The Nature Lovers Club and Diving Club of Mahidol University International College (MUIC) launched “Ocean Guardians: Beach Cleanup and Sea Turtle Conservation Expedition” on November 23, 2024 at Tien Beach and the Royal Thai Navy Sea Turtle Conservation Center, Sattahip District in Chonburi province.

This event, meant to involve people to help conserve the beaches and care for sea turtles, attracted around 40 participating students. They worked in groups collecting trash around the beach, eventually gathering a total of 18.4 kilograms of trash that were picked up and put away properly. A representative from the Nature Lovers Club gave a short lecture on why beach cleanups are important and identified sources of trash.

In the afternoon, the students went to the Royal Thai Navy Sea Turtle Conservation Center in Sattahip to learn more about what the center does and how to look after sea turtles. They watched a presentation and engaged in a Q&A session before having a tour of the center. The participants were able to see different species of turtles in Thailand, with ages from three months to 10 years old. The center also had a nesting place for the turtles to lay their eggs, a nursery for the newborn turtles and an onsite hospital.