Punta Banco Turtle Conservation Project
Running a conservation project as a foreigner at the end of the road in Costa Rica takes conviction, dedication, and service. All of these qualities I found in Astrid Van Egmond, a turtle activist from Holland.
Astrid has been working with the Punta Banco Turtle Conservation Project since 2014 and this current season has also taken on the management position at Rancho Burica. Astrid runs the turtle program from Rancho Burica, a beachfront Dutch owned cabina business offering affordable all-inclusive packages in front of a left-hander reef break.
As she was keen to immediately point out, Astrid could not be so successful without her team of local “Turtle Watchers” that she utilizes to help her efforts. A team of nightly beachcombers, local men, women and traveling volunteers follow the ebb and flow of the tides searching for turtles and their nests.
[continue reading…]
