Program Photos

Turtle Protection in the Maldives

Location: Maldives: Male

Program Duration: 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months (includes high school academic semester abroad), 7-12 months (includes high school academic year abroad)

Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks

Dates: All year round

Maldives Volunteers/ Tiny Island Volunteers

http://www.tinyislandvolunteers.com

1st Floor, 2 Woodberry Grove North Finchley London, N12 0DR England

Call Us

Phone: (0044) 01373 832936

Download the Application Form
Description

The Tiny Island Volunteer program is based on Naifaru Island, within the Lhaviyani Atoll of the Maldives. Currently, there is a strong need for the development and implementation of conservation programmes throughout the Maldives and an even stronger need for volunteers around the world to become educated and involved in promoting more sustainable practices within the communities.

There is a large focus on sea turtle conservation in Naifaru, as many surrounding and uninhabited islands serve as hatching sites for various species of sea turtles every year. Sea turtles are currently endangered and sadly face threats both in the ocean and on land by human activities, such as poaching and entanglement in fishing nets. It is our goal to provide each and every sea turtle with the best possible chance of survival in the wild, and we do this through a number of different techniques including hatching, rearing and relocating sea turtles during various stages of their life. We support these turtles up until the point where they are ready to be released back into the ocean (our favourite part) and tag each individual before release so that we can monitor their progress and recognize them many years later.

It is projects like this one, and many others which relate to the beautiful marine habitats surrounding these islands, which we hope to keep running with the help of locals and our wonderful volunteers. Some may say that a small amount of people can't change the world, but they can change one tiny island at a time.

Highlights

Each and every day, our baby sea turtles will require your love and care. So while you will get allocated days off, these days may vary considerably to your average weeks and weekends, depending on volunteer availabilities and numbers.

Each morning we feed the sea turtles a mixture of fish eggs, fish chest, tuna fillets and sea grass. We then allow one to two hours for the sea turtles to digest their food and go to the toilet before emptying their water and completely cleaning and refilling each tank. This is a BIG job, as pairs of volunteers need to walk approximately one hundred metres down to the beach to collect fresh water every time we change the tanks, which needs to be done three times a day! There are also some older sea turtles which we keep in large sea stations in the middle of the ocean, who are being prepared for the wild and to be released. We need to snorkel out to these cages twice a day and feed these turtles as well, the same types of food as the babies, with a greater amount of vegetables when possible. We also conduct regular beach patrols on a local island where turtles nest and on occasion conduct island camping trips.

Travel Types
  • Eco Tours
  • Environmental Studies
  • Fishing
  • Scuba
  • Snorkeling
  • Volunteering
Qualifications

No qualifications are necessary for you to join the Tiny Islands Conservation programme just a keen love of the sea. We do ask that volunteers however have basic swimming skills and have good spoken and written English skills.

If you do have PADI or SSI qualifications this is also a big help to us as we can utilise you for assisting with building sea stations and making regular checks etc.

Languages
  • English

Cost in US$:

From 1570 per month discounts may also apply

Cost Include Description:

Also included is your Tiny Islands Conservation pack. Tiny Islands conservation membership card, local, phone card, TIV T shirt and bag and information pack.

Credit Available

no

Volunteer Types
  • Adult Education
  • Community Development
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Global Warming
  • Sea Turtle Protection
  • Secondary Education
  • Teaching
  • Volunteering
  • Wildlife Surveying
  • Youth
  • Youth Development
Typical Volunteer
Our Volunteers are typically very friendly and are happy to work within the community. Our volunteers all have one goal in mind and that is to make a difference.
Age Range
18 -65
This Program is open to

Worldwide Participant. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements
  • Apartment/Flat
  • Dormitory
  • Guest House
  • Home-stays

Participants Travel to Maldives

Independently

Application Process Involves
  • Online Application plus Application Assessment
  • Resume
Maldives Volunteers/ Tiny Island Volunteers's Mission Statement

Our core objective is 'making a difference' and joining us on one of our specially developed volunteer programmes gives you exactly that opportunity. Tiny Island Volunteers was founded by a pair of travel professionals who, over the last fifteen years, have lived and worked around the world in some of our planets most beautiful locations. They felt their influences and experiences could be used positively to promote social awareness and 'give something back' to some of the amazing places they have gained so much from.

Year Founded

2010

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