Nature and Oceans Adventures

Nature and Oceans Adventures Marine conservation, sustainable travel, and permaculture through education, advocacy, and action | Creating a better future for all 🌍

08/18/2026

In the Costa Rica Sea Turtle Conservation & Coastal Ecology Internship, interns participate in sea turtle conservation efforts, coastal ecosystem monitoring, and restoration projects. The program combines fieldwork, community engagement, and environmental education.

Participants get to:
• Conduct nesting patrols and hatchling monitoring
• Assist in mangrove and coastal habitat restoration
• Collect ecological data on coastal species and habitats
• Support youth and community conservation programs
• Learn tropical marine ecology and coastal conservation strategies

Want to learn more? Go to www.noaadventures.com/ internships

Stretching over 1,000 km (620 miles) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, the Mesoamerican Reef ...
08/11/2026

Stretching over 1,000 km (620 miles) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, the Mesoamerican Reef is the second-largest barrier reef system in the world.

It supports an extraordinary diversity of life, including more than 500 species of fish, over 60 species of hard corals, sea turtles, sharks, rays, sponges, and countless marine invertebrates. These reefs also protect coastlines, sustain fisheries, and support local communities and ecotourism.

One of the Caribbean’s most important reef-building corals, Elkhorn Coral creates complex habitats that provide shelter for countless marine species and helps protect coastlines from wave action.
Today it is listed as Critically Endangered due to, coral bleaching, rising ocean temperatures, coral diseases, stronger hurricanes, coastal development, and pollution.

Another essential reef-building coral, Staghorn Coral grows rapidly and creates vital habitat for juvenile fish and other reef organisms. Its populations have declined dramatically because of climate change, ocean acidification, coral diseases, sedimentation, pollution, storm damage, and human impacts.

Healthy coral reefs provide habitat for thousands of species, maintain marine biodiversity, protect coastlines from erosion and storms, support fisheries and food security, and sustain local economies through ecotourism.

Across the Mesoamerican Reef, marine scientists and conservation organizations are restoring coral populations through coral nurseries, reef restoration, and more.

These efforts are helping reefs become more resilient in the face of climate change.

Every restored coral colony is a step toward a healthier ocean.

Ready to contribute to marine conservation?

Join Nature & Oceans Adventures’ Mexico Marine Conservation Internship for 1–3 months and gain hands-on experience in coral reef restoration, coral monitoring and scientific data collection, and more.

Become part of the next generation of marine conservationists while helping protect one of the world’s most important coral reef ecosystems.

08/07/2026

Join Marta Fabregas, Marine Biologist and Founder of Nature & Oceans Adventures (NOA), as she shares the story, vision, and global impact of NOA.

From sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica and animal rescue in the Amazon rainforest to coral reef monitoring in Mexico and kelp forest research in California, explore how you can gain hands-on field experience while supporting environmental education worldwide.

The Leatherback Sea Turtle: A True Ocean Giant The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest living s...
08/06/2026

The Leatherback Sea Turtle: A True Ocean Giant

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest living sea turtle on Earth, reaching up to 2 metres (6.5 ft) in length and weighing as much as 900 kg (2,000 lb).

Leatherback sea turtles undertake extraordinary migrations of thousands of kilometers every year. After nesting on tropical beaches in the Caribbean, many females travel north through the Atlantic Ocean to productive feeding grounds off the eastern United States and Canada, where jellyfish are abundant. Satellite tracking has also shown that turtles nesting in Costa Rica and Panama migrate to both the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic. 

The Caribbean is home to some of the world’s most important nesting beaches for Atlantic leatherbacks.
Females return to tropical beaches every 2–4 years and may lay 5–7 nests during a single nesting season, depositing around 80–100 eggs per nest approximately every 8–12 days. Eggs incubate for about 60–70 days before hatchlings emerge. 

Despite surviving for more than 100 million years, leatherbacks now face serious threats:
• Fisheries bycatch
• Vessel strikes
• Plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish
• Climate change
• Loss of nesting habitat
• Coastal development

Globally, leatherback populations have declined substantially, and the species is classified as ‘vulnerable’ worldwide, with several regional populations listed as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’. 

Every nesting beach protected and every sea turtle monitored contributes to the survival of this remarkable species. By protecting nesting beaches, reducing marine pollution, and supporting scientific research, we can help ensure that future generations continue to witness one of the greatest migrations on Earth.

Want to learn more?

Join our self-paced online Marine Biology Program and experience marine conservation firsthand. Learn about sea turtle biology and ecology, develop marine science field skills with real conservation data, and understand the world’s most biodiverse places in our planet.

Nature & Oceans Adventures proudly partners with CEA Akumal, one of Mexico’s leading marine conservation organizations.T...
08/03/2026

Nature & Oceans Adventures proudly partners with CEA Akumal, one of Mexico’s leading marine conservation organizations.

Through this partnership, our interns join CEA’s conservation team for 1–3 month internships, contributing to real scientific research and marine conservation projects while gaining valuable field experience.

Interns assist with coral restoration by supporting CEA’s coral nursery program by maintaining coral nurseries, cleaning nursery structures, measuring coral growth, preparing corals for reef out planting, and learning coral restoration techniques used to help restore the Mesoamerican Reef.

