By Paige Dunlop
For my Ocean Science and Marine Conservation degree dissertation project, I am investigating the correlation between the characteristics of the Tiga Ruang beach, and the location of Green Turtle nests.
Working with the Perhentian Turtle Project (PTP) has given me access to over 5 years of daily nesting data to analyse. In addition, PTP offered me the amazing experience of traveling out to the islands for a personal experience of their conservation efforts. For three weeks in July 2019 I traveled to the islands and joined the interns and volunteers with their daily activities of kayak surveys, turtle patrols, hiking, and snorkeling.
The project was very accommodating to my independent research plans by adapting my timetable. This enabled me to optimize my time on the nesting beach, but also support their activities and take advantage of all the experiences I was exposed to. As a solo traveler I met people from all over the world who all share the same passion for turtle conservation. On my first day I felt instantly welcomed into the team as I arrived on the ferry, settling my nerves and helping me to feel comfortable away from home.
I would recommend working with the Perhentian Turtle Project to any undergraduate student who is looking for a once in a life time experience and extensive nesting and photo-ID data sets.
Stay tuned to find out the results of Paige's dissertation!