What inspired you to work for your organization?
In 2016, I came as an intern volunteer to IPBio – Reserva Betary and conducted a study related to mammal feeding patterns on the reserve. I immediately fell in love with IPBio, field research, conservation work and Brazil and never left IPBio once they offered me a full time job. I think the most inspiring part of working for IPBio is too see with your own eyes the benefits IPBio and the volunteer program make from scientific publications, to area which were once flat to now becoming vibrant forest housing wildlife, to releasing birds caught from the wildlife trade and even the opportunities we create for local communities to develop economically by preserving the forest. Its turly wonderful to have witnessed this over the years.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Dont make assumptions. I came expecting to focus only on mammals, now I love fungi, insects, birds and more. I came expecting this to be a short internship, now its my lifes work. I came expecting to save the forest single handedly, conservation is a constant battle and require persistance. I came expecting the work to be all fun, and let me be clear its soooo much fun, but its also hard work. I came expecting that research and reforestation were the only ways to preserve nature, but I learned that economics and culture are just as important. I came expecting to be poor if I decide to pursue this type of career, but even though I might not have loads of money in the bank, my standard of living is wonderful. I came expecting that research and reforestation were the only ways to preserve nature, but I learned that economics and culture are just as important.
Describe a typical day at work.
Close to impossible as truly every day is different and I am not just saying that, literally Monday we work on Mushrooms and Arthropods, Tuesday is Fish Inventory, Wednesday is Habitat Monitoring, Thursday is related to reforestation and Friday is bird inventory. I will give you my favourite work day as an example. Once a month we do bird inventory by boat in a very preserved site. 7.30am we have a group meeting with the volunteers and head out to the boat. Once we arrive at the site, its madness, sooo many birds everywhere! The volunteers task is to photograph and gather information on all the species we see. My job is to make sure all of this is written down on our field sheet so we can they input it to our excel. After seeing thousands of birds, and maybe even a caiman, iguana, sloth or anaconda, we head back and our volunteer ID all the species and upload their photos to a googledrive. I then need to confirm the identifications and input it to our excel which we share with our partnering professor. This whole experience is a naturalist dream!
Why do you do what you do?
We are living in a time where species are going extinct faster than scientists can discover new species. Remember, about 80% of species are still undescribed by humans. I think its important to preserve these animals and their habitats as an intrinsic goal. I also think its important to preserve them for humanities sake. Who wants to live on a baron planet? What secrets to medicine or the mysteries of life do these species hold? We live on a tiny planet which atleast so far is the only recorded planet with life, I do what I do because I think that life is worth preserving.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I know this is not probably what you want from this but the honest truth is the challenges and then seeing the result of our work to overcome these challenges. I remember when we started our beach clean ups here in the Amazon, the volunteers hated doing it in the first year. I get it! It feels useless or demoralizing to do a beach clean up and by next week the beach is full of trash again. However, changing habits takes time and we cant be so greedy to always want to solve the problem in 5 minutes. Three years later, the government sends a pick up truck to take away the trash we collect, the local boat drivers provide us free transportation to the beaches to help out. Even more important, now there are 2 community led groups who do their own beach clean ups! I love sending those volunteers who were here in the beggining years photos of these developments. Both environmental education and research are long term projects and to see the value of the effort put in when it works is truly something special.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
I studied biology so it has a direct impact on my role, however, IPBio accept volunteers from all walks of life to support in our projects as part of the mission is to bridge the gap between science and the general public. Everyone can help! My international background helps because I can speak multiple languages and am used to different cultures and peoples which is essential for IPBio staff as we receive volunteers from all over the world.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
The challenges is conservation are quite traumatic often, for example, we have attempted to rescue animals which sometimes do not make it. Thats part of the work, you cant save everything but you sure try your hardest. Overcoming this is mainly a mental battle but I always remember that for ever bird captured from the illegal wildlife trafficking that doesn't make it, our work has saved thousands more!
What are some current projects you are working on?
IPBio projects are generally long term so currently in the Amazon we are working on fungi, arthropods, fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, flora, flourescent and bioluminescent organisms as well as reforestation. Its a diverse work week which always keeps it fun!
Why should someone choose your organization over competitors?
There are many great organizations out there but very few offer true opportunities in biology and wildlife research, especially not as technical as IPBio's projects. There is a reason for this, they are very complicated to manage with volunteers who are coming in and out of the organization, however, IPBio through neurotic planning, protocols and staff verification has managed to make it work effectively. For the volunteer, this provide a way to explore nature but in a more in-depth way than simply counting turtles or taking care of an animal. Moreover, you get to see much more of the true biodiversity of Brazil. At IPBio, volunteer have lots of fun but we pride ourselves on making sure that our volunteer really contribute to research and conservation, that is our main goal and we look for volunteers who always want to go to an organization that really makes use of their time abroad.
