Sea Turtles & Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea: biology & conservation

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1 Sea Turtles & Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea: biology & conservation Puglia (Italy)- By

2 GreenRope born in the heart of Puglia (Italy) from passion and from the energy of ideas of a group of young people. Our local and European projects are based, overall, in the protection and conservation of the environment and biodiversity and in the topic of sustainable development. We want to achieve a dream: we want to give values to our territories, doing the first step to create a better future and a better world for us and for our society. We want to increase awareness of people and we want to spread the voice of positive messages thanks to concrete actions, active participations and due to formal and non-formal education. #The key-words of GreenRope mission: preservation of environment and biodiversity, education, research, scientific information, slowfood, fairtrade, ecotourism, sustainable development, give values to local territories. To know more about us and to take a look of our activities, please visit: And to know more about the previous edition of the Summer School, take a look at Dear participants, This project, this first summer school, was born in 2014 with the first edition. It was born to give the opportunity to young people to live an unforgettable experience, to be part of passionate and scientific teams focused on the study and conservation of these wonderful animals on the beautiful coasts of Puglia, our region. Here, you will work day by day with experienced researchers and volunteers, you will be strictly in contact with Sea Turtles and Cetaceans, you will live a ten days experience as volunteer, as researcher. Your learning outcomes will not only linked to scientific staff. You will live for 10 days with young people from all over the world. You will share your experiences, your life with them. You will be richer and richer every day more. Me, Stefano, I am and I will be everyday so excited for this project as I am everyday when I go close to the sea, smelling the perfume of the water, or on the boat studying dolphins or to make Sea Turtles return to live free into the deep blue. The first edition has been really successful and we can t wait to realize this second incredible edition. Me & all the GreenRope staff will be ready to offer you our passion for this world to live an incredible experience. We are going to live a dream, all together. We are waiting for you! ;) See you in Puglia! GreenRope coordinator-project Director 2

3 THE PROJECT The International Summer School Sea Turtles & Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea: Biology & Conservation will take place in Puglia (Apulia) from 3rd to 12th of August 2015 and it will involve 8 participants from all over the world. It will be a unique and great opportunity for young people to live a 10 days experience in contact with the world of marine biology: research centers, experts, volunteers, students of other countries, cetaceans, sea turtles, participating in the scientific and volunteering activities. The working language and the lessons will be in English, so, it can be an opportunity to improve your language skills. All of the activities will take place in Puglia, one of the most beautiful region of Italy and one of the most important for the natural treasures and because it is an hot-spot of biodiversity, because of the high number of species and because of the high level of human impact. In our region (Puglia) we have 43 Nature Reserves. At this link you can take a look and have information about all the areas: The great aspect of our summer school is that we will involve in the activities not only one location but we will involve more territories (Bari, Taranto, Salento) and the 2 coasts and the 2 seas of Puglia, the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea. 3

4 We believe that our summer school has to be an original and unique experience, so, we will be focused on practical activities for all the time. In the first days, there will be 4 theoretical lessons of 2 hours in the accommodation but every day the participants will be involved in practical activities with the Sea Turtles Recovering Center and we are going to realize 2 day-trip in the Ionian Sea on the boat Taras of the Jonian Dolphin Research Center participating in their activities of research and dolphin-watching. An important aspect of our summer school is that we will not realize a fixed daily time table of activities because in summer, on our coast, we have to be ready to implement the activities everywhere, moving from one place to another because we can t plan where Sea Turtles can go to create a nest or we can t predict where we should go to save them. We will be really flexible and we are planning to move in all the areas interested by these animals more or less on the whole Puglia region. THE ACTIVITIES The activities that we are going to realize in the Summer School will be: Practical-theoretical lessons of biology, ethology and methodologies to study and preserve Cetaceans and Sea Turtles Participation in the activities of the Sea Turtle Recovery Center (opening, divulgation, equipment maintenance) Dolphin & Whale watching activities to study and observe Cetaceans and participating in the research activities Liberation of Sea Turtles ready to go back to freedom Support the staff in the activities with Sea Turtles in care Monitoring the beach even at night in search of new eggs depositions Monitoring and protect nests and assistance to the hatching of the eggs Monitoring the costs for rescue and first aid activities Increase awareness and spreading information between tourists and fishermen Working with young people from all over the world 4

