Visitors to the five-star Paradee resort on the idyllic island of Koh Samed, can now get involved with their ‘Adopt-a-Turtle’ initiative which has been launched as part of growing efforts to promote the island’s natural beauty and wealth of native wildlife.

In February 2008, a female green turtle laid 100 eggs in a nest on the beach at Paradee, of which half were taken to be raised by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources as part of a conservation programme.

The remaining eggs were left in the mother’s nest at Paradee and a special protection zone was set up to allow the eggs to hatch under the watchful eye of the staff and guests at the resort. At the end of April, following extensive beach cleaning, the hatched Paradee turtles were released back into the wild.

Samed Resorts’ Adopt-a-Turtle campaign aims to raise funds for the conservation of green sea turtles in the Gulf of Thailand, supporting the work of the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre in their turtle-breeding project on Koh Mun Nai, a short distance from Koh Samet at the heart of the National Park.