The very first hatchlings of the 2009 in Rethymno and Kyparissia Bay!
Likewise, excitement ran high when ARCHELONʼs volunteers in Peloponnesus, at the beach near “Vounaki” in the southern part of the Kyparissia Bay, watched 8 hatchlings emerging from the A2 nest and crawling to the sea.
So, this yearʼs hatchling period started on July 23rd while the nesting period had started on May 30th at the Bay of Kyparissia and on June 2nd at Rethymno.
In Greece, usually, the nesting season commences at the end of May and lasts until the end of August. During this stage, the females will come ashore at night to lay their eggs on the sandy nesting beaches. A female may deposit an average of 120 eggs into a 50-60 cm deep cavity, a process that may by repeated 3-4 times on that same summer.
The females usually return to the same beach where they hatched to nest every 2-3 years. The eggs will incubate in the warm sand for approximately 2 months until they are ready to hatch. At about 80 newly hatched sea turtles will dig out of each nest and run to the sea, something that happens at nightfall or very early in the morning.
One thing we should all be aware of is that hatchlings should be allowed to crawl to the sea unhindered; when they hatch bright lights from the houses, streetlights confuse them and lead them away form the sea, where they cannot survive.
Please, donʼt help them to make that road to the sea; this is natureʼs way to prepare them for the great journey ahead!
Only 1 or 2 in 1.000 hatchlings will survive to reach adulthood! The female ones will need 15-25 years to begin breeding and come back to the beach they were born to nest.
The question is: will the beach still be as remembered? The marine environment is under constant and increasing pressure. The situation of the coastal ecosystems is equally one of our chief concerns: nesting beaches are also under serious, real threats, demanding our caution and care.
Offering information & Inspiration
We run special projects to raise awareness and inform the public, both the residents and the visitors, concerning the importance of not only the sea turtlesʼ habitat but the coastal and marine environment as well.
Our Info Kiosks are open daily to give instructions and answer questions; on the beach, turtle patrol members check the nests and inform the beach users, whilst we frequently organize live presentations at hotels.
In this context it is relevant to note that each summer we manage to spread the information to more than 200.000 Greek and foreign visitors.
Take the time to speak with us & ask questions Take the time to learn about our efforts & how you can help
Remember, we share the beach and the sea with sea turtles and many other marine animals and creatures. What we do has a direct effect on their lives. Be-come a friend of ARCHELON, be-come a friend of the environment.
In August, the Sea Turtles Rescue Center in Glyfada is closed for visitors
“Kaveiros” from Samothraki is healthy and free!
RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS15/09/2023
Lilo, the tiny green turtle, made it back to the sea!
In November 2021 a small green turtle arrived at the ARCHELON Rescue Centre with a very serious head injury. After almost two years of intensive care, one Wednesday in September 2023 he was finally discharged and returned to the sea!
- OUR NEWS17/08/2023
World record of 37 years of reproductive life for a loggerhead sea turtle in Zakynthos, Greece – increased number of nests this summer, says ARCHELON
ARCHELON – the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece announces an important outcome of the systematic work of this year's sea turtle nest monitoring team in Zakynthos. Based on their long-term observations, ARCHELON managed to certify a new World Record of reproductive activity for loggerhead turtles.
- OUR NEWS07/08/2023
ATTENTION! Sea turtles are not pets: Do not touch them or feed them!
The Municipality of Eastern Mani and the Port Authorities requested the assistance of ARCHELON to inform beach users in the area of Limeni, near Mani, where 35 new incidents of sea turtle attacks on sea bathers have been recorded during this summer season. These are added to the already long list of 200 such records of previous years found in the nearby Health Center in Areopolis.
- OUR NEWS01/08/2023
Interview with a volunteer: Lea Heinen, Rescue Centre
Interview with a volunteer: Lea Heinen, Rescue Centre Lea shares her experience volunteering at the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Rescue Centre: “I think when a turtle starts to eat after a month of trying, when you can see the improvement or healing of a turtle's injury and when a turtle is released back into the sea, into its natural habitat, into its home - then you know that you are indeed saving turtles”.
