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 Since 1983, the primary objective of Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece has been to protect the sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through monitoring and research, developing and implementing management plans, habitat restoration, raising public awareness and rehabilitating sick and injured turtles. Casa Tortuga sponsored Danielle to volunteer at Archelon in Glyfada in early 2007.
Villasana had many life-changing experiences as a volunteer. “I liked that during my time at Archelon I was able to help in the healing process of injured animals. I also enjoyed the atmosphere of living with other volunteers from all over Europe and working together as a team to heal the animals” she said. Days at Archelon were far from typical. Each day would begin by looking at the schedule of the daily duties for each turtle. The duties included cleaning the turtle and its tank, administering shots and medicine, cleaning wounds and reapplying medication as well as feeding and preparing food, weighing the turtles and in some cases, tube feeding the turtles.
 Day in and day out, Danielle bonded with the animals and the people of Greece, where Archelon is located. Though each turtle was no doubt special to each of the volunteers, Danielle remembers one turtle in particular and her experiences with it. “There was one turtle, Aloma, who was one of our bigger ones and who had been sick for a long time. She had been back to the center a couple of times for various reasons and everyone had lost hope in her recovery except one volunteer who really believed that she would heal. Debbie was very connected to Aloma and would spend a lot of her time sitting and watching her and sending her energy through positive thoughts, touch and observation. I don't know if Aloma is still alive or not, but I was really amazed by Debbie's belief in her recovery and her accounts of other animals that she had helped in the past” she said.
Danielle wrote weekly e-mails to Casa Tortuga during her volunteer assignment. In one, she talked about a turtle who arrived at the facility whose head injury was ore severe than anything she had ever seen. Danielle wrote, “practically ¼ of his head looked like it had been scooped out.” When asked about what events like this did to the morale of both Archelon and herself, she said, “I was mostly in awe of the turtle and a little shocked because it was the first time I had seen one brought to the center and brought in such a bad condition. It was pretty amazing”, she said, “all of the volunteers were working to get the turtle comfortable and there was a genuine feeling of concern and purpose and admiration for him. I saw every turtle there as a little piece of hope and yes, every turtle that was rescued from the water (and most often it was because a tourist or someone on the beach called the center) was a reiteration of the importance of Archelon and all conservation organizations.”
 An animal lover and conservationist, Danielle admitted that she has gained more awareness and consciousness about the delicacy of the eco-system. She also admits that much of the battle is education. “A lot of Archelon's work was in educating the public about these creatures and trying to work with the fishermen in helping to preserve the turtles, which I believe to be extremely important. If you teach someone about something as opposed to pointing the blame then they are more likely to care about your cause and work with you towards a positive future” she said.
Danielle believes that by being active in the community, schools and tourism, a difference can be made in educating the public. After that, it is up to people to get involved in any way that they can. “I think that it first starts with teaching people about wildlife and our planet. Once that has been instilled then I think people will reach out on their own to find ways that they can help, either through work as a volunteer for an organization or buying environmentally safe products, or donating money through adoption programs” she says. “This kind of genuine care and consciousness will go a long way.”
For more information on Archelon, visit www.archelon.gr
To see the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles (MEDASSET) update report on marine turtle conservation in Zakynthos, Greece 2007, click here.
Make a donation to help Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, through Casa Tortuga's Community Outreach Project!
images copyright © Archelon
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