Campamento Mayo (MEX-94)

Type: Environmental/Green Projects: Preservation of sea life - Country: Mexico

Brief description and main aims

The aim of Campamento Mayo is to protect and conserve sea turtles in the state of Jalisco. 

Main Activities

• To recover and protect sea turtle nests in Mayto beach. Nests are constantly monitored in an artificial incubator. 
• To protect the beach from ecological damage by cleaning, recycling, etc.
• To organize awareness camps for students and tourists. During the camps, participants can take care of turtles, free them, learn about recycling, clean the beaches, etc.
• To organize awareness campaigns for the local community. The project teaches the community to use their resources sustainably, to maintain their economical activities (fishing and tourism) without hurting the turtles. 

Volunteer tasks

The volunteer can: 

Be a night patrol

This is a fundamental activity for the protection of sea turtles.The volunteer will have to do around four hours of surveillance in ATVs. The volunteer will search for sea turtle nests, recollect the eggs and transport them to a secure area in the camp. 

Monitor the incubator

The volunteer will have to make sure that the eggs in the incubators are well sheltered. Controlling the temperature, humidity, light, etc. is crucial essential for succesful hatching.

Clean the nests and free baby turtles

Once the baby turtles are born, the volunteer needs to register the number of newborn sea turtles and clean the nests before freeing them on the beach. 

Do mainteinance of the camp

The volunteer will have to do some maintenance work like gardening, construction, painting, cleaning common areas and others. 

Volunteer requirements / Skills

The volunteer should: 

• Be ready to work outside and stay at the beach for a long time
• Like nature, especially wild animals
• Be a team player
• Be in a good physical condition to do hard work in hot weather
• Bel eager to work during nights and long hours (when there are camps etc.)
• Be proactive
• Have basic knowledge of camping
• Have a basic level of spanish
• Know how to swim. Desirable if you know how to dive too.

Location

Mayto Beach is located in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. The beach is near the towns of Mayto, Tehuamixtle, Villa delMar, and Ipala. The town's main economic activities are fishing and tourism. 

Hosting Situation (Board and Lodging)

The volunteer will live in the project (and sometimes in a tent). 

More Information

Volunteers needed: 1