On January 4, a cohort of Mizzou Service Learning students will embark on an annual global service trip to Costa Rica to aid in a sea turtle conservation and protection program coordinated by ASVO (Asociación de Voluntarios para el Servicio en Áreas Protegidas de Costa Rica). Organizations and NGOs in Costa Rica value volunteers due to staff shortages and budget shortfalls in protected areas and working with wildlife.

Service students participate in consist of:

• Participating in beach and community clean-up efforts

• Staffing the turtle hatchery

• Monitoring the hatchery nests

• Interacting with tourists and locals to provide information about the sea turtle population

• Collecting data when turtles hatch and releasing baby turtles into the ocean