Three weeks ago, I left the city for island life as I signed up to be a volunteer at a sea turtle conservation centre on Pulau Perhentian.
On my first day as a volunteer at Bubbles Turtle Conservation Centre, the project manager, Wei Qi, introduced me to his team of interns whom I would be working closely with for the next seven days.
There were six of them, from different backgrounds – from high school students, to university graduates.
Our work shift at the centre began at 2pm. Every day, from 2pm to about 4pm, we would start by doing indoor activities, as it was too hot to be outdoors.
For the first two days, I learned to identify mother turtles. I was asked to check from their database – if the turtles that came the night before to lay eggs were new, or returning mother turtles.
Like human faces and fingerprints, turtles have unique face patterns, too.
The following few afternoons, I learned to make jewellery from recycled pieces of glass that washed up on the beach, which we picked up when we did our daily beach clean-up.
In the later part of the afternoons, I was tasked with digging holes in the turtle hatchery and transferring the turtle eggs from the buckets to the freshly dug holes in the sand.
A few months earlier, turtle eggs at the hatchery were attacked by red ants. The team saved the eggs by transferring and keeping them in specially designed buckets.
One of the reasons why turtles are endangered is because their eggs are vulnerable to predators, such as ants, birds, monitor lizards, and snakes. These predators would attack and eat the turtle eggs before they had a chance to hatch.
The team and I would take a break at 6pm. We could do whatever we wanted but we always chose to play volleyball at a makeshift court until 7pm.
Then, we would head back to our rooms to shower and get ready for dinner at 7.30pm.
After dinner, the team would take turns giving a short presentation on turtles to the guests at Bubbles Dive Resort at 8.30pm. It was a daily routine.
During the presentation, we would inform guests of the types of sea turtles, how sea turtles are identified, and their life cycles.
These presentations would usually finish at 9pm. Based on rotation and shifts, some of us would start the night by taking the first shift – from 9pm to 2am. We would patrol the beach every hour to look out for mother turtles coming to shore to lay eggs.
The second night shift would start from 2am to 7am. I volunteered for the first shift because I knew it would be difficult for me to wake up and stay awake throughout the second shift.
During the seven days as a volunteer, I helped release more than three hatchling nests. I also helped the team with two mother turtles that came ashore to nest and lay eggs.
I helped count and transfer eggs laid by mother turtles into a bucket and transfer them to the hatchery.
There were some harsh nights as it rained heavily. We wore raincoats and patrolled the beach in heavy rain, but the experience was worth it.
It was for a good cause. I also made new friends and learnt many new things.
I will be returning to Bubbles Turtle Conservation Centre to volunteer again next season.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, you can email and enquire at turtle@bubblesdc.com.
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