The Field Leaders of 2023 and their role
Every year, hundreds of volunteers come from far and near to ARCHELON's Projects with a common goal: to protect sea turtles. They have to be trained on how to record and protect nests, data collection, public awareness and have to adapt to living with people of diverse backgrounds, communicating daily in English. Field Leaders are there to help and train them navigate these challenges. When volunteers first arrive at the ARCHELON Research Stations they will be welcomed by the Camp and Volunteer Field Leader. After getting settled, they will meet the other Field Leaders and their training will begin. A unique experience awaits them in the coming weeks.
" As a Camp and Volunteer Field Leader, I deal with the day-to-day organization and proper operation of the camp, such as the food supplies, the cleaning and cooking schedules. But the most important thing is making sure that all the volunteers are happy and feel comfortable to approach me for anything. I am something like the camp mom, but I also participate in recording the nests and informing the public", says Irene Pulido Anton, Camp and Volunteer Field Leader at the Messara Bay Project for 2023. Who other Field Leaders worked in Crete this summer? Amelie Weiler was the Public Awareness Field Leader in Messara Bay Project, while Audrey Busa, Vasilina Vradeli, David de Haan, Lizzie Burows West and Matthew Leveridge helped immensely as Field Leaders in Rethymno.
Matthew had his first experience with ARCHELON last year as a volunteer in Rethymno. This summer, he returned to the same place as the Public Awareness Field Leader. “We run information tables on the nesting beach for the every-day beach users. Beach visitors have the biggest impact on the beaches and the turtles, so we're here to let them know. Also, we make presentations in hotels in the evening and we run the ARCHELON Information Station in the city center of Rethymno. Sometimes we also participate in school activities and local events. There's always something new!”, he explains. " My role was to train the volunteers and organize their weekly tasks in the field of raising public awareness. This is very important because many people come to Rethymno for their holidays and have no idea that there are sea turtles here. Of course, I participated in some monitoring and camp organization shifts as well", Mathew adds.
Lucie Grosjean, Gracie Rowe and Thomas Chazlnoel worked as Field Leaders in Chania. For the smooth implementation of all 3 projects in Crete, Sam Finlayson and Melina Milidaki worked as Coordinator Field Leaders under the supervision of George Vrambas, the Project Manager for Crete, and Pely Tsoussi, the Assistant Project Manager.
The Monitoring Field Leaders train the volunteers to record the nests and protect them in night and morning surveys that take place every day during the turtle nesting and hatching season. They also take part in other tasks as needed.
In Kyparissia Bay, home to the largest breeding population of the Loggerhead sea turtle in the Mediterranean, this was a very demanding summer. The Field Leaders in the Kyparissia Project were: Sarah Kelliher, Leonie Marzecki, Aris Tsiroglou, Judith Hoste, Rachel Forster, Sam Brown and Dafni Nikisanli. "Despite the difficulties, we succeeded, bonded and created our own little family", says Michalis Souroulidis, the Project Manager for West Peloponnese. Due to the large number of nests, in addition to the Field leaders, new volunteers had to take on several responsibilities. I want to thank Matheo Merle, Enora Bourgeois, Aurelie Chaput, Elisa d'Allibert for all the hard work!”, he adds.
Continuing in the Peloponnese, together with Alexandros Karaplis, the Project Manager for South Peloponnese, the Field Leaders who worked in Lakonikos Bay were Judith Glaser, Laura Suppan and Despina Papageorgiou. In Koroni, Field Leaders were Noha Ratouit, Tabea Morgenstern and Kostas Kotsiras. "It was a very demanding season, since we had unprecedented numbers of nests in the Southern Peloponnese Projects. Despite this we built a very strong team and friendship. I would like to thank Mael Probst, Audrey Kieffer, Antonin Gillot, Elain Friob, Antony Couffrant, Sophie Laderriere, Martin Vanham and Justine Masselot, and so many other volunteers who helped our projects and our Field Leaders", says Alexandros.
In Zakynthos in 2023 several hundreds of nests were recorded by ARCHELON as well. Their protection was carried out in collaboration with the Management Unit of the Zakynthos Marine Park of N.E.C.C.A. Thanos Michailidis (Project Manager) and Anna Maria Tyra (Assistant Project Manager) collaborated with the Field Leaders Tarrit Vincent, Tobias Juul Jakobsen, Marcia Abreau, Sarah Crosse, Tanya Narshi, Sarah Bala, Anita Szymanska, Lucie Fauchard. "I want to thank everyone in the field for their contribution, and in particular, our Public Awareness Field Leader, Lucie, who shouldered the burden of so many outreach activities with a small number of volunteers whose communication skills have come to the fore this summer", says Thanos.
In the Amvrakikos Project in 2023, Zuzanna Gasienica Gewont was the Field Leader who trained the volunteers in capturing and collecting biometric data of sea turtles in just a few minutes. “We thank all 37 dedicated Field Leaders who participated in this year's projects. They too, like all of us at ARCHELON, started one summer as volunteers knowing little about turtles and their protection but wanted to return with a different role. Our collaboration this year began with a training seminar in April and continued throughout the summer. They helped us substantially and it would be impossible to have such a smooth operation of the projects without them”, says ARCHELON's Research Coordinator, Aliki Panagopoulou.
Become an ARCHELON volunteer! Check out how here
Learn more about Field Leaders and other special categories of volunteers here
Kids Beach Competition 2023: Turtles made of natural materials that stole our hearts!
World Tourism Day 2023: Are there sea turtle-friendly hotels in north Crete?
RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS23/11/2023
The establishment of the “Amvrakikos Alliance”
The Alliance's vision in collaboration with the local community is to highlight the unique ecological value and the natural and cultural heritage of Amvrakikos, for the most effective management, restoration, and protection of its ecosystems and biodiversity.
- OUR NEWS16/11/2023
Kids Beach Competition 2023: Turtles made of natural materials that stole our hearts!
The little friends of ARCHELON who participated in the Kids Beach Competition 2023 formed turtles from pebbles, sand, water, rocks, sticks, leaves and shells, spreading the message of protecting sea turtles on the various beaches of Greece. Angeliki's (7 years old) little turtle on top of the big rock stole 694 hearts and became the winner!
- OUR NEWS27/09/2023
World Tourism Day 2023: Are there sea turtle-friendly hotels in north Crete?
But why is tourism important to sea turtles?
- 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.