I am spending eight weeks volunteering on two different Costa Rican projects: a land and freshwater turtle clinic in La Garita, and an organic, sustainable coffee farm in Atenas.
This week, a look at a few of the approximately 100 turtles at the La Garita Tortufauna. Tortufauna was founded in 2003 by Vilma Castillo, a former biology teacher. The picture of the hatchling included here was taken last week minutes after the turtle hatched. Much of our volunteer work is given over to cleaning the five turtle tanks, feeding turtles, composting, and propagating and tending to many plants. Tortufauna is a small paradise itself and sells plants to help fund its operation. I’ll feature the Tortufauna grounds and its medical clinic in upcoming posts.
You can read more about the La Garita Tortufauna at:
http://www.ticotimes.net/Weekend/Travel/Help-arrives-for-land-turtles-at-Tortufauna_Friday-May-06-2011
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
