1 Week

2 Weeks

1 Week

2 Weeks

RM 999 nett

RM 1,799 nett

RM 1,500 nett

RM 2,250 nett

Additional Week

Additional Week

RM 900 nett

RM 900 nett

Malaysia

Week 1 - Bubbles Dive Resort, Pulau Perhentian Besar, Malaysia.

Week 2+ - Perhentian Village, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

14 days / 13 nights

Every Monday starting from 14th March 2011 til October 3rd

March 14th ; 21st ; 28th
April 4th ; 11th ; 18th ; 25th
May 2nd ; 9th ; 16th ; 23rd ; 30th
June  6th ;  13th ; 20th ; 27th      
July 4th ; 11th ; 18th ; 25th
August   1st ;  8th;  15th ;  22nd ;  29th
September 5th ; 12th ;  19th ; 26th 
October 3rd  (1 weeker only)

Intro Week
You will be starting your program at Bubbles Dive Resort where you will learn about sea turtles, coral reefs and the forest of the Perhentian islands. Each day you will learn about a new topic, be given a task related about the topic and then you will be expected to present your findings on this topic to the rest of the group. Telling people about environmental issues is key to conservation and this is why we encourage you from the start to present to the rest of the group. What you learn in the first week will help you make the most of your following weeks. You will also patrol the sea turtle nesting beach at night and talking to the guests about sea turtle conservation. After this week you should be ready to teach villagers, tourists and the children about marine conservation.

Staying in the village.
The volunteers loved spending time in the village in 2010 and the villagers started to see how they benefited financially from protecting the turtles. Therefore in 2011 after the intro week you will be based in the village providing direct financial benefits to the villagers. It is so important the villagers see financial benefits from a healthy sea turtle population and its this which will stimulate protection for turtles amongst the villagers.

Protecting Pinang Seribu.
The beach at Pinang Seribu is only 50m long but with over 150 turtle nests per year it is the main beach for sea turtle nestings in the Perhentian Islands. On a rota system each night volunteers will guard this beach and collect data about the nesting turtles. The volunteers are assisting the Department of Fisheries by collecting this data and the sheer presence of volunteers deters turtle egg poachers. Volunteers will be accompanied by Help Our Penyu staff and a villager and will be sleeping in tents among the rocks at the edge of the beach. The beach is beautiful and an early morning snorkel is a must.

Turtles Need Trees club.
We had such great success with our fortnightly Turtles Need Trees Club in our pilot year (2010) that we are expanding the program to be run on a weekly basis for four grades, ages 7 to 13 years old. The club is a great way to engage the local school children on the island and help them to not only develop a love for the marine and island environment but also give them the chance to improve their English.

Info Booth
Tourists are one of the biggest problems for sea turtles in the Perhentian Islands. Tourists often do not realise the impact of their actions on the turtle and other marine life. By educating the tourists about sea turtle and marine conservation you will help to reduce the following conflicts – harassing turtles (in the sea and whilst nesting), encouraging improper conduct (paying to release turtle hatchlings) and standing on corals.  The info booth is basic and portable so we can move to different beaches around the island.  We engage the tourists in fun activities and competitions like sand building contests and short quizzes.  By providing fun and engaging activities the tourists will become more passionate regarding marine conservation.

Scuba Diving
Why not take this opportunity to explore the underwater world on its own terms? The Perhentian waters are warm, clear and have an abundance of marine life. You can learn to scuba dive with our trusted professional PADI dive Centre in the Perhentians. The cost of scuba diving is not included in the volunteering costs. If you have already qualified you can take leisure dives in the morning whilst you volunteer. If you dive numerous times the cost per dive decreases.

Perhentian
The Perhentian Islands are renowned as being the most beautiful islands in Malaysia and welcome droves of tourists and backpackers each year. The waters are crystal clear and turquoise whilst the forests are lush green and teeming with life.

Your second week will be spent in the isolated bay of Tantung Tukah, which was HOPE’s first project site, at Bubbles Dive Resort and Centre. Bubbles is a resort which wants to spread its love of nature to its tourists. The resort was started by Ronnie, Pei See and Eric Ng who still run the resort along with two Aussies - Libby and Shrimpy (Eric). The beauty and the isolation from the outside world of the bay attracted them; it is undoubtedly the most beautiful bay in the Perhentian Islands. Another attraction was the Green Turtles which can be seen nesting on the beaches from March to September, with turtles nesting most nights May until July. Turtle hatchlings are released from June to October.

