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    Field code

    The rules we walk by

    The season, hours, ground, light, numbers and sweep for every event we put on sand. Written as rules, so anyone can check us against them.

    The nine rulesHow to hold us to this

    Scope

    Who and what it covers

    Programmes covered
    Turtle Walk, Hatchling Farewell, International Coastal Cleanup, Sand Sculpting.
    Awareness Sessions
    Mostly indoors. When a session moves onto a beach, every rule below applies.
    Who it binds
    Everyone on the sand: volunteers, leaders, marshals, participants, spectators, photographers, film crews, partners and guests.
    Partners
    No branding on sand, no vehicle access, no stage, no lights, no extra numbers, and no say in whether the event runs.
    Media
    Crews walk in and carry their own kit. No vehicle, generator, lighting rig, flash near an animal, or drone.
    Guests
    No exemptions, whoever invited them.
    Where it applies
    Every beach we work on the Coromandel coast, all year.

    The code

    Nine rules

    Season, hours, ground, light, numbers, vehicles, sweep, sign-off and review.

    1. SeasonsThe turtles set the calendar.
    2. HoursGroups stay off the beach after dark and at first light.
    3. Choosing the groundSet by someone walking the sand that morning.
    4. LightNo floodlights, no white light on sand, no flash.
    5. Caps on numbersEvery event has a cap, set by the beach, not by demand.
    6. No vehicles on sandNone. A loaded vehicle crushes nests.
    7. The sweep afterwardsAn event ends when the sweep is done.
    8. Sign-offFour gates, in order. Any one can say no.
    9. Review after each eventEvery event is written up the same week.

    Rule one

    Seasons

    The Olive Ridley nests here from December to March, and hatchlings follow. The turtles set the calendar.

    December to March
    Nesting. Events on a stretch with fresh tracks are called off or moved. New requests are usually refused.
    Hatching, late season
    First light on stretches with nests close to hatching is kept clear. The only exception is the hatchling farewell, run to the same rules with far fewer people.
    Off season
    Cleanups and team events are scheduled here.
    Night walks
    In season only. See turtle walks.
    What moves first
    The event, never the window. If a date does not fit, it gets a new date, a new beach, or no event.

    Rule two

    Hours

    Females nest in the dark. Hatchlings run at first light. Groups stay off the beach at both times.

    After dark
    No group event of any kind: no cleanup, sculpting, group photo, launch or ceremony.
    First light
    No group event on a stretch with nests close to hatching.
    Midday heat
    We leave the beach, for people’s safety.
    The one exception
    The turtle walk runs at night: one line behind one leader, a hard cap, one low red light and no white light.
    Exact times
    Printed on each event listing. They follow the tide and the stretch.
    Running late
    An event that overruns is closed, not extended into the dark.

    No floodlights, ever

    Artificial light walks hatchlings inland toward roads and sends nesting females back to sea. No exceptions.

    Rule three

    Choosing the ground

    Every route, plot and work zone is set by someone walking the sand that morning, knowing where the marked nests are.

    1. Walk the stretch firstOn foot, at first light, end to end. Fresh tracks from the night are read on the spot.
    2. Rule out marked nests with a wide marginA clutch is deeper and wider than the sand above it suggests, so the margin is generous.
    3. Keep off the upper dry sandNests sit in soft dry sand above the high-water line. No spectators, parking, stalls or photos there. Rope goes below it.
    4. Stay low and narrowWork between the rope and the tideline. Firm sand takes footfall better and holds no nests.
    5. Check again before people arriveA second pass after set-up. A female may have come up in between.
    6. Dig, drive and level nothingNo deep pegs, post holes, cable trenches or levelling. Markers go in by hand or stand on the surface.
    7. If it cannot be cleared, it does not happenThe ground moves inland or to another stretch, or the event is called off that morning, even after people have arrived.

    We do not publish nest locations

    A mapped nest draws visitors, dogs and egg thieves. The rules are public; the locations are not. Do not post landmarks, geotags or maps of nests.

    Rule four

    Light

    No floodlights
    No towers, rigs, work lights, generator lighting or headlights pointed at the beach.
    No white light on sand
    No phone torches, head torches, camera lights or any white beam on a nesting beach at night.
    No flash
    Not for group photos, tracks, animals or guests.
    Red, low, at the sand
    On a night walk only the leader carries a light: red, low and pointed down. Red light disturbs nesting females less than white.
    Screens stay dark
    Minimum brightness, face down.
    Nothing that lights up
    No lanterns, fairy lights, glow bands, sparklers, fireworks, sky lanterns or projections.
    Beachfront light we do not own
    Hotels, streetlights, boats and hoardings light these beaches. We log lights facing nesting stretches and raise them with the owners.

    Rule five

    Caps on numbers

    Every event has a cap, set by the beach, not by demand.