What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
IPBio has three main mission: - Fundemental biological field research and we do this continuously and have publications in the most prestigous scientific journal to prove the results - Conservation: this can be direct conservation like wildlife rescue or reforestation or indirect conservation such as creating green jobs for local communities in areas such as eco-tourism which then reduce the economic pressures to get into wildlife trafficking or illegal deforestation. - Education: we attempt to bridge the scientific community and the general public whether through education programs, our volunteer program, local community projects, wildlife documentaries, scientific congresses and expositions which blend nature and art to attract people to the cause of conservation.
What makes your organization special?
We are directly responsible for the discovery of over 10 species previously unknown to science and volunteers have been an intergral part in many of those discoveries!
What hopes do you have for the future for your organization?
IPBio´s long term goal is to create a national network of 5 research centers in every major biome of Brazil. IPBio already has a total of 3 reserves in the Atlantic Forest, Amazon and Cerrado but hopes to purchase and set up research centers in the Pantanal and Caatinga soon. The creation of this national reserve and research center network can provide useful opportunities for research, conservation projects and economic development in the area of sustainable tourism.
Are there any developments with your organization that you would like to share with us?
We are currently working on trying to fund the first ever Amazonian research aquarium here in Alter do Chão!
What makes your organization easy to market to potential participants?
We really care about our mission and if you read any of our reviews you can see how passionate our volunteers are about IPBio. We take our work very seriously, this is not a program where you will not know what you are doing every day and we are just figuring it out to create work for volunteers. Our volunteer program was created to attend the needs of our research projects and conservation goals and you really do everything we say we do. I believe this approach to volunteering has lead us to become one of the best rated programs because people truly see the benefits of the work and not to mention, its a lot of fun!
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
I hope our participants see the path to conservation and that we need many people working very dilegently as their life goal to make this a reality but it is possible if we face these challenges with passion and drive. The volunteer program is very educational on species, research techniques and conservation strategies and if we can spread this knowledge and the sense of its important, our volunteers become multiplier on conservation practices whether they decide to work in this field of study or just applying the knowledge in their daily lives. However, the program is bigger than all of us, we are all small parts in this endevour but through group action we can save this planet. Our volunteers are essential but so are the local communities, the professors we work with, the labs we partner and our impact on conservation policy.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
I think it is essential to travel abroad and truly embace the local culture as its sometimes gets rid of preconceived notions we may have. I remember when I was younger that I thought of the Amazon as this complete wilderness, and it is true to an extent, but it is also home to many people where it be riverside communities, indigenous peoples or even big cities in the Amazon such as Manaus with over 2million inhabitants. Yes, we need to preserve nature but we also need to find way for people to live in harmony with nature. Its very easy sitting a house in Europe, America or anywhere for that matter and saying we need to protect the Amazon but there are people here too with hopes and dreams and maybe they want a car or some comforts that we take for granted and who are we to tell them they cannot have this. We need to realise that people have lived in the Amazon for over 13,000 years, this is their home and we need to understand the local needs and desires and not dismiss them if we really want to make conservation work on the ground. I can speak for myself personally but this was a big realization for me!
How do you help support participants?
We provide airport pick up in the Amazon, presentation and introductions, safety guidelines, training in the field and much more. We are here to support our participants in any way possible!
If you could participate on one of your organization's programs, where would you go and what would you do?
I have worked in both IPBio Atlantic Forest and Amazon but I am slightly biased now that I am fully based in the Amazon so I want to be honest about that. I spent 6 years in the Atlantic Forest and it was a life changing experience, so much so that it is the reason I still live in Brazil and my whole life changed. However, I would say the research assistant role in the Amazon is my favourite program just because of the sheer biodiversity you get to see and the location Alter do Chão in Pará (google it right now!) is the most stunning place to visit. I mean you have rivers, deep jungle and white sand beaches (rare in the Amazon). How can you resist!
