A group of volunteers in a remote corner of the Amazon, on the Japurá River near the Colombian border, helped save nearly 8,000 endangered turtles.

Run by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, the project required volunteers to carefully watch and monitor nearly 300 turtle egg nests for six months. Later, the eggs were brought to a safe location to hatch, so they wouldn’t be eaten by animals or humans.

Three of the local turtle species, including the iaçá, tracajá and tartaruga, are endangered, especially because local inhabitants hunt and eat them.

To see photos of the project, click here.