Interns also participate in scientific reef monitoring by helping collect ecological data. They learn to:
• Identify coral species
• Monitor reef health
• Record underwater observations
• Support long-term conservation research

Depending on the season, interns may contribute to CEA’s sea turtle conservation program. Their usual projects include beach patrols, nest monitoring and protection, scientific data collection, and conservation activities that help protect endangered sea turtles along Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

Throughout the internship, participants work alongside experienced marine biologists and conservation professionals in the fields of
• Marine ecology
• Scientific field methods
• Conservation biology
• Coral reef restoration
• Sea turtle conservation
• Environmental stewardship

The Hawaiian Islands are known to be one of the most biologically unique locations on the planet. Due to its extreme iso...
07/31/2026

The Hawaiian Islands are known to be one of the most biologically unique locations on the planet. 

Due to its extreme isolation, about 90% of Hawai’i’s native species are endemic, meaning they evolved only on the islands and exist nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, this isolation also results in Hawai’i being the extinction capital of the world. 

Hawaiian green sea turtles, Hawaiian monk seals, and Hawaiian geese are all native to the Hawaiian islands and face these dangers. 

At Nature and Oceans Adventures, we support the ecotourism and wildlife conservation efforts that contribute to the protection of these endangered species. 

Photography from NOAA Fisheries and Jörg Hempel

07/27/2026

Our intern Sarah has been working at YanaCocha Wildlife Rescue Center for two months now. At YanaCocha, she works alongside professionals, participates in wildlife rescue, and contributes to research. She is also making meaningful connections with nature and discovering how science and conservation can create real impact.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow the entire series as we document wildlife research, conservation projects, student experiences, and life in the Amazon.

Have you ever wondered what a whale’s song can tell us about the health of our oceans? Marine mammals are among the most...
07/26/2026

Have you ever wondered what a whale’s song can tell us about the health of our oceans?

Marine mammals are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. Many species have complex communication systems, close family bonds, unique cultures passed from one generation to the next, and remarkable problem-solving abilities. The more we learn about them, the more we understand their lives and the health of our oceans.

Scientific research shows that marine mammals play vital roles in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems, while facing growing challenges from climate change, pollution, underwater noise, and other human activities.

Join our Marine Mammals of Our Oceans online course, starting July 27! This self-paced program includes lifetime access and is designed for all learning levels, from ocean enthusiasts to aspiring and professional marine biologists.

Discover their behavior, intelligence, social lives, ecology, conservation, and the latest scientific research.

Explore this course and dozens of other marine science programs through the Linktree in our bio.

07/24/2026

After learning why coral reefs are often called the “rainforests of the sea,” our students became marine scientists, using the same monitoring techniques researchers use to assess reef health. Equipped with transect tapes, fish identification guides, and slates, they surveyed two very different reef ecosystems—each telling its own story.

Our fieldwork took us to two very different reefs, each with an important story to tell. During our first coral reef transect in Lahaina, the ocean revealed a lasting reminder of the devastating 2023 Maui wildfires. As we swam along our survey line, students noticed a layer of fine sediment covering much of the reef and many coral colonies. It became a powerful lesson in the connection between land and sea: after intense wildfires, rain can carry ash, soil, and debris into coastal waters, where sediments settle on corals, blocking the sunlight needed by their symbiotic algae and adding yet another challenge for reefs already under stress. Witnessing these impacts firsthand transformed what we had learned in the classroom into a real-world conservation experience.

Our second transect, in the protected waters of ʻAhihi-Kīnaʻu Natural Area Reserve, offered a very different perspective. The reef was vibrant and full of life, with healthy coral communities supporting an abundance of marine species. The reef was bursting with life. Schools of colorful butterflyfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish and wrasses darted through healthy coral colonies, Hawaiian green sea turtles cruised effortlessly overhead, and the highlight of the day came when a magnificent spotted eagle ray glided silently beneath us. Comparing these two reefs allowed students to see firsthand how environmental pressures and effective conservation shape the health and resilience of coral reef ecosystems.

07/24/2026

From the songs of humpback whales to the complex social lives of orcas and dolphins, cetaceans play a vital role in keeping our oceans healthy. By recycling nutrients and storing carbon throughout their long lives, they help support productive marine ecosystems and even contribute to climate regulation.

Today, we also want to shine a light on one species that urgently needs our attention: the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean. Found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, the vaquita has been pushed to the very edge of extinction, with only about 10 individuals remaining. The primary threat is accidental entanglement in illegal gillnets set for totoaba, a fish targeted by the wildlife trade. Without the complete removal of gillnets from its habitat, the future of this remarkable species hangs in the balance.

Every action matters. Support the end of illegal and destructive fishing practices, reduce plastic pollution, choosing responsible whale watching, and advocating for stronger marine protected areas all help create a safer future for whales, dolphins, and porpoises around the world.

This International Whales and Dolphins Day, let’s remember that protecting whales, dolphins, and porpoises means protecting the future of our oceans.

Photo Credit: Alexandre Fellous

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