Volunteer Program
Sharpen your skills and give back to the local community through a volunteer or internship focused service learning experience. Check out the service learning areas below to find the best fit for your skills and interests.
Regular volunteering can also include:
-
mural & decorative painting projects
-
learning to cook traditional foods like tamales
-
latin dance
Rainforest Conservation
Costa RIca is renowned for its lush rainforests full of biodiversity. As global citizens, it is important that we protect and nurture our land and all the creatures within it. If you have a passion for plants, animals, and the environment, this is the service learning experience for you.
Potential Projects
Butterfly
Garden
-
Staff education center & create materials
-
Prepare, maintain, clean, & assist with laboratories & butterfly breeding & exportation process
-
Conduct research onsite
-
Serve as docent to visitors
Gardening
-
Research native vegetation, assist with pollinator & food gardens
-
Help with propagation and maintenance of plants
-
Assist in the pathology lab
-
Educate visitors & create educational materials
Rainforest conservation
-
Help scientists collect data from camera traps
-
Record and publish findings to drive for documentation and identification purposes
-
Maintain the field research station
-
Educate the public on conservation issues & creation of materials
Projects
By sampling the Golfo Dulce, it is possible to gain information on the demographic structure of the population, such as abundance of immature turtles, male and non-breeding females, and their behavior.
In-water turtle monitoring
Parameters Studies
-
Identification of resident sea turtles
-
Determine age structure of resident population
-
Habitat use and behavior monitoring
-
Record biometrics
*Note: tasks like tagging and taking tissue samples are exclusively done by our staff or
experienced participants to avoid unnecessary injuries.
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
-
Water changing
-
Tank cleaning
-
Restraining and carrying sea turtles
-
Monitoring patient progress
-
Helping with removal of barnacles and other parasites
-
Measuring and recording scientific data
Mangrove Reforestation Program
-
Collection of seeds and propagules
-
Gathering mud for the seeds and seedlings
-
Sow seeds into plastic bags in our nursery
-
Plant juvenile plants in their natural habitat when they reach a certain size/age
-
Maintenance work of the nursery
-
Sea Grass Monitoring
Marine Conservation
The project Osa In-Water is in Playa Blanca, close to Puerto Jiménez on the Osa Peninsula in the southern Pacific province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The surrounding landscape of Playa Blanca is a lot of flat farmland. However, most of the Osa Peninsula is under some kind of protection. This is because this area is one of 25 biodiversity hotspots worldwide, with a vast variety of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects. The Golfo Dulce, one of the four tropical fiords worldwide, hosts additionally a fascinating marine life –including sea turtles! In other words, at our Osa in-water project you will be surrounded by a natural paradise! Sea turtles spend only 1% of their lives on the nesting beaches and due to this behavioral pattern, mainly only adult females are studied. Very little information is available about juvenile populations and sex ratios of adult populations. Therefore, more in water work is needed to increase knowledge about habitats used by sea turtles in different life stages in order to assess the types of threats they are exposed to. On the Osa Peninsula, we are working mainly with the Hawksbill Sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Pacific Green Sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), also known as the Black Sea turtle. Both species are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Pacific Green Sea turtle is ranked as “Endangered” and the Hawksbill Sea turtle as “Critically endangered”, which means if we don’t take serious measures, it is very likely that they will become extinct. For that reason, every helping hand is welcome!
Education
Project Summary
English has become a prerequisite for all Costa Rican students. The need for English is in high demand as the tourism industry is growing rapidly. Students also enjoy speaking English with someone from another country and value the opportunity for extra education. Interns and volunteers also provide relief for the low number of teachers in the schools. Due to economic factors many classrooms lay empty or lack the teaching skills necessary for a successful education. Our goal is to provide useful information and skills at our community center including English skills that will help advance the communities and our interns/volunteers experience skills.
Skills/Qualifications Needed
Beginner to intermediate knowledge of Spanish is preferred (but not mandatory). If the participant cannot speak Spanish, we recommend enrolling in our Spanish language program. There are no specific qualifications needed to join this participant project in Costa Rica. Participants are expected to be open-minded, hard-working, flexible, patient, and to possess a passion and love for the participant service they are providing. Participants should be over the age of 18, unless accompanied by a chaperon or approved prior to the trip.
*We do offer a TEFL course for those wishing to teach abroad for a career*
Participant Responsibilities
Depending on the subject, teaching responsibilities can vary. All interns/volunteers must create lesson plans for classes and form ideas on how to best educate students. Participants are expected to engage with the students, aid with the teachers, and help wherever is needed. It is encouraged to participate in the school culture including singing before classes and exercise courses. The amount of work and placement of each intern/volunteer will depend on the needs of their specific school and students. Participants should also help teachers devise successful plans for teaching English.
