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Wildlife and Conservation Volunteers

Wildlife and Conservation Volunteers

Where?

Kenya, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

We try to provide as much variety in our Gap Year experiences as possible. Our projects take place on an island in the Indian Ocean and villages in the Taru Desert of Kenya; the cloud forests of Ecuador; and the turtle-laying, Caribbean beaches of Costa Rica.

All of our volunteering experiences provide sustainable projects that include and benefit the communities that surround them. As with all our gap year schemes, work is followed by play...lots of it! It takes place as our AVs travel in smaller groups around the region, taking in as much as possible.  And, as always, all our projects include a five day safari/adventure.

PROJECT DATES & COSTS

Why?

We at AV realise that many of our volunteers are genuinely concerned about the worldwide damage being caused to the environment and prefer to have a gap year that allows them to learn more about it.

We don't pretend that our AVs will change the world by giving up some of their time for a few months but they certainly make a start! They also experience some stunning scenery ‘up close and personal' and live amongst the relatively poor, rural communities that live alongside nature and its extraordinary array of wildlife. We believe that the delicate balance and equilibrium that allows nature to look after all our needs can only be fully understood by living amongst it for a meaningful period.

What?

Let's face facts ... in what, for many, is their first trip to Africa or Latin America, a lot of the time spent on our gap year projects is spent learning about the culture and customs of the people amongst whom our volunteers live - a completely wonderful but utterly different experience to anything most have ever had before. Additionally, you don't have to be a  wildlife vet or have a PhD in an ‘-ology' to make a significant contribution - there's still a lot that can be done in the one to three months our projects last to help improve the state of the environment and the communities that occupy it! 

We try to provide an extraordinary volunteering experience that will lead to a genuine understanding of many of the issues involved so that our AVs are properly informed and in a strong position to partake in realistic discussions and decision-making in the future - a pretty valuable outcome of a gap year project, we think. Those thinking of a career in this type of work will find the whole experience hugely beneficial.

Who?

Currently, we limit our group numbers to between 16-25, depending on where they are working.  All are aged between 18-24.  Whilst groups may be broken into smaller numbers (4-8) to volunteer, induction and the safari/adventure are all done together.  Independent travel is done in no less than pairs.

Our AVs come from every type of background and we get the deepest joy in seeing them united in the ‘AV club' they become part of on joining - "Once an AV, always an AV!"

Interested?

See more details for:

• Environment, Community & Conservation Volunteers in Kenya
• Conservation Volunteers in Ecuador - cloud forests 
• Wildlife Conservation Volunteers in Costa Rica - Turtles

If you need some help and want to talk about your plans to volunteer, please Make an enquiry