What could be more rewarding than helping to save an endangered species from extinction?

A short expedition conducting field research for the non-profit environmental charity, Earthwatch Institute, offers exactly that opportunity.

Sea turtles, for example, are arguably among the most endangered animals on Earth, threatened by fishing, habitat destruction and hunting. Pacific leatherbacks face an annual mortality rate of up to 30%, which means that without intervention they could disappear in under a decade.

Earthwatch conducts long-term research aimed at finding practical conservation solutions.

On sea turtle conservation expeditions, volunteers give researchers the labour force to thoroughly monitor the nesting activities and productivity of sea turtles, while discouraging egg poachers along stretches of prime nesting habitat.

Volunteers also provide vital financial resources because a part of the cost of every expedition goes towards funding Earthwatch research.

In the US Virgin Islands, the number of leatherback turtles have doubled during the past two decades, which Earthwatch attributes to its teams of dedicated scientists and volunteers. Here, volunteers monitor nesting adults and help ensure that thousands of leatherback hatchlings make it to the ocean.

In Malaysia, researchers and volunteers are gathering information about sand temperatures, and the health and sex of hatchlings to help understand how environmental conditions affect nesting success and to stop the decline of green sea turtles.

Similar research is conducted to help sea turtles in Trinidad, Barbados, Costa Rica and Florida, US.

Earthwatch has a number of other projects aimed at saving threatened species and endangered habitats. The charity also conducts research to investigate human/wildlife conflicts, climate change and sustainable resource management.