The project has the backing of all four major stakeholders – the villagers, the Perhentian Islands Operators Association, Marine Park and the Department of Fisheries. Through collaborating with all the stakeholders this project is truly a sea turtle community conservation project supported by of course our volunteers and facebook fans. The local community (villagers and tourists) are the main cause for turtle declines in the Perhentian Islands and this project aims at rectifying the problems they cause to these majestic creatures.

Aim of the Perhentian Turtle conservation Project
To double the turtle nesting population by 2060 in the Perhentian Islands
Objectives:

Ensure 100% of turtle eggs being laid in the islands are incubated safely with a hatching success rate of +80% and the collect of vital sea turtle population data;

Educate the various stakeholders about sea turtle and island conservation with focus on school children and tourists;

Collaborate with all major stakeholders – Perhentian village, Perhentian Islands Operators Association, Marine Parks, the Department of Fisheries and other related NGO’s and education institutions;.

Achievements in 2010 (pilot year)

Eliminated all poaching on one turtle nesting beach in Perhentian;

Encouraged the local egg collectors working for the Department of Fisheries to use polystyrene boxes to transport turtle eggs to the government hatchery – increasing the turtle hatchling success rate;

Educated the primary school children of Perhentian during our fortnightly Turtles need Trees Clubs;

Over 4,000 facebook fans which we regularly update and educate about sea turtle conservation and topics;

What we plan for 2011

Eliminate poaching from two turtle nesting beaches in Perhentian and collecting relevant data;

Inject RM100,000 into the village economy through our Perhentian turtle conservation volunteer program – demonstrating to the villagers in Perhentian that they can make money directly from a healthy sea turtle population;

Expand the Turtles Need Trees Club to be weekly and to accommodate 100 children;

Increase awareness amongst tourists throughout the Perhentian islands and at work places and universities in Malaysia;

Establish the start of a self-help group in the Perhentian village promoting self-initiated alternative livelihoods and conservation amongst the villagers in Perhentian;

10,000 facebook fans which we regularly educate about sea turtle conservation and topics

The sea turtles of Malaysia are becoming extinct species by species.  Malaysia was once famed for its Leatherback Turtles but now the largest sea turtle species are virtually extinct from Malaysian waters, two other species of sea turtle the Olive Ridley and the Hawksbill are in a similar situation. Only the Green turtles have a significant population but have still suffered a significant population decline of 80% between .

YOU can help save the SEA TURTLES of Terengganu by being a turtle volunteer with HOPE in Terengganu.

Help Our Penyu, HOPE, is as of 24th of August, 2010 a registered society and non-profit organization in Malaysia (Reg. No. 2103-10-WKL) which through community-based turtle volunteer projects and outreach programs empowers Malaysians to act and save the sea turtles of Terengganu state for future generations.

Turtle conservation via turtle volunteer projects is a favoured way to protect turtles as running hatcheries are labour and fund intensive.  HOPE works in partnership with the Malaysian government providing the much needed manpower and funds to protect these special creatures

Arrive in Kuala Besut before midday, meet facilitator and travel to island. Cool off with a snorkel then a program brief and Malay sit-down dinner (L, D)

Relaxing morning with only a beach clean. Take your first malay language lesson and after lunch listen to a turtle talk. You will be set a small task about sea turtles which you will present the following day. After dinner, start your first turtle watch duties (8pm til 3am then 3am til 8am). (B, L, D)

Snorkel tour at 9am to allow you to see different types of coral. Lunch is followed by the presentation of your turtle task. Then learn about the corals you saw today and conduct a coral watch survey. After the survey you will be set a small task relating to corals. After dinner volunteers talk to the new guests about sea turtles. Turtle watch duties at night (B. L, D).

