough to see a turtle be satellite tagged, and you can now track her journey back to the coast of Libya on the SPOT website. It was amazing to see the females dig their nests, lay their eggs and later in the season see the hatchlings come to the surface and help them reach the sea. Each turtle and nest are given an identification number, which means you can learn about the outcome of each nest you have helped and which turtles you have monitored. You truly feel that you can learn not only about the population on Alagadi, but also the individual turtles.

You are encouraged to make the most out of your time at SPOT and I could not recommend this more! There is lots to get involved with and I was able to ‘beach boss’, help input data collected on the field and see more behind the scenes than the normal shift work. You will also meet some amazing people from all over the world and back at university it is rare that I don’t see a friendly face from SPOT around campus. There is some downtime and we visited a local waterpark, restaurants, made trips into Kyrenia and snorkelled with turtles off the nesting beaches.

If you are thinking of applying to join the SPOT team, I could not recommend it enough. I already want to come back next year!

I volunteered with SPOT from 16th August 2022- 26th September 2022. I arrived in Cyprus for peak hatchling season and I was on the Alagadi day team. Being on this team consisted of learning how to excavate a turtle nest, how to handle the hatchlings and collect data. In the evenings we all take it in turns to cook or to be on the hatchling release shift with tourists. The hatchling releases were one of my favourite things to do, I found it very rewarding to be able to share our love and passion for turtles with tourists and see how excited they were to see baby turtles. There is the possibility to take on more responsibility, I personally worked hard and showed initiative to do extra jobs so I was given more responsibility and became an Alagadi day team leader. Volunteering with SPOT is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. If you have a love for field work, conservation and of course turtles, then I highly recommend volunteering with SPOT. I’ve met life long friends and I can’t wait to get back to Cyprus!

I originally volunteered with SPOT during the turtle nesting season from the 6th May 2022 to the 22nd June 2022. During my placement I spent the majority of my time working day shifts on the North Coast. This involved a team of 5 volunteers driving up the North Coast every day, checking the beaches for turtle nests that had been laid the previous night. Upon finding a nest, measurements would be taken about its location and the depth of the egg chamber, and each nest would be given a unique nest tag. A metal cage and pyramid cage would then be pegged over the nest (as shown in the first photo) to protect it from predation and these cages would be labelled with important information such as its nest tag, date laid, and species of turtle. I also had the privilege of spending some time working through the night on Alagadi beaches 1 and 2. During the night shifts female turtle behaviour was recorded and, whilst it was laying, measurements would be taken of its carapace (shell) and any necessary biopsies and tagging would be performed. We went delirious most nights just to the sheer confusion of finishing work at 5 in the morning, but that's what made it all the more fun.

I was asked to come back later on in the summer for hatchling season from the 26th August to the 9th of September. Due to my hard work earlier in the season, I was given extra responsibilities such as helping to lead the North run. I spent pretty much all of this time on North run, checking the beaches for turtle hatchling activity. If tracks were seen coming out of a turtle nest, the nest would then be excavated (as shown in the second picture) to help out any hatchlings struggling to make it to the surface. The rest of the unhatched eggs would then be checked to see if there were still any unhatched hatchlings inside. All the hatchlings collected from the nest would then be released to the sea that same night for tourists to watch.

I have endless good things to say about SPOT. I had a special heart for the North run but all aspects of work here were great from operating day shifts on the West Coast to doing night shifts on Alagadi. I've had the chance to swim with turtles whilst they're mating, release a turtle back into the wild, hold little hatchlings and release them into the sea and much more. I've made friends that will last a lifetime and can't wait to be back next year :)

I volunteered with SPOT from the 10th of May until the 22nd of June and I was a part of the North team. The North team (a.k.a Northies) are in charge of checking 16 North beaches for any nesting activity during this part of the season.

The North run consists of a 5:30am start, driving amongst beautiful scenery checking the beaches for turtle tracks and once you’ve seen a few you recognise them relatively easily. We follow the tracks to determine if the turtle laid a nest, attempted one, or just had a ‘walk’ on the beach! If nest had been laid it was our job to locate the eggs, collect data, perform a egg relocation if necessary, and finally cage up the nest for protection. Egg relocations can be stressful but are a very rewarding part of the North run, you are giving these turtle eggs the best chance possible to hatch! Relocations involved digging a more suitable nest, collecting data of both nests, and carefully moving the eggs into the new nest. Relocations have a reasonable amount of nest/cage preparations and data collection so team work is key. Everything will run smoother if everyone pitches in where they can - the same can be said for any part of the project! Regardless of the time, heat, and sand you will be smiling after moving turtle eggs.

The Northies also look after tourist bookings during the day and the daily chores of the base. Towards the end of my time with SPOT I briefly lead the North run to train the new Northies on the route, how to tell the different turtle activities, and what to do for each of them. I also transferred our collected data into the overall North data spreadsheet. Data collection is really important for SPOT as many students use the data collected for their studies as well as it be used it for conservation statistics.

