Delta 4: Building the turtle hatchery

Johnny Rowles gives us an insight into Delta 4's turtle project in idyllic Playa Hermosa:

When we arrived at Playa Hermosa we found its literal translation – beautiful beach – was almost spot on. The jungle spilled onto the black sands, and there wasn't a sign of civilization in 360 degrees. The ranger’s shelter was set 20 metres back from the beach, behind it was a rickety bridge which led into the mangrove swamp. The rangers, Don Manuel and Fernando, had cleared an area the size of a tennis court above the tide line to replace the previous hatchery.  However, the reserve was in a bit of a mess. There was debris and driftwood strewn everywhere, and the sign that once welcomed volunteers and tourists lay under rotting palm leaves. It seemed as though there was a lot of work to be getting on with.

Our first drive was to build a sandbank wall, with a 6 foot trench behind it to protect the hatchery from the sea. The work was particularly tiring, especially during the storms later in the day. Renditions of "Singing in the Rain" often raised our spirits to power on through to dinner. It was also important to oxygenate the sand. We built two 3 foot deep trenches opposite each other and, like moles, burrowed our way to the centre. This and then leveling the sand field took the best part of a week. It wasn’t particularly moral boosting since it looked identical to when we had started.

We split the group, and while some were turning over the sand others were doing some reforestation on the edge of the refuge. Once this was completed, we planted sharpened bamboo and marked out the nests with string ready for the eggs. We then dug in a fence to protect the nesting grounds from crabs and raccoons. The sand is now ready for the turtles.

The Olive Ridley turtles crawl zig-zagging up the beach during the night, leaving a darker trail which makes their paths easy to identify in the moonlight. Every night we patrolled the beach, one of this endangered species’ few nesting grounds, and gathered eggs to put in the hatchery. The aim of this is to protect them from poachers, raccoons, and from being destroyed by other nesting turtles later in the season. In the hatchery, we can host up to 800 nests at a time, each with 100-120 eggs. Seeing this amazing creature and the care and effort it took in nesting, really hit home and gave us a great sense of satisfaction in what we were doing. 

Pura Vida!