During the 12-day trip, I accompanied 11 young people in sea turtle conservation activities. Although we came from different provinces, what we had in common was our love for the nature of the sea and islands, and our special interest in sea turtle conservation activities. Not only helping turtles hatch, releasing baby turtles into the sea, cleaning up beaches, and beautifying the landscape, each of us volunteers also cherished activities and stories that deeply and sustainably inspired everyone to protect nature.
Days without sleep to help turtles lay eggs
I remember the first night, the group divided into 3 small groups to follow 3 forest rangers: Mr. Kien, Mr. Dong, Mr. Ngoc, so that they could guide us on how to move turtle eggs safely and with the least impact on the mother turtle. I followed Mr. Kien's group. Mr. Kien is the Deputy Head of the Forest Ranger Station, he has a lot of experience and is very proficient in moving sea turtle eggs. When we were about to turn on the lights to light the way, Mr. Kien reminded us to "turn off the lights to avoid affecting the turtles".
At first, we could barely see anything, but after a while, when our eyes got used to it, the sandbank became clear, and the light from the stars overhead helped us spot the mother turtle from afar. After a while, the group saw a mother turtle digging a nest. With many years of experience, Kien said that in about 5 minutes, the mother turtle would lay eggs. Indeed, a moment later, Kien carefully shined a small light into the hole so we could see the eggs from the mother turtle falling into the sand.
Mr. Kien meticulously instructed on how to dig sand to collect eggs and bring them to the incubation pond, recording the date of laying, the number of eggs, and the nest number for monitoring. Before this mother turtle finished laying eggs, another mother turtle was crawling up from the beach. Sometimes 2-3 mother turtles headed in the same direction to dig a nest to lay eggs. Volunteers and rangers worked tirelessly, instructing tourists on how turtles lay eggs properly, following the turtle footprints to find the nest to mark, and then collecting eggs to bring back and bury in the incubation pond. Engrossed in their work, by the time the last nest was buried, it was already past 1am. The work repeated itself every night, some nights, the group moved up to 28 nests, the work lasted until 5-6am.
Despite staying up all night, everyone still tried to continue guiding tourists to release baby turtles back to the sea safely in the morning. Because if they accidentally touched the baby turtles directly or released them late, it would greatly affect the baby turtles, reducing their chances of survival, and would be a waste of effort in moving the eggs and nearly 2 months of waiting for the eggs to hatch.
A great motivation for the group to complete the 12-day program was to see hundreds, thousands of baby turtles released into the sea every morning. The baby turtles were still not strong enough, their heads were still raised, listening to the sound of the waves, their four tiny legs crawling on the sand, even though they were washed away by the waves, they still tried to stretch out to the ocean, giving the whole group more energy.
Energy from love of nature
Each volunteer participating in the program voluntarily covers their own travel and accommodation expenses during the trip. Each volunteer knows that they will be living in a somewhat deprived and harsh environment and commits to disclaiming responsibility in case of any risks. When asked why they joined this program, each volunteer had their own reasons, but all stemmed from their love of nature.
Nguyen Thi Hoang Dieu - from Ho Chi Minh City - has a great love for the sea and islands. Even though she knows she often gets seasick, Dieu still often chooses the sea as her destination on her journeys. Dieu feels lucky to be chosen as a volunteer for the sea turtle conservation program. Dieu told about a memorable memory on the journey: one night while on duty, two mother turtles came up at the same time in front and behind her, so Dieu had to sit still like a rock, waiting for the mother turtle to come ashore, dig a nest, and then dare to continue.
Tran Ha Trang is the youngest member of the group and is studying at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law. Although she is very busy with the upcoming exam, Ha Trang still tries to arrange to participate in the program. Although the youngest in the group, Trang is very mature in communication, instructing tourists on how to release turtles properly. Trang also has a high sense of responsibility. In the evening, Ha Trang goes to watch the turtles lay eggs with the group and then takes a nap, in the morning she takes the opportunity to study for the exam.
I feel that the love of nature has brought us together in a miraculous way. Without prior arrangement, I met Bui Bao Thinh - a freelance architect in Da Lat City. Recently, Thinh has spent more time volunteering for animals. Before joining the sea turtle conservation volunteer program this time, both Thinh and I had participated in the wildlife rescue volunteer program at Bu Gia Map National Park.
Desire to inspire sea turtle conservation
Not only performing sea turtle rescue tasks, the volunteers also help the rangers welcome and guide tourists, clean up trash, clean the beach, draw pictures, design billboards to promote messages of environmental protection, nature protection, sea turtle conservation, and beautify the landscape at the ranger station.
Experiencing 10 days away from the noisy city, without dust and smoke, living conditions lacking electricity, lacking water, frequent phone loss, amidst the fresh nature and nights of turtle rescue vigils... are wonderful, unforgettable experiences for each volunteer. The volunteers all contributed to sharing stories about their trips through social networks, forums... along with the emergency situation and messages on sea turtle conservation to the online community. A typical example is Nguyen Huong Tra - from Hanoi. After the program, Tra shared many articles about sea turtle conservation activities, the effectiveness of egg relocation work to increase the hatching rate of eggs by more than 80%, information about the harmful effects of plastic waste on living creatures, especially marine creatures such as sea turtles...
Vu Bao Son - from Ho Chi Minh City - is one of the most active members of the group. Son is usually the first to go to the turtle watch and also the last to go to bed. With a tall stature, Son also takes on the heavy work of the group. Talking to Son, I know that Son loves nature tourism, often accompanies social charity programs, Son also spends a lot of time participating in environmental running races. When the 12-day trip just ended, Son invited the whole group to participate in the online race "Save Turtles Run 2023", Son registered for a goal of 200km.
Currently, we are sharing the photos and videos collected during the trip along with a fundraising campaign via the Thien Nguyen app to be able to purchase support items for the volunteers in the following years, reducing plastic waste from tourism activities on the island.
After the trip, each of us volunteers gained more knowledge about sea turtles and a deeper appreciation for the benefits of the natural habitat. Each volunteer will be a sea turtle ambassador, contributing a small part to sea turtle conservation. Our wish is that future generations can see sea turtles in the wild, not just in books and movies.
Quan Nguyen Phat
Address: Phong Thuan, Tan My Chanh commune, My Tho city, Tien Giang
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