Abstract This article is the result of a research conducted in the villages of Regência Augusta and Povoação, in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The objective is to contribute to knowledge concerning biodiversity conservation projects and the relationships between these, local communities and emblematic species in the midst of socio-environmental conflicts. We intend to highlight some of the ways that human agents interact with each other through the relationship with other non-human agents, developing conceptions and actions in and with the world around them. The empirical analysis addresses the case of sea turtles and the environmental agents who deal with them. Those who patrol the beach are prominent in this text, but we will also consider the way in which these works form an ambiguous relationship with other knowledges and practices. The region is going through political, economic and environmental divergences related to resources and the local landscape, aggravated by the arrival of Samarco’s mud.