By Heidi Megchelse

I spent two months in the beautiful country of Sri Lanka and absolutely loved every moment. The whole team at The Green Lion definitely made the trip an awesome experience and one I won’t forget, so thank you to everyone from The Green Lion who made my journey special and also to all the other participants I met along the way who gave up their time to help a deserving cause. One of my favourite weeks from my time in Sri Lanka was in Ambalangoda, helping at the disabled turtle home.

I took an amazing train ride from Kandy to Ambalangoda early in the morning and was greeted by a great team, everyone was very welcoming, helpful and happy. The accommodation was really nice, delicious food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, clean bathrooms, bedrooms and common areas and beautifully painted turtles covered the walls. It was also close to the beach and project placement. Ambalangoda town has a nice relaxed atmosphere with plenty of places selling ice cream to cool you down! The coordinator was great too, you could tell he loved the animals and took good care of them, he also had a great sense of humour which made the work a lot more fun.

Each day at the project was different and exciting. Feeding days were Monday, Wednesday and Friday and were always my favourite. We started with chopping up a lot of fish and feeding the turtles to suit their needs, some needed a lot of guidance due to their disability. We cleaned the turtles, which was an amazing hands-on experience where we gave them a good scrub with a coconut husk. We also cleaned the turtle tanks, which involved getting wet and grubby but absolutely worth it! One morning we took a nice walk along the beach and rocks searching for seaweed to feed the turtles and in the afternoon spent some time cleaning up the nearby beach. The turtles were beautiful and I was quick to form a relationship with them, and now I miss them all!

It was a real eye-opener to see the effects we as humans are having on the turtle population, not just in Sri Lanka but all around the world. Some of the turtles have consumed plastic and can no longer dive below the surface, instead, they float on top. Some have been caught in fishing nets and had their flippers removed as some fishermen can not afford to cut their nets. I’m on my own journey to becoming as zero waste as possible and this was just another reminder about why it is so important to look after the environment.

I had an amazing time helping at the disabled turtle home and would recommend this project to anyone who loves to be hands-on and enjoys spending time outside with animals (and doesn’t mind getting a bit grubby). The team at The Green Lion do such a great job making sure everyone is healthy and happy and I can’t thank them enough for making this trip possible, I have so many memorable moments from this week that I can’t wait to share with family and friends. Ayubowan Sri Lanka!

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