My first impression of the place was that it was serene and peaceful. The moment the team and I set foot on the remote Island we could feel our excitement build up as we prepared for the next 15 days to come. We started to follow the small rocky roads that lead us through the forest and other stunning landscapes. This trip gave me many memories to cherish: taking a close look at the sea turtle egg hatcheries, our first dinner as a team, and sitting together and sharing stories about nature and wildlife. These have been experiences that have meant a lot to me as a biology student.

What I remember most was the first night we stayed up to guard the mother sea turtle. With three other team members, I sat on a big rock under the shining moonlight. We waited and waited until the night was almost over, with no luck of spotting a sea turtle. Just when we were about to fall asleep, I heard a noise that sounded like a dinosaur coming out from the water, a moving black shadow, her shell was wet and reflected in the silver light of the moon. We could hear her breathe louder and clearer as she gradually moved closer to the sand to find a good spot for her nest. We held our breath as we watched her slowly crawl by a nearby rock, just a half a meter distance from us. That was a very special moment for a first time volunteer like me.

Although I had travelled to many places during some volunteer activities at my university, the trip to Con Dao National Park was my first time visiting the island and I was the youngest on the team. Every night after dinner we climbed to the roof of the forest ranger station and spent time stargazing together. We listened to Ha, another volunteer explaining about astronomy, and we talked about life, careers and our loved ones with the forest rangers. We shared our thoughts on different things, how humans are treating nature, and the dedication of forest rangers who give so much to protect the safety of sea turtles – the ambassadors of the ocean. I realize that I have grown through my experiences in making new friends and working together in a team, and most importantly working with people who share the same love for nature and the ocean.

After the trip I made a risky but important decision: to stop my studies at university. I realized that these field trips had brought me far more experiences than the time I spent in the lab working through numbers and data at school. At that time, we started to entertain the idea of creating a sea turtle fanpage in Vietnam.

Currently the page has over 1,300 followers with frequent updates of information and photos. Every day, reading comments and messages from the Facebook community and listening to their turtle-related stories such as successful rescues, gives me great joy before going to my job. Although the fanpage is nonprofit and doesn’t have a big audience, the team and I have no intention of giving it up. We all wish to contribute part of our efforts, however slight, towards spreading awareness and understanding of the amazing sea creatures and the need to stop the hunting of sea turtles and their eggs.

Story from Lam Hung Loc – a volunteer in Con Dao in 2015