Our News
Wanted: Photos for ARCHELON’s 2023 Calendar!
31/08/2022
Calling all photographers amongst our volunteers, supporters, members and collaborators! ARCHELON is looking for talented photographers (amateur or professional) for the 2023 ARCHELON Calendar Contest! The 3 themes of the contest will be sea turtles, beaches and people engaged in ARCHELON activities. Read more...
A local group protects loggerhead sea turtle nests in Sitia, southeastern Crete
29/08/2022
Almost every summer, a few loggerhead nests are laid in beaches of southeastern Crete, in the province of Sitia. In order to ensure their protection, ARCHELON has been collaborating with the local group of volunteers since 2009. Last week, on the 16th of August, we have jointly organized the public excavation of the first nest that had completed its cycle at Karavopetra beach. The great news is that sea turtle nest protection by the local community was exemplary. Read more….
Fraport Greece and Air France support the ARCHELON initiative in Zakynthos
05/08/2022
A plan for sponsoring 6 additional volunteers who will join the existing team of researchers and volunteers of the ARCHELON project on Zakynthos for the next 2-3 months and enhance the public awareness activities in Laganas bay was agreed last week as part of the Sustainability Initiative of Fraport Greece/ Air France. Read more…
Loggerhead hatchlings have made their appearance on Greek nesting beaches!
04/08/2022
We first received the joyful news from ARCHELON volunteers in both Laganas bay, Zakynthos and Kyparissia bay on the 18th of July. Then, on the 24th of July, the Messara bay project reported the first hatchlings on Crete. Two days later, on the 26th of July there were traces of hatchlings on Mavrovouni beach, Lakonikos bay in south Peloponnese. There are daily counts of hatchlings in most projects by now and we are escalating our efforts to minimize their disorientation due to artificial lights on the beaches.
Our Accounts for 2021
Despite last year’s uncertainties, we completed all actions which had been planned, and a bit more, thanks to the help of many people and organizations.
The ARCHELON Rescue Centre in Glyfada continued to receive and treat sea turtles throughout the year. There were 58 new arrivals of injured or sick turtles, most of them loggerheads and a few green turtles, and 34 recovered turtles returned to sea.
Live online tours of the Rescue Centre became a reality for 178 school units from all over Greece. After the lockdown was withdrawn, we welcomed 75 school units from Attica in the Environmental Education Program of the Rescue Centre.
Volunteers at the loggerhead nesting beaches recorded and protected approximately 7,200 nests in a total of 137 km that were surveyed daily on Zakynthos, the Peloponnese and Crete.
2021 was the year that citizen participation in the recording of sporadic nests and sea turtles throughout coastal Greece increased significantly.
