What happened in the world of ARCHELON in 2023?
January
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The Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Glyfada, Athens was already quite busy on the first month of the year with 6 arrivals of injured and sick loggerhead turtles.
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On January 20th and 21st, ARCHELON hosted at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Glyfada, the 2nd Workshop "Creating a Cooperation Network of Organizations Active in the Care of Wild Animals in Greece". This project is implemented within the framework of the Active Citizens Fund program, which is part of the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA), and has as its vision to promote closer and more effective cooperation between the organizations involved in the care of wild animals in Greece. There with other wildlife organizations, we discussed various common concerns and attended interesting talks on wildlife welfare and rehabilitation.
February
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Have you ever wondered what is going on in one of ARCHELON’s Sea Turtle Protection projects? We got a taste of the life of an ARCHELON volunteer at the Rethymno Project with the new short film by EyeQ Productions. What will you do this summer? Is it your turn to save the sea turtles? Watch the movie and learn more about ARCHELON’s sea turtle protection projects here.
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Knowledge and experience regarding the treatment and care of injured and sick sea turtles is increasing worldwide. This led to a workshop on February 11th and 12th on modern methods of rescue and care for sea turtles. The workshop was hosted by ARCHELON and the help of Wildlife Vets International, a non-profit organization from Britain, which has been supporting ARCHELON with educational visits from specialized scientists, as well as with medical and pharmaceutical material since 2019.
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On February 20, we got together at Impact Hub in Athens for the Presentation of the Results of the 2022 actions! After two years of online presentations due to the pandemic, we finally managed to meet the friends and members of ARCHELON in person.
March
We welcomed ‘Tortellini’ at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Athens, another case of a sea turtle with a severe carapace injury caused by a boat propeller.
April
The Field Leaders got ready for the new turtle season and attended the online training seminar on April 25-28 before they arrived at the nesting beaches.
Are you an experienced volunteer? Come back to the sea turtle conservation as a leader! Read all about it here!
May
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On the 5th of May, we waved goodbye to the Project Managers and the Field leaders for the nesting beaches!
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On Saturday, May 27, the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Rescue Centre looked different from all other days of the year because it welcomed hundreds of young and old visitors for the Turtle Festival 2023!
June
On June 9th, the Kastoria Environmental Protection Society hosted the closing event of the project "Collaboration Network of Organizations Active in the Care of Wild Animals in Greece". As part of the event, the members of the Network agreed and signed a code of conduct about the care, welfare, and reintegration of wild animals they care for. It is worth looking back on what Daphne Mavrogiorgos, the Director of ARCHELON said about the Project coming to an end. “The project is completed, but our alliance does not stop here. The organizations that are members of the network will continue the cooperation in the next period because there are still issues that we need to work on and discuss."
July
On the 4th and 5th of July the partner organizations of the project “Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Mediterranean Region” met for the 9th Steering Committee Meeting. The meeting was organized by SPA/RAC in the area of Kyparissia Bay, Greece in collaboration with ARCHELON. The partners, which are NGOS and regional organizations that work for sea turtle conservation across the Mediterranean, informed each other about their activities and plans and agreed on specific actions to sustain the partnership and the conservation activities around the Mediterranean.
August
- World record of reproductive life for a loggerhead sea turtle in Zakynthos! The lucky turtle, first spotted in Zakynthos in 1986 and given the name Gaia, was once again recorded by ARCHELON's trained researchers/volunteers nesting on Sekania beach in Zakynthos this year, thus confirming a full 37 years of reproductive activity.
- The European Commission arrived at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Glyfada and at Kyparissia Bay to learn more about the conservation of sea turtles in the Mediterranean. Watch the whole episode [here](https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/08/29/saving-lives-in-the-mediterranean-one-turtle-or-dolphin-at-a-time?fbclid=IwAR2yjqxFbbXT5uXDICAiW7Rn4R84L6X3s6lUvZ8QLOpti6eq0cBU12vRIWM
September
- The ARCHELON Rescue Centre welcomed once again our small friends with the beginning of the new school year.
- After 3 years of rehabilitation the moment of Lilo’s release arrived. He was transported to a quiet beach in Attica, where the ARCHELON team said goodbye to him. Lilo, with quick splashes, had finally returned to his home, the sea… Watch Lilo’s release back to the sea here.
October
Another successful reproductive season for sea turtles has come to an end and the Project Managers, Field Leaders and volunteers of ARCHELON packed up the research stations from the nesting beaches and returned to the Rescue Centre.
November
On November 8th ARCHELON celebrated 40 years of action at the Benaki Museum in Athens! Watch the whole video here and read more about it here 2023 ended with warm messages from the turtle community, friends, and supporters. We hope that the new year will bring alliances between organizations, better management in the protected areas and the will to contribute.