    The cap comes from the beach
    Width, length, firmness, nests and exits of the usable strip.
    When the cap is hit, entries close
    No overbooking and no standby on the sand.
    Night walks
    One line, one leader, a hard cap per walk.
    Group events
    Capped per stretch, set when the ground is cleared.
    Spectators count
    They are inside the cap, behind the rope, below the dry sand.
    Zones are capped too
    Cleanup zones are sized so a line can sweep them.
    Walk-ups
    Turned away once the cap is reached.

    Rule six

    No vehicles on sand

    None: no car, van, jeep, tractor, quad, two-wheeler, trailer or generator. A loaded vehicle presses far deeper than a person and crushes nests.

    Our own logistics
    Carried in and out by hand, or not used.
    Registration and parking
    On the road or walkway, off the sand. Ours too.
    Media and photography
    On foot. No camera vehicle, crane or drone.
    Partners and guests
    On foot. No beach drop-off.
    Medical cover
    The ambulance waits on the road. Casualties are carried up to it. Access is planned before the event opens.
    Waste out
    Bags are carried to the road and loaded there.

    Rule seven

    The sweep afterwards

    An event ends when the sweep is done, by everyone present, the same day.

    1. Everyone walks it backParticipants, marshals, volunteers, spectators, photographers and partners. Line abreast, one bag each.
    2. Our kit comes off firstTape, rope, cones, markers, cable ties, banners and signs.
    3. Then the small thingsBottle caps, lids, cigarette ends, straws, wrappers and tags. Caps and cable ties are the most often missed.
    4. Nobody leaves earlyNo trophies, group photos or speeches until the sweep is done.
    5. Weigh and recordBy stretch, on the day, to track whether each format is getting cleaner.
    6. A last pass along the wrack lineLight plastic collects at the high-tide line, closest to the nests.

    A sweep is not a cleanup

    Clearing up after ourselves is the minimum and we do not count it as impact. Our cleanup work is separate - see coastal cleanup.

    Rule eight

    Sign-off

    Four gates, in order. Any one can say no.

    1. The person who walked the beachThey set the usable ground that morning and can stop the event at any point, including mid-event, without giving a reason on the spot.
    2. The event leadResponsible for the cap, timing, kit, briefing and sweep. If numbers and ground disagree, the numbers lose.
    3. The authority that holds the stretchWith the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. No permission, no event.
    4. The briefing, before anything startsOut loud, in Tamil and English, to everyone present: where the rope is and why, what to do if a nest or track is spotted, and what happens to what you carry.
    Who cannot sign off
    Partners and guests. They have no vote on whether, where or how big.
    Who cannot overrule the veto
    Nobody.
    When it is decided
    Three of the four gates are decided on the beach, on the morning.

    The stop list

    What calls an event off

    Any one of these ends the event or moves it off that stretch.

    The event stops for

    • A fresh track on the ground. The ground moves or the day is off.
    • A nest inside the margin. The margin is never trimmed to fit.
    • A hatchling emergence. Everything stops. Nobody approaches or uses flash. Activity on that stretch does not resume.
    • Sign-off not through. Any gate closed, even on the morning.
    • Sea state, lightning, heat. Weather calls are final.
    • Numbers past the cap. The event does not start until numbers come down.
    • A rule being ignored. Lights, vehicles, the rope line or the dry sand. If the briefing did not fix it, the event ends early.
    • When we call it off. Everyone registered hears from us directly, and the reason is published.

    Rule nine

    Review after each event

    Every event is written up the same week, with three questions.

    1. What went onto the sand that should not haveVehicles, lights, kit, numbers, people above the rope.
    2. What came off the beach, by weightCompared with the last time this format ran on this stretch.
    3. What changes on this pageEach lesson becomes a rule here.
    Changes already made
    Registration desks moved off sand. Bottled water replaced with refill points. Trophies after the sweep, not before. Ground set on the morning, not the week before.
    Not yet published
    A per-event change log and dated versions of this page.

    Gaps

    Where this code is still weak

    • We do not measure compaction. We keep groups on firm sand by judgement, not data from these beaches.
    • Nobody independent checks us. The veto sits with our own people. We have no outside observer.
    • Hatch success on event stretches is not published. We cannot show a before and after.
    • A track can be missed. One person walking a long stretch at first light will not see everything. We need more people on that walk.
    • Our formats are not accessible. Soft sand defeats wheels, and night walks allow no light. We have not solved either.

    Accountability

    How to hold us to this

    If you saw us break it
    Write to cleanbeach@saveaturtle.in with the beach, date, rough time and what you saw. A photo helps.
    What happens next
    It goes into that event’s write-up and you get a real answer. See the grievance page.
    If it is about an animal
    Go to report a turtle first.
    If you disagree with a rule
    Write to cleanbeach@saveaturtle.in with the rule and what it should say.
    Press
    cleanbeach@saveaturtle.in. You may quote this page in full without asking.
    Partners
    Read this before committing. Collaborations start from these rules.
    See what is coming upThe night code for walksTalk to us

    Where the code applies

    Events it covers

    Turtle Walk

    Our only night activity, with the strictest rules. Ten of them, read out at the meeting point.

    the night code
    Read the night code

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