Description

A magical landscape punctuated by the strange, root like forms of beautiful and unearthly baobab trees, forest canopies filled with unknown species and unique creatures such as the minute mouse lemur with its round lamp like eyes, skimming kingfishers catching tiny fish from the limpid forest pools, and the curiously coloured tenrec, amongst thousands of other endemic animals. An ocean that teems with an abundance of marine life, providing the perfect environment to discover diving under the glorious warmth of the Madagascan sunshine. Hospitable communities where you will find a culture that evokes the exotic aura of Africa with a distinctly French European flavour. All this and more is waiting to be discovered within this unique island located in the blue waters of the Indian Ocean. With this project you will experience the best that Madagascar has to offer, with an unforgettable teaching experience in a developing community, a breathtaking trek through the prolific forests stuffed full of flora and fauna, and scuba diving over the reef-scapes of one of the best diving spots in the world. Join this project for a varied and exhilarating journey through this most tempting of travel destinations!

Itinerary (42 day project)

* Day 1-15 Teaching Phase

Arrive in Nosy Be and receive orientation and briefing by the Frontier staff. Depending on your teaching location you will either travel by boat, or journey overland by bus. You will be located here for the next 14 days, working within the under-resourced village schools or teaching adults on camp or in the local church. Your work schedule will cover a comprehensive, varied and enjoyable teaching programme which will engage you fully with your pupils and will awaken your creativity and initiative. As there is often no teacher at the school, you will benefit in terms of your personal experience by enabling you to formulate ideas yourself and develop your teaching skills and techniques. You may be involved with marking pupil's work, and producing an inspiring teaching strategy including preparing homework and assembling innovative and effective lesson plans. You may even have the opportunity to plan your own lessons and be responsible for your own class. As well as this you will have the opportunity to help with lots of extracurricular activities which will vary extensively depending on your personal skills and interests - whether it be helping organise a school show, playing football with the super competitive and highly skilled local kids or joining the Frontier marine and diving camp or wildlife conservation camp for their routine Saturday night camp parties where you can socialise with the volunteers. Whatever you decide, you are sure to gain huge satisfaction from inspiring these underprivileged children, whilst enhancing your own skills and experience significantly.

* Day 16-26 Trekking Phase

The next phase of the trip will be based on camp in Nosy Be. The next day you will depart for an exhilarating 10-days trek through true wilderness, as you travel through the stunning forests of the region, returning to camp at the base each night. Travelling through the rugged terrain, you will experience a truly remote environment, spotting rarely seen wildlife along the way. As you go you may have the chance to carry out opportunistic wildlife spotting as you travel.

This may allow you to take part in the following sampling:
* Vegetation surveying
* Small mammal sampling
* Amphibian sampling
* Butterfly trapping
* Bird-watching
* Opportunistic observation of birds, reptiles and mammals

* Day 27-41 Diving Phase

The camp is the sociable hub of Frontier-Madagascar, and is perfect for relaxing and enjoying spending time with your group at the end of a busy day of diving. Whilst completing this phase, you will gain your PADI Open Water diving qualification, an internationally recognised certification. The research programme within the Bay is a very exciting and dynamic. The priority for this phase will be BSP (Baseline Survey Protocol) although other activities will be included: Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP), collaborating and adding to underwater species lists, sediment traps - setting and analysing, algae/coral quadrats to monitor phase shifts, benthic surveys to assess the extent of pink line syndrome, nutrient water testing across the bay, mangrove survey work and various socio-economic work such as village workshops for PADI Aware, interviewing of local fishermen and trips to the fish markets. With such a wide array of activities on-going you are unlikely to be able to do everything, especially with dive training to fit in: so please be realistic. Diving regularly in the waters of the Indian Ocean over perfect coral reefs, amid spectacular fish, turtles and rays is an experience you will never forget.

* Day 42 Travel to the airport and prepare for departure

You will be dropped off at the airport in time for your return flight.

If this is your first time doing conservation work, don't worry! It will only take a short while for you to feel totally at home on camp and confident with the science work. Although the work is intense you'll find that living in such a beautiful and inaccessible environment alongside friends who share your passion for conservation will be the experience of a lifetime!

If you are joining the project for a 28 day period, you will spend 8 days teaching, 8 days trekking and 8 days diving. All other details remain the same as the 42 day project.

You'll find your team to be a fun, dynamic mix of ages and experiences, with members who all share a passion about travelling in developing countries and saving endangered life. Your staff will be young, friendly individuals who are highly experienced in their field and many have also volunteered on a Frontier project earlier in their career.

** Timing of Marine, Teaching and Forest phases may switch depending on the time of year you depart. Please contact your volunteer coordinator to find out more **

Highlights

* Sample teaching, trekking & diving.
* Discover strange & beautiful Madagascar!
* Make lifelong friends.

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

2,600

Cost Includes:

• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• Written materials abroad
• Written materials pre-departure

Program Fees Include:

Before you go:
* Pre-departure support
* Travel & medical advice & documentation
* Equipment advice
* Discounted medical kit
* Free Frontier t-shirt
* UK residential briefing weekend

In-country:
* Food
* Accommodation
* Airport pick-up
* Internal ground transfers & in-transit accommodation
* Local orientation
* Project training
* Project equipment & materials
* In-country emergency support
* 24-hour international HQ back-up

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Group living
• Guest House
• Home-stays
• Other

Participants Travel

Independently

Application Process Involves

• Phone/Video Interview

Frontier's Mission Statement

To conserve the world's most endangered wildlife and threatened habitats and to build sustainable livelihoods for marginalized and under resourced communities in the world's poorest countries. To create solutions that are apolitical, forward-thinking, community-driven, and innovative and which take into consideration the long-term needs of low income communities.

Year Founded

1989