ARCHELON’s sea turtle hospital in Glyfada is the largest in the Mediterranean, having hosted and rehabilitated over 1,300 injured and sick animals.
Turtles connected to serum bottles or bandaged are housed in care tanks and rehabilitation tanks featuring specialized environmental enrichment, recovery greenhouses, and even renovated train carriages from the Greek Railways! The hospital for injured and sick turtles established by ARCHELON at the 3rd marina in Glyfada, next to the sea, is certainly not ordinary. Its setting resembles a fairy tale, but it is a modern hospital for sea turtles – the largest in the Mediterranean. Over its 30 years of operation, it has hosted and treated more than 1,300 injured and sick animals, becoming a magnet for thousands of visitors and volunteers from around the world.
It was in 1994 when ARCHELON, then known as the Association for the Protection of Sea Turtles, successfully established this model Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Glyfada. The need for its creation arose as a natural consequence of the Association’s presence in Greece, as it prompted many of our fellow citizens each year to reach out for guidance and assistance regarding the injured turtles they encountered on the shores or in the sea.
The Center began operations with the crucial support of the then Mayor of Glyfada, Theodoros Spondylidis, who provided the necessary space at the 3rd Marina. The proximity of a marine animal rehabilitation facility to the seawater is vital. However, the volunteers and rescuers of ARCHELON also needed a sheltered area to work and stay overnight close to the injured animals. Therefore, a creative solution had to be found. This came in the form of old train carriages donated to the Association by the Greek Railways (OSE), which added a unique character to the facilities.
“At that time, there were only two train carriages at the Rescue Center and one turtle with a hook in its mouth, inside a children’s plastic pool about 50 centimeters in diameter,” recalls Tom Scott, the first international volunteer at the Rescue Center. “We bathed using a hose, while we had to bring seawater for the turtles in buckets. A significant part of our work involved building and painting the Center to transform it into what it is today. The first carriage was used for environmental education, and the other served as an office, workshop, and dormitory. Soon, we had outdoor tanks and clean water from a pump, and we were all very excited about these changes,” he adds.
Over the years, the Rescue Center has continued to evolve, innovate, and lead the way in sea turtle rehabilitation. This exemplary facility, now recognized as one of the most significant in the world, was recently licensed and operates as one of the first Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers in our country, thanks to newly established legislation.
Today, at the Glyfada facility, the animals under care are no longer housed in makeshift pools but in 42 specialized rehabilitation and preparation tanks equipped with state-of-the-art pumps that filter, renew, and heat the seawater. As a result, over 1,300 animals have been hosted and received care at the facility.
Read the rest of the article here https://www.noupou.gr/en/newsroom-2/archelon-has-established-a-unique-hospital-for-sea-turtles-in-glyfada-for-the-past-30-years/