- OUR NEWS21/07/2023
Kids Beach Competition 2023: Make your own little sea turtle with natural materials and send us a photo!
Help us spread the message about the protection of sea turtles by making your own baby turtles with natural materials you will find on the beach. Sand, stones, pebbles, shells, seaweed, sticks and whatever else you have available, can be transformed with a little imagination! Take a photo of your work and send it to the ARCHELON Beach Competition.
- OUR NEWS18/07/2023
Paving the way for next steps in conservation of marine turtles in the Mediterranean region
Last week the partner organizations of the project “Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Mediterranean Region” met for the 9th Steering Committee Meeting. The meeting was organized by SPA/RAC in the area of Kyparissia Bay, Greece on the 4th and 5th of July, 2023 in collaboration with ARCHELON.
- OUR NEWS04/07/2023
An offer to EXPERIENCED volunteers: You can now join the beach projects for 2-3 weeks!
The time is just right to join the projects again, even if you have only 2 or 3 weeks of available time. This offer is valid for August, September, October 2023. Apply through our new website and find out more about the dates and places you can join. More…
- OUR NEWS22/06/2023
The nesting season has begun! Learn what you can do if you find sea turtle tracks or nests on the beach
The nesting season for the loggerhead sea turtles has begun. The nests that are made in the areas monitored by ARCHELON and other collaborating groups are already being recorded. However, if you find tracks or nests on other beaches, you can also participate in the effort to record and protect these sporadic nests. Find out why it's important…
- OUR NEWS16/06/2023
A breath away from registering a new world record on the years of known active reproduction of a loggerhead sea turtle is ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece
This is the year when ARCHELON, a nonprofit environmental NGO, is celebrating 40 years of continuous and targeted action to save sea turtles in Greece and the Mediterranean. At the same time, the project teams of ARCHELON are ready to register the longest period of active reproduction known for the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), in case it happens this year!
- OUR NEWS15/06/2023
A Saturday unlike any other - Turtle Festival 2023
ARCHELON invites kids and adults to celebrate the environment and the sea in an exciting way at the "Sea Turtle Festival" on Saturday, May 27 at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in the 3rd Marina of Glyfada.
- OUR NEWS07/06/2023
Announcement for all past volunteers of ARCHELON: Shall we meet this September?
Highlight: Hi everyone! This year marks 40 years of ARCHELON’s action for protecting sea turtles in Greece. During these four decades, thousands of volunteers from many countries joined our sea turtle projects and the Rescue Centre to help save the turtles. Let’s meet again this coming September and celebrate the animals we saved during all these years.
- OUR NEWS07/04/2023
Waiting list for schools that want to visit the ARCHELON Rescue Centre
Thousands of Greek students visit the Centre and get informed about the value of protecting the environment through contact with a particularly beloved animal, the sea turtle. "All the available visiting hours until the end of the 2022-2023 school year have been booked, but there is a waiting list that is activated in case of cancellations", says Anna Kontoleon, ARCHELON’s Education Officer. More hours for online tours may be added in May if volunteers become available.
- OUR NEWS28/03/2023
People are supporting wildlife conservation
The donations and "adoptions" made at the Rescue Centre in Glyfada, Attica and at ARCHELON’s field projects in Zakynthos, the Peloponnese and Crete in 2022, reached the amount of €350,000. We did a lot last year thanks to all these people, who also made it possible for us to continue this year.
- OUR NEWS24/03/2023
Gail Schofield
We learned with deep sadness the passing away of Gail Schofield, a pronounced sea turtle researcher and former ARCHELON volunteer. Read more…
- OUR NEWS20/03/2023
More than half of the rehabilitated sea turtles got released back to the sea in 2022!
The Sea Turtle Rescue Centre of ARCHELON in Glyfada rescues, takes care of and rehabilitates injured sea turtles from all parts of Greece since 1994. More than half of the sea turtles that were under care at the Rescue Centre in 2022 got released back to the sea after reaching full recovery this year! Read more…