Same as Wednesday but present your relevant task in the morning at 11am followed by Malay Language lessons. After lunch learn about either the fish or forest you have seen over the past few days, followed by related tasks. Evening dinner is followed by talks given to the tourists by the volunteers. Turtle watch duties at night (B. L, D)

Follow normal routine presenting a task to the group. The weekends are the busy period for the resort so this will be your chance to interact more with the guests. You may be asked to help lead water confidence sessions, forest walks or organize educational games for any children. In the evening the turtle talks are followed by a marine documentary for example Sharkwater. Turtle watch duties at night (B. L, D)

Take a much needed day off before you head to the village. (B, L, D)

Follow a morning boat to the village. Have lunch with the village co-ordinators and listen to a program brief. Settle into your new surroundings before the first group head off to Pinang Seribu to protect the most popular turtle nesting beach in Perhentian. Non-turtle watch group relax in the village. (B, L, D)

Non-turtle watch volunteers host an info booth in the village (11am til 2pm) talking to any passing tourists and villagers about sea turtle and marine conservation. In the afternoon prepare for the TnT club which you will run at the local primary school. In the early evening (depending on tide) the turtle watch group head off to Pinang Seribu. (B, L, D)

Final prep for the school club in the morning then run the relative club between 2-5pm. Turtle watch group head off to Pinang Seribu (B, L, D)

Group heads off to a popular tourist beach to host the info booth from 10am to 6pm. Run sea animal sand building contests, quizzes and other activities to engage the tourists in marine conservation. Turtle watch duties at night (B. L, D)

Volunteers staying for 2 weeks take a midday boat back to the mainland with continuing volunteers heading off to another popular beach resort hosting the info booth. (B, L, D)

New volunteers arrive at the village whilst current volunteers take a day off. New volunteers to do turtle watch at Pinang Seribu. (B, L, D)

Follow the same schedule from day 9

Project Days & Activity Description

PROJECT DAYS are days where participants will contribute towards conservation via various means.  You will join the following activities:

Intro Week
You will be starting your program at Bubbles Dive Resort where you will learn about sea turtles, coral reefs and the forest of the Perhentian islands. Each day you will learn about a new topic, be given a task related about the topic and then you will be expected to present your findings on this topic to the rest of the group. Telling people about environmental issues is key to conservation and this is why we encourage you from the start to present to the rest of the group. What you learn in the first week will help you make the most of your following weeks. You will also patrol the sea turtle nesting beach at night and talking to the guests about sea turtle conservation. After this week you should be ready to teach villagers, tourists and the children about marine conservation.

Staying in the village.
The volunteers loved spending time in the village in 2010 and the villagers started to see how they benefited financially from protecting the turtles. Therefore in 2011 after the intro week you will be based in the village providing direct financial benefits to the villagers. It is so important the villagers see financial benefits from a healthy sea turtle population and its this which will stimulate protection for turtles amongst the villagers.

Protecting Pinang Seribu.
The beach at Pinang Seribu is only 50m long but with over 150 turtle nests per year it is the main beach for sea turtle nestings in the Perhentian Islands. On a rota system each night volunteers will guard this beach and collect data about the nesting turtles. The volunteers are assisting the Department of Fisheries by collecting this data and the sheer presence of volunteers deters turtle egg poachers. Volunteers will be accompanied by Help Our Penyu staff and a villager and will be sleeping in tents among the rocks at the edge of the beach. The beach is beautiful and an early morning snorkel is a must.

Turtles Need Trees club.
We had such great success with our fortnightly Turtles Need Trees Club in our pilot year (2010) that we are expanding the program to be run on a weekly basis for four grades, ages 7 to 13 years old. The club is a great way to engage the local school children on the island and help them to not only develop a love for the marine and island environment but also give them the chance to improve their English.

Info Booth
Tourists are one of the biggest problems for sea turtles in the Perhentian Islands. Tourists often do not realise the impact of their actions on the turtle and other marine life. By educating the tourists about sea turtle and marine conservation you will help to reduce the following conflicts – harassing turtles (in the sea and whilst nesting), encouraging improper conduct (paying to release turtle hatchlings) and standing on corals.  The info booth is basic and portable so we can move to different beaches around the island.  We engage the tourists in fun activities and competitions like sand building contests and short quizzes.  By providing fun and engaging activities the tourists will become more passionate regarding marine conservation.

Scuba Diving
Why not take this opportunity to explore the underwater world on its own terms? The Perhentian waters are warm, clear and have an abundance of marine life. You can learn to scuba dive with our trusted professional PADI dive Centre in the Perhentians. The cost of scuba diving is not included in the volunteering costs. If you have already qualified you can take leisure dives in the morning whilst you volunteer. If you dive numerous times the cost per dive decreases.