5 Experts & Research Centers The lessons and the activities will be implemented by: Stefano Bellomo, coordinator of GreenRope and environmental biologist President, Board & Volunteers of the WWF Taranto Researchers & Volunteers of Jonian Dolphin Conservation of Taranto ( 5

6 Something about Sea Turtles & Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea Y INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL y 19 species of cetaceans can be encountered; 8 of them are considered common: Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), long finned Pilot whale (Globicephala melas), Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), while 4 are occasional (Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Killer whale (Orcinus orca), False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens), Rough toothed dolphin (Steno bredanesis), and 6 accidental, alien to the Mediterranean, but occasionally sighted in the last 120 years (among them the Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). In the Mediterranean Sea there are 3 species on 7 of Sea Turtles: loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). The most common species that the participants will meet and that will work with are: Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) With the classic dolphin shape, the striped dolphin s most remarkable feature is the distinctive pattern of blue and white stripes along the body. It is mainly blue with a white to light grey stripe following the spine. The sides are darker than the belly. The beak is fairly long and prominent, the dorsal fin is tall, and the flippers are long and narrow with black stripes. The loggerhead is one of the most widespread of all the marine turtles and also the most highly migratory, with individuals known to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This turtle's common name comes from its relatively large head, which contains powerful jaws. The carapace of the adult turtle is a reddish-brown colour, whilst the underneath (or plastron) is more yellow in appearance. 6

7 Accomodation & Food Participants and 2 GreenRope Staff Members will live in this 2 floors house situated in Capurso (10 minutes from Bari). It has a large living room, an open kitchen, 2 balconies, a garden, two toilets with showers and 4 bedrooms. Sheets, pillow and blankets are provided. Internet access will be available in the house. Supermarkets, banks and all other services are reachable by walking. Food will be provided and prepared by GreenRope staff. Every evening participants are going to have dinner in the accommodation, at lunch, sometimes participants will eat outside, following the activities. In this case, they will be provided of packed lunch or food ticket to have lunch. The food provided will be typical Italian food and it will respect the traditions of Mediterranean cuisine that for its qualities and healthy values has received an Unesco heritage award. Volunteers and researchers will engage in housekeeping stuff (on rotation). Some night we may sleep in tents according to the activities of monitoring the beach for the nesting of Sea Turtles. We will provide comfortable tents but it s necessary to bring with you your own sleeping bag for these nights on the beach. Please alert us about any special dietary requirements (e.g. diabetes, lactose intolerance or other serious food allergies and needs) writing it in the application form. 7

8 Fee & Costs The participation fee is 450 and it includes all the activities linked to the summer school (lessons, accommodation, food, all the transportations for the activities, boat-trips, subscription to GreenRope). You can choose to pay 250 within June 20 th and the rest part within July 15 th. The method of payment is bank transfer. After the selection we are going to give you all the details of the bank account by . Pay attention: in case of not participation, any of the payments are not refundable. Participants have to pay on their own the travel costs to Bari. How to apply Download the application form that you find at this link: Fill it in all its parts and send it by to Deadline: June 2 nd Publication of selection s result: June 3 rd (the results will be published on our website and we will contact you by , giving you more detailed information about your coming here like suggestions about things to bring with you) Selection criteria: o Age: o Good knowledge of English (the lessons and the working language will be in English) o Good motivation and previous experiences in this field o Predisposition to live in contact with nature, animals and to spend several hours on a boat o Aptitude to live with other young people It s not necessary to be student of biology or natural science. This project is open to everyone: passionate people for the Sea, for the animals; people ready to live an unforgettable adventure, a volunteering experience in South Italy Travel suggestions We suggest you to visit skyscanner.net to find your best way to connect you to Bari by airplane. You can also arrive to Rome or Brindisi and then choose the bus or train connection to Bari. Bari has also a good connection by ferry boat. If you need help for your travel arrangements contact us by mail and we are going to help you with all the travel info that you need. We are going to pick you up from the airport/stations/harbour when you arrive in Bari. 8

9 Leisure activities After the activities, the participants are free and we are going to suggest you some places to visit that are close to our accommodation, full of young people and tourists during summer-time, to have fun and relax after one full day of activities. Bari Polignano a Mare 9

10 Porto Cesareo Taranto and, honestly, we should continue for hundreds of pages to show you all the beautiful and magic places of our loved region. We invite you to watch this video about our region: If you have any questions, we are ready to help you. Contact us by at: CAN T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN SOUTH ITALY!!!! Stefano Bellomo & GreenRope Staff 10