Volunteering with SPOT has been the best thing I’ve ever done! It’s hard work but it’s rewarding and you’ll walk away with so many memories. I learnt so much and had a great opportunity to develop as a person during my six weeks.

This past summer I spent a total of 9 weeks volunteering with SPOT from 20th June 2022 to 26th August 2022 and I can honestly say it has been the most incredible summer of my life. As a zoology student at the University of Exeter about to go into the final year of my undergraduate degree the field experience I gained working with SPOT has been invaluable and I learnt such a wide range of data collection, animal handling and practical skills. The length and timing of my placement meant that I was lucky enough to experience both nesting and hatchling seasons and therefore got to work directly with both adult and hatchling turtles!

When I first arrived, I was immediately recruited onto the night shift which involved patrolling the Alagadi beaches from dusk till dawn looking for adult turtles ascending the beach. We would then monitor the turtle’s behaviour and if they nest we would take several measurements, administer tags if needed and cage up the nest in order to protect them from predation or interference. There is truly no experience as wondrous as sitting with the adult females under the stars, listening to the waves crash against the beach and those nights are some of my favourite memories from Cyprus.

I then spent the middle couple of weeks of my placement at SPOT’s west base in Akdeniz where a small team of us monitored a total of 10 beaches and it was here that I had my first introduction to hatchling work! Once a nest has hatched naturally we would then excavate it several days later in order to save any hatchlings that weren’t able to emerge on their own and also to collect data on nest dimensions, temperature, clutch size and hatchling success. I really enjoyed working with hatchings and it was so rewarding every evening to watch those hatchlings that we were able to save make their way into the sea at our release events and to share that amazing experience with members of the public too.

I came back to Alagadi for my final few weeks by which time hatchling season was in full swing and, as a result of my hard work over the previous months, for the last week I even got to try my hand at co-leading the Alagadi day team. This was slightly daunting, but I felt it was a fitting end to my time at SPOT and really showcased how much progress I had made over the course of my time there. That week I also got to excavate the very first nest I had handled myself 2 months prior which was such an incredible full-circle moment and I’m happy to report it was very successful!

Overall, I would recommend volunteering at SPOT to everyone because, not only is it a rewarding experience to contribute to such important conservation work, but the team of people at SPOT are incredible and you will walk away from it with lifelong friends and such an appreciation for these incredible animals!

I volunteered with SPOT (for the first time) from the 5th of May to the 22nd of July 2022 (predominantly during nesting season)- after originally applying for a 7 week placement quickly extended another 4 weeks, and if you chose to join the project, you’ll definitely understand why! I quickly learnt that you really can't expect the same from day to day, and you really have to throw yourself in head first. The work is hard, but amazing. I was fortunate enough to spend my whole time on night work, where- after I was trained, had the responsibility of ‘beach boss’, a role in which I adored. I was able to train other volunteers on the protocols of dealing with the turtles, both before and after nesting. I had the responsibility of knowing who and what was on the beach and where they were throughout the night- a point of contact for volunteers on the beach. I was also granted the opportunity to help with processing and uploading data sets from the North patrol team, which helped me learn more about the scale of the project- the size of the SPOT database is insane, dating back 30 years. The project is very special, and every single piece of data collected goes straight into someone’s undergrad dissertation, masters or PhD, it's so rewarding. When I was at SPOT, I wasn't at uni, so it just proves that this project is accessible for anyone.

Aside from the work, I got to snorkel with turtles, had the opportunity to join the bycatch team (a SPOT sister project) with turtle strandings, got to see turtle necropsies, and was involved with beach clean-ups and local school talks. The landscapes are beautiful, going from gorgeous sandy beaches to mountains and forests- where I went hiking and saw so much wildlife. Also, on my nights off, I had the chance to go to dinners and go out, there was a reggae festival on one of the beaches- which was great fun. I got to see a lightning storm over the beach, and was able to travel across the island when I went out to the west base. Whilst living over there you really get to enjoy Cypriot culture, working alongside local volunteers who help you learn the language, and show you hidden areas of the island.

My favourite part of the project (aside from working with actual, real life sea turtles, in person- that are super cute) was the quick and lasting friendships you make whilst living in Cyprus, being around like minded people 24 hours a day does make for unbreakable bonds- especially on night work. People just go crazy!!!!

The project brought so many opportunities, friendships, experiences and memories that I will truly, honestly, never forget- and couldn't recommend this experience enough.

Hi, I’m Madeleine, and I volunteered with SPOT from 25th July 2022 to 9th September 2022, and thus I was lucky enough to experience the end of nesting season and the whole hatchling season. I started my placement working night shifts, monitoring the nesting females, and it was an incredible experience. Seeing adult green and loggerhead turtles up close was incredible; each female was different from one another, and it was fascinating to learn about the individuals. I was also lucky enough to have a couple of dawnies, aka turtles that ascend the beach to lay at dawn and seeing the whole nesting process in light was another experience. Working night shifts also meant seeing the sunset and sunrise on the beach every day and spending hours looking at the beautiful clear sky full of stars- I will never forget nightwork.

