Jun

Our Latest News- June 22, 2026

Argostoli Field Station

Over the past couple of weeks, our Argostoli nest count has surpassed 30! With many more nests to come, our volunteers are ready and excited to get out there and get stuck into digging and finding those emergences. We have relocated over 20 of these nests to a safer, more suitable location, giving them the best chance of survival when they hatch in a couple of months.

We have had 2 rescues recently, both of which were rescued and released in the harbour. Our first rescue was Roberta, who was spotted by Panos from Argostoli Lagoon Activities after becoming entangled in a treble hook. All 3 treble hooks pierced the skin around her flipper, causing severe discomfort. The lure was carefully removed, and thanks to the effort of our team and volunteers, Roberta is fishing lure-free and on the road to recovery! The second rescue is another one of our known turtles, Osprey, who had a line and hook entanglement and was spotted by one of our volunteers with the line trailing behind. Osprey was rescued with the help of our drones, and both hooks that had pierced his rear flipper area were removed. He was released shortly after and is also expected to make a full recovery!

We are very thankful to our vigilant volunteers and staff for spotting any injuries, as well as the public for supporting us in this; we could not do it without your support!

On top of that, our volunteers have also completed a total of over 50 beach cleans across the whole of the season! We thank everyone who has helped us achieve this; our nesting beaches are ready for our females to lay their nests and soon for hatchlings to make their way to sea in a couple of months!

Skala Field Station

After a total of 14 drone surveys conducted, they identified 32 different tracks, which equated to a total of 3 nests! (Not to mention they saw some impressive sunrises.) They also managed to swim a total of 5.7 km during snorkel surveys, resulting in 4,770 photos of the seafloor being taken, all of which the group did an amazing job of categorising.

The group also collected an impressive amount of trash, with a total of 689 pieces collected over the past two weeks. This has helped our nesting beaches become a safer environment for all the turtles as they navigate their way towards nesting.

As well as this, the group conducted the first light pollution surveys of the season. This information is extremely valuable at this time of year, as it helps us understand and identify patterns in nesting turtle behaviour and allows us to relocate any nests to safer areas of the beach.

During their last week, our volunteers also participated in a local Greek Night. It was an amazing evening! We all danced, sang, smashed plates and ate our hearts out – definitely a night to remember!

Svoronata Field Station

It’s been a very exciting couple of weeks at the Svoronata Field Station!
The volunteers have been working really hard during sand dune surveys, finding and analysing multiple quadrats. So far, 53 different species have been identified, with our newest group of volunteers already classifying a further 8 more within their first 2 days! Interestingly, we have also discovered 2 unknown species at Saint Nick’s beach.

Our volunteers have also continued snorkel surveys on Megali Ammos and Minies beach, and next week we will start surveying a new beach in our area – Saint Nicks. We have ticked off several exciting species on our snorkel bingo. During our bird survey at Ancient Krani, the team managed to spot a rare purple heron. It was very exciting to tick this off on the bird bingo!

The volunteers have also been participating in our new and very exciting turtle nesting habitat exploration shifts. So far, they have found the area’s first nest. Everyone worked together to identify the tracks and to locate and protect the eggs. Our volunteers showed enthusiasm and dedication to finding and protecting all the nests on these remote beaches, and have been eager to learn more about sea turtle nesting. They have also taken part in a new workshop comparing different factors that impact sea turtle nesting and hatchery success on the urban and remote beaches that we survey.

A week with lots of firsts for our coastal project, everyone is really eager to learn and discover even more as the season progresses!

Education Program

The Education Program has officially begun for the 2026 season, and is off to a fantastic start! The Lourdas survey area now has 10 protected nests, 8 of which were carefully relocated by the team. By relocating nests to the wider, quieter Kanali beach, we ensure that they are safer from threats such as inundation and light pollution, giving the eggs the best chance at development and hatching. Recently, one morning survey involved two relocations totalling 254 eggs! We are also grateful to have excellent support from our Lourdas Team volunteers.

A recent volunteer group at the Education Program were lucky enough to witness a nesting female on Lourdas beach on their first morning survey shift. They then had the opportunity to watch the nest be relocated safely to Kanali. The groups have thrown themselves into the shifts with much enthusiasm, identifying many local fish species, including a ray, while on snorkel surveys. On harbour surveys, groups have successfully recorded many foraging events and interactions between turtles. One harbour survey group were very helpful with tracking a potentially injured turtle with a line entanglement. Presentations have been successful so far, with all groups excited to get involved with workshops. We are looking forward to a busy and exciting season here at the Education Program.

Lixouri Field Station

In the last two weeks, Lixouri field station has been busy with 106 emergences, which resulted in 25 nests across 9 of our nesting beaches! With Kounopetra, Koutala, Vrancinari, and Vatsa all having their first nest of the season. Out of these nests, 19 have been relocated due to reasons such as nesting next to sunbeds and egg chambers including clay. In the last week, we said goodbye to our second group of volunteers and welcomed our third, who have participated in rounders, the quiz, and henna night! They were also lucky enough to see a dual relocation of Megas Lakkos in their first few days, with one of these nests spotted by the night survey team! With the dedication of our volunteers, we have conducted beach profiles and cleanups across 4 of our beaches!

In the last two weeks, the night survey team has seen 10 turtle nests, half of them being newly tagged! One turtle, Trina, was tagged in 2016 and hasn’t been seen for 10 years until 14th June!