anywhere on the coast

Awareness Sessions

Schools, colleges, corporates, fisher communities. We come to you. 45 to 60 minutes, in Tamil or English, with an ask suited to each audience.

Book a session Four audiences

Length: 45-60 minutes
Language: Tamil or EnglishHandouts in both.
Audiences: 4Four rooms, four asks.
When: All yearNot just the season.

Every session ends with one action.

A specific task for that group, with an owner and a date, within a month.

The hour

What a session covers

The animalWhat the Olive Ridley is, its size, age, and how it looks in water and on sand. Photographs, not diagrams.
This coastWhy the Coromandel coast matters, what happens from December to March, and the nearest nesting beach.
The threatsNets, ghost gear, plastic, beachfront lights, vehicles on sand, dogs. No photographs of dead animals, for any audience.
Finding a nestWhat tracks and a marked nest look like. Do not touch, dig, move or carry anything to the water. What to do if you find something: the report page.
The askOne specific action for that group, with a name and a date.
QuestionsTime for questions at the end.

Takeaways

Six facts every audience takes away

Size: The smallest of them, around 60-70 cm of shell.
Shell: Olive-green, and close to heart-shaped from above.
Status: IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
Law: Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 - Schedule I.
Nesting here: December to March on the Coromandel coast.
Odds: Roughly one hatchling in a thousand lives to come back.

Audiences

Four audiences, four asks

Schools

Class 5 and up. Below Class 4, a shorter version.

Length: 45 minutes, or 25 for juniors.
Room: Hall, classroom or shaded ground. No power needed.
In the session: A speaker, ID sheets in Tamil and English, photographs of tracks and nests, and the teacher kit.
You provide: A teacher in the room, seating, water, and a yes or no on photographing students.
Afterwards: The kit stays with the school. Also on the learn page.

The ask

One teacher as contact. One class adopts the nearest beach. Thirty students at a cleanup this term.

Colleges

For NSS units, eco clubs, marine and zoology departments, architecture studios and law students.

Length: 60 minutes, including 15 for discussion.
Room: Seminar hall or department room. About sixty students.
In the session: A speaker, the sheets, the legal position in plain language, and volunteer roles with real time commitments.
You provide: A faculty contact who can approve a campus team.
Afterwards: Two students named as campus contacts.

The ask

A campus team for a full season. Roles are on the volunteer page.

Companies

Lunch hour, or 90 minutes with a beach day planned.

Length: 45 minutes, or 90 with a beach slot planned.
Room: Meeting room, cafeteria or town hall. Hybrid works; in person is better.
In the session: A speaker, the sheets, and what a beach day would involve for your team.
You provide: A coordinator and a date window.
We will not: Run a session just for a photo. With no follow-through planned, we send the kit instead.

The ask

A cleanup slot with a real headcount. See collaborate with us.

Fishing communities

Fishers know this water best and live with the rules. We come at a time that suits the boats, in Tamil, and mostly listen.

Length: Usually one to two hours.
Where and when: At the landing centre or hamlet, when the boats allow.
Language: Tamil.
In the session: Printed sheets and the release procedure for a turtle caught in a net.
You provide: A place to sit.
We take away: What you tell us about the season, gear and coast. It shapes where we walk and where we hold events.

The ask

Agree what happens when a turtle is caught in a net, exchange numbers, and name one person in the hamlet we can call at any hour.

Logistics

What the host provides

A space: Room, hall or shade. Projector optional.
A contact: One person present on the day and reachable by phone.
Seating and water: For the audience and the speaker.
Photography: Yes or no, in writing, beforehand. For under-18s the answer is no unless the school confirms otherwise in writing.
Dates: Two or three options. Nesting-season weekends go to walks first.
Headcount: A realistic number, so we print enough sheets.

Reporting

Every session ends with how to report a turtle. There is no hotline number yet; the current route is the report page.

Language

Tamil and English

Sessions run in Tamil or English, your choice. Handouts are printed in both. Hamlet and landing-centre sessions are in Tamil. For other languages, ask and we will tell you if we can.

Booking

How to book

Write to usEmail cleanbeach@saveaturtle.in with: audience, headcount, date window, Tamil or English, and whether you have a projector.
We reply with two datesUsually within a week. December to March, weekdays are likelier than Saturdays.
You confirm one and name a contactA person, a phone number and the room.
Printed sheets arrive firstIn Tamil and English, for your headcount.
The agreed action, in writingAfter the session: the action, its owner and the date. We follow up.

Book a session Download the teacher kit

Questions

How far will you travel?

Anywhere in Chennai and on the Coromandel coast. Further inland or south with notice. Usually not outside Tamil Nadu.

Can you do it online?

Yes, if in-person is not possible. In-person works better.

How many people should be in the room?

About sixty works best. Two sessions of sixty beat one of four hundred.

Do we need a projector?

No. We can run with printed sheets and no power.

Which languages?

Tamil or English, your choice. Hamlet and landing-centre sessions are in Tamil. Handouts are in both. Ask about other languages.

Is it suitable for younger children?

Below Class 4 we run 25 minutes: what a nest looks like, and to call an adult rather than touch it.

Will you bring a turtle to the room?

No. Never, for any audience. Anyone offering this is not us.

Do you train teachers separately?

Yes. Ask for the teacher version when you book, and get the kit from the learn page beforehand.

Can we combine a session with a beach visit?

Yes, and we recommend it. Tell us when you book and we will hold a cleanup or walk date in the same month.

After the session

the flagship
Turtle Walk
Guided night walks on nesting beaches, December to March.
dusk release, family-friendly
Hatchling Farewell
Watch the hatchlings reach the sea at 5 pm.
ICC - many beaches, one morning
International Coastal Cleanup
Monthly sweeps, plus International Coastal Cleanup Day every September.
date and venue to be confirmed
Sand Sculpting
Turtles in sand, built by teams on the Chennai shore.