When nesting came to an end, the hatchling season started. The work was very different; therefore, it was amazing to learn about and see the whole cycle, from nesting to hatchling. Every day we would walk the beaches, look for hatched nests, excavate these and work with so many hatchlings- not only are they adorable, but also so different from one another, and I’ve loved observing them and learning about the individuals. With hatchling season come hatchling releases, and I’ve loved sharing my passion for turtle conservation with tourists from all over the world.

I was also lucky enough to help with data input and co-leading the Alagadi day team, and these responsibilities gave me invaluable skills. No one day was the same as the other, and equally, not one turtle was the same as the other, and working in this ever-changing environment has taught me lots of skills that I will use in my future work. As well as that, SPOT gave me friends for life. Spending seven weeks in the sun with friends doing work I love was a dream come true. The whole SPOT team, with all its staff and volunteers, were supportive in every situation, and I will be forever grateful for the experience I had!

I volunteered with SPOT from the 6th of June 2022 until the 22nd of July 2022 and during my placement I did night work from 8pm until 5am sometimes later! Night work during this time was tiring but well rewarding being able to see mother turtles and work alongside them is unlike anything else. I was fortunately able to do beach bossing myself while volunteering which included training volunteers on night work. Towards the end of my time in Cyprus I was luckily able to see some hatchlings and able to release them to the ocean.

There are so many incredible opportunities while volunteering with SPOT, we were lucky enough to go to a waterpark a few times which helped relax and to spend time with other volunteers. There are restaurants near the base as well which people tend to go to before leaving as a goodbye dinner.

During the day there is the opportunity to snorkel with turtles and even spot some of the females that nest on the beaches of Alagadi. I met the most amazing people while out in the project and made some lifelong friends that I’ll have forever. The memories and experience I gained from my time with the project are irreplaceable and I’ll cherish forever.

If you’re looking to broaden your experiences and work opportunities outside of academic studies during your summer and you love turtles, then this is the project for you! The Society for the Protection of Turtles, otherwise known as SPOT, is an organisation that works to help recover and protect both Green and Loggerhead turtle populations in the Mediterranean that are increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change. Volunteering with SPOT is a fab opportunity to work hands on in the field with like-minded people and provides you with a broad range of skills such as working independently and has part of a team. I, myself, volunteered this summer from 13th June – 6th August and collected data on my dissertation; looking into the impacts doomed clutch relocation has on hatching success. What I found most special about my experience out in Cyprus was being able to work so closely with endangered species and knowing that I was part of a team collecting data that will serve future science with a better understanding of how best to conserve these gentle giants. I enjoyed every minute of my time out in Cyprus and built up such a broad portfolio of experiences and amazing friends, I can’t but highly recommend this as a great way to spend your summer!

I volunteered at SPOT from the beginning of June 2022 to the middle of July 2022 and was there for most of the turtle nesting season. For the first two weeks of my journey at SPOT, I was sent out to the wild wild west of North Cyprus, Akdeniz, where I was with 4 other volunteers. West was an absolute experience that was like none other, I made lifelong friends out there who I saw when I came back home as they all studied at the same university as me. The work that we did at West was hard and physically demanding, waking up early to find and protect nests that had been laid the night before from predation from wild dogs and foxes, but the beaches were gorgeous and the locals were lovely, especially everyone at EcoCamp, which made all the hard work worth it for me. The group that was at West with me were amazing, we all supported each other on hard days and ensured that morale was maintained, having the odd beach picnic or boogie at EcoCamp when we had the time.

I was sent back to main camp after 2 weeks and put onto North run, which was run during the day like West. I worked hard whilst I was on the North run and because of this I was entrusted to help lead the North run. This meant that I trained new volunteers on how to find nests and how to recognise which species of turtle had laid which nest. I also trained other volunteers in how to collect data for each nest that was found and laid. We also did relocations on nests that were laid too close to the high-water mark, which decreased the mortality of the clutch. We were finished with our responsibilities around midday which meant that we had time to relax in the afternoon. Sometimes, we were called out to strandings which meant that we got to see a lot more of the north of Cyprus which was amazing.

One memory that will always stick in my mind is when we were called out to a stranding of 3 green turtles and 1 loggerhead turtle which were unfortunately caught by local fisherman in bycatch but were thankfully still alive. We dropped everything on our run to pick up these turtles from the harbour and take them to the rehabilitation centre. This meant that every one of us (except the driver) had a turtle on their lap, covered in a wet towel as we rushed to the rehabilitation centre where they would be checked for signs of drowning. The drive down to the rehab centre was crazy, but completely thrilling at the same time. It was amazing to see all the turtles in the rehab centre and know that they were being released back into the ocean eventually.

My time at SPOT was unforgettable and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone studying marine biology or who has an interest in working with turtles at a highly recognised and scientific research project like SPOT. Being surrounded with people who are interested in similar things as you and making new friends is worth the hours of hard work that you put in daily.