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
The most common question I get is: How did you get into this career and how was it like moving to Brazil? But the undertone of this question is: I really love this type of work but its not realistic for me to try to do this as a career, right? Its scary to move to a new country and work for an NGO in remote area and like what about money to live, I wish I could do this as a career but I dont think I can, right? And I give them my honest answer: If you really love it, give it a go! Often these are biologists, natural science, wildlife management graduates who know that the likelihood of finding this type of job in their home country is very rare, difficult and very underpaid. However, it never hurts to try if its something you are truly passionate about, we have had over 8 volunteers who because of their experience with IPBio either returned to work for us or just decided to live in Brazil. Its not easy but its not impossible and give it a go and if it fails take it as good learning experience, its builds your CV and you can always go back. Plus, in Brazil you can live very well for very little money. It doesnt cost anything to swim in a river, go to a beach, hike in the forest to bird watch and if this is what you love, you realise that your are infact the richest you could ever be.
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
Our program is run in English but learn portuguese is super benenficial for interaction with certain staff, community and even just to be polite. In rural Brazil, people are very welcoming but taking the time to study up the basics even if its just hello and thank you goes a long way in making that first interaction smoother and shows your respect for the country and its people.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
IPBio! I truly meant it, I never would have expected, definately not my family from a small dutch town, that my trip to Brazil would be so meaningful that 10 years later I am still here. I think meaningful travel works both ways, it should be meaningful to you as an experience but also meaningful to the place or people you are going to. I strive to always look for meaningful travel. Even when I go for "holiday" I find myself volunteering or doing something that gives me deeper insight into the place, people or its nature. I like to go places, stay for atleast a 3 or 4 weeks if possible to truly understand the place and not just be a casual tourist. I find this rewarding and interesting and I always like to think of something I can contribute to that can offset some of the carbon emission I made to get there.
What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?
Research your organization properly! This is to make sure they are a right fit for you AND you are a right fit for them. Be honest about your hopes and expectations and then look for the appropriate program. If you are looking for a more relaxed vibe where you can see cool animals and learn but dont really want to do the hard sometimes repetative work of research or tiring work like reforestation then IPBio is not for you. We have lots of fun and certainly see lots of wildlife but we treat our work with the importance of its mission which is preserving planet earth most important biome!
What issues do you see in the world of international education that don't line up with your values and expectations for mutually beneficial & educational relationships between providers/programs and the communities in which they are located within?
I think often the issue is communication and expectations set. I kind of respond to this in the question above. I believe volunteers need to be honest about their hopes and expectations and providers need to be clear about what they do and why they do it. IPBio reserves are full of wildlife but we try to keep our interaction and impact to a minumum for research purposes. It would be wrong to give volunteers the impression that they will be petting a jaguar and volunteers need to be honest and find an organization that their values and personal objective align with. In terms of local communities, in the Atlantic Forest most of our staff is from the local community so we have incredible and close relations as its literally family of the staff. In the Amazon we have some foriegn staff member and some local but we always seek to work with the community on their terms and not impose. This grassroots approach has led to IPBio being embraced by the local community as we are invited for reforestation by the indigenous community, we support the local boat and hut association with beach clean up, we work with the schools and intergrate our projects in line with the community.
What does ethical global engagement mean to you?
To me, ethical global engagement means working together across cultures and borders with respect, responsibility, and a shared commitment to making a positive difference. As a staff member at IPBio, working in biodiversity research and conservation, I believe it is about recognizing that protecting our planet is a collective responsibility, while also respecting the knowledge, traditions, and perspectives of local communities. Through my work, I have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers, volunteers, and people from different backgrounds who share a passion for nature and conservation. I believe ethical engagement means creating meaningful exchanges where everyone has something to contribute and something to learn. It is not simply about coming into a community to make a difference, but also about listening, understanding local challenges, and ensuring that our actions have a lasting positive impact.
What hopes do you have for the future of international education?
Globally I hope that conservation become the forefront of international education as I believe it will be the greatest challenge faced by the next generation. My hope for the future of international education is that it becomes more accessible, inclusive, and focused on creating meaningful, positive change in the world. Working at IPBio in biodiversity research and conservation, I have seen firsthand how powerful international education can be. Bringing together people from different countries, cultures, and academic backgrounds creates an environment where everyone can learn from one another. It encourages new perspectives, inspires collaboration, and helps develop a sense of shared responsibility for protecting our natural world. IPBio wants to expand their volunteer and education program which allows people to learn and visit all of Brazil major biomes!
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And your organization?)
As an organization, we also recognize the importance of listening to local voices and building relationships based on trust. This is why one of the founders goals was to have a staff made of predominately local community memember so there is no seperation between IPBio and the community. Our education programs can only do so much, what is more important is our local staff members bring these concepts and conversation up at home and in community settings to make a lasting impacts. Conservation cannot succeed through scientific research alone; it also requires education, collaboration, and an understanding of the social and economic realities of the communities living alongside protected ecosystems.
