The first public excavation of this hatching sea turtle Caretta Caretta season will be held on Monday, July 25 at 18:00 in Adele, Rethymno, in front of the hotel and Caramel Grecotel Boutique Resort.

According to Archelon "it was the first nest recorded by ARCHELON volunteers for 2016 in Crete at the beach of Adelianos Campos on May 23, the World Day of the turtle. After the required preparation needed workload during the beginning of this year program, to see the first nest in Rethymno’s nesting beach gave us a feeling of great relief. Sea turtles are still here and they need our protection.

With daily waking inspection beginning at 5 am, walking continuously for hours recording of nests and constantly updating people interested in learning about sea turtles in Crete, its already two months since then. And the first traces of the new born turtles, recorded on July 13 in the morning, which means that on July 12 at night scroll out from their nest to Rethymno’s beach heading towards the water.

Many of those baby sea turtle are now swimming with us in the waters of Crete, and beyond, trying to survive and reach 25 years of age in order to return again to the beaches of Crete . The Association takes every opportunity to show how important is the protection of sea turtles. A series of actions are performed just from the beginning of the laying period, inviting visitors to follow the daily activity routine of a volunteer, to attend the release of a turtle, to get updated information from the info station or in enterprises that host volunteers and take part at a public excavation. "Public excavation” are the excavations open to visitors and are monitored by trained volunteers ARCHELON . The opening of the nest is always after the end of certain days, when the turtles have all hatched. ARCHELON scientifically records the rate of hatching success; how many of them successfully made it in water and how many are not hatched. Very often in the nest found trapped baby turtles, which are carefully helped by volunteers ARCHELON and are driven in a certain way toward the water, something that particularly excites visitors during public excavation.

Nevertheless, each one of us can help to protect them by following these simple instructions:

• Do not touch the turtles. The journey from the nest to the sea is very important, since they capture information on the beach that born.

• If you see hatchlings during daytime, protect them from the scorching sun, making shadow with your body. You can also flatten the sand in front of them to ease their way. also call directly the ARCHELON volunteers.

• Avoid moving around the protective cages. Vibrations around the nest may force the hatchlings to leave the nest early.

• If you see lights directed towards the sea, ask the owners to turn off so as not to become disoriented hatchlings. Remember that they identify the sea by the reflection of the stars and the moon on the horizon.