Photography & Videography
-
Set up studio
-
Complete field assignments and collect necessary footage
-
Editing
Graphic Design
-
Create brochures/PR materials
-
Social media management
-
Run advertising campaigns
Creative
Business
Sectors
Travel Agency
-
Assist in marketing campaigns
-
Sales to clients of programs
-
Advertising on Website & Social media management
Finance
-
Analyze portfolios & grant writing, funding opportunities
-
Research investment options
-
Sit-in on client meetings
Nonprofit
-
Public Outreach
-
Grant Writing & Funding Opportunities
-
Projects development
Sectors
Health Center
-
Elderly home, clinic, private healthcare provider
-
Assist healthcare provider with basic medical services
-
Check-in patients paperwork
-
Assist with the front desk
Public Health Campaign
-
Prepare materials for presentations & public educational signs about mosquito born illnesses such as zika and dengue fever etc., emotional well-being, as needed
-
Attend schools and workshops to promote public health
-
Advocate for access to health care for marginalized citizens
Health and Human Services
Domestic Animal Rescue
Project Description
Volunteers in this project will be expected to be open minded, patient, caring, and self-starters (able to recognize what needs to be done or who needs to be helped). Apart from all the medical attention given to the injured animals, there are animals that require active enrichment in and around their cages as well. Active enrichment can take many different forms and shapes and it consists of building toys, climbing constructions, houses and swings, giving animals additional opportunities to spend time in a more natural environment, or providing a diversity of food in different forms and manners in order to keep them healthy and challenge them to follow their instincts. This means different things for different animals and our regular evening classes at the center help volunteers to learn not only about the animals' living environment, their behavior and diet, but they also provide information on useful enrichment.
Volunteers are involved with food preparation, cleaning and maintaining enclosures, building activity toys and providing enrichment for animals, painting and making mosaics in and around the center. Apart from these daily tasks, we also need help with any additional tasks that may come up in the course of the day and most require extra work. At the center we encourage volunteers to become aware, to learn about the animals and the center, to get involved and help others with tasks, questions and problems, and to share their ideas in order to improve structures and the center's facilities. This center counts on the awareness and alertness, the encouragement and feedback, and the strong motivation of the volunteers - they are the eyes. ears and the mouth of the center.
Project Description
We are dedicated to protecting and helping endangered Costa Rican wildlife and ensure the wellbeing of the animals by helping them to recover from both physical and psychological wounds. Help with the rehabilitation process of two and three-toed sloths, various species of monkeys, exotic tropical birds, and other species of exotic native animals that have been brought in by locals or the government to the project site. Most of these animals have been brought in because they have been affected negatively in some way by man: power line electrocution, used in illicit tourism as props for pictures with inadequate care and terrible treatment, illegal pet trade, hunting, etc. But all animals have different stories of how they came to be with the sanctuary and no two stories are the same. They also can be younger animals or infants that have lost their mother and would have no chance of survival on their own. When they arrive, the conditions, type of injury, and chances for recovery all vary. The animals at this sanctuary are part of a rescue - rehabilitate - release program (when applicable), which is a trait that sets this specific sanctuary apart from others. The goal is not to keep the animals at the sanctuary, but instead to rehabilitate them to return to the wild. In some cases, some of the animals are not able to return to the wild to fend for themselves, only these animals are kept at the sanctuary and provided with a loving home, care, meals, and more for the remaining duration of their lives.
Exotic Animal Rescue
& Conservation
What you can expect from us
-
Three meals a day
-
An educational scientific presentation on conservation and practical training of instructions of tasks
-
Access to staff and biologists for gaining insight professional conservation work
-
The opportunity to speak Spanish with the locals and English with the participants
-
A unique opportunity to gain valuable field work experience in the conservation of endangered species
-
Accommodation- Dormitory or private rooms available for an additional cost
-
Participant Manuel
**Travel costs NOT included, Free time activities NOT included**
What we expect from you
-
You must be in good physical condition, able to work hard and live in basic conditions
-
Be open minded, flexible and enthusiastic about hands-on work
-
You should know how to swim if participating in marine conservation
-
You must have a travel/medical insurance
-
You must not abuse illegal drugs, drink alcohol during working hours/or work under the influence of them
-
You must be 18 or older; participants younger than 18 years of age need either a supervisor with you or written permission and liability waiver signed by your parents
-
We recommend having basic knowledge of Spanish