Happy new year!
ARCHELON has been running a special hospital for sea turtles with tanks and impressive old train wagons for 30 years in Glyfada
Assuming responsibility for the environment brings more meaning into our lives
RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS26/04/2024
Protecting sea turtles in Rethymno- Our Ocean, an Ocean of Potential
The 9th International Conference "Our Ocean", which was held in Athens from April 15 to 17, was successfully completed. ARCHELON had the honor to actively take part in the conference and hosted a side event.
- OUR NEWS12/04/2024
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The meeting, which took place on April 5, 2024, in the building of the Regional Unit of Rethymno, touched upon key issues, such as the observance of conservation measures for the protection of the Loggerhead sea turtle. Given the tourist activity on the nesting beaches, the active participation of the tourism sector in the implementation of the measures is necessary.
- OUR NEWS10/04/2024
"Tourists and turtles?" The environmental awareness campaign of ARCHELON spreads to the nesting beaches of the Loggerhead sea turtle
After the pandemic, ARCHELON - the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece - is once again mobilizing on the path to sustainable tourism. The aim of the new campaign is to provide information on the appropriate code of conduct for visitors to all nesting beaches, in cooperation with the tourism sector.
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LIFE MareNatura - The largest marine biodiversity program in Greece
- OUR NEWS03/04/2024
Citizens inform us of sea turtle strandings
ARCHELON started the effort to record the incidents of dead turtles washing up on the Greek shores in 1992. In recent years there has been an increase in these records which may be due to more of our fellow citizens reporting such incidents. Learn more…
- OUR NEWS19/03/2024
Contributing to international developments on sea turtle research and conservation
In the past, members of ARCHELON were actively involved in the elaboration of the Global Strategy for the Conservation of Marine Turtles, published in 1995, and nowadays three of our collaborators participate in the writing of the revised guidebook “Research and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles”.
- OUR NEWS08/03/2024
The Over & Above Awards for 2023
These are the ARCHELON Over & Above Awards for 2023.
- OUR NEWS04/03/2024
The moving experience of Frederique at the Rescue Centre
At ARCHELON, you'll have the opportunity to meet and work together with new people and form lasting friendships - a major benefit of volunteering.
- OUR NEWS29/02/2024
Presentation of ARCHELON 2023 Results: Here is some good news!
On Thursday February 15th, 2024, ARCHELON’s annual Presentation of Results took place downtown, at the Impact Hub Athens. When welcoming members, staff, collaborators, friends and volunteers, Daphne Mavrogiorgos, Director of ARCHELON, spoke about the multi-leveled action of ARCHELON during 2023.
- OUR NEWS02/02/2024
Sea turtles in the Greek wetlands of international importance
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February 2. These vulnerable areas of the planet are a refuge for migratory birds and other wildlife species, including sea turtles. ARCHELON is present in wetlands that play an important role for sea turtles, such as the Amvrakikos Gulf.
- OUR NEWS24/01/2024
Why are ARCHELON’s projects international?
ARCHELON’s sea turtle conservation projects are organized with the valuable contribution of volunteers who come to Greece every year not just from Europe but from more distant places such as South Korea, Australia, and Colombia. Speaking English while carrying out fieldwork or public awareness activities as well as when interacting with each other in the campsites is essential to the projects.
- OUR NEWS17/01/2024
ARCHELON has been running a special hospital for sea turtles with tanks and impressive old train wagons for 30 years in Glyfada
Turtles with IV and bandages, rehabilitation and recovery tanks, special environmental enrichment equipment, recovery greenhouses, and… renovated train wagons! The hospital for injured and sick turtles that ARCHELON has set up in the 3rd marina of Glyfada, next to the sea, is certainly something out of the ordinary.
- OUR NEWS21/12/2023
Assuming responsibility for the environment brings more meaning into our lives
“ARCHELON is an opportunity, not only for the animals and the ecosystems, but also for us who participate in it and for the society in which we operate”. Thomas Arapis, President and founding member of ARCHELON, talks about the efforts of the organization and about what he aspires for the future.
- OUR NEWS20/12/2023
Forty years later: the world of ARCHELON has expanded
Thomas Arapis, President and founding member of the Association gives the current coordinates of ARCHELON. "We encounter many turtles in our daily activities, and even more people, many more people actually, who help us. Amongst them are the people who work for us, they stand out for they represent the Association out there, through thick and thin".
- OUR NEWS20/12/2023
19 Environmental NGOs ask the Greek Government not to consent to a change in the wolf protection status in Europe