Top Biological Research Volunteer Opportunities Abroad

My most memorable experience from the Diverse Jungle Animal Experience program in Costa Rica was the multiple diverse animal surveys and being able to see animals such as Tapirs on one of the trails.

Experience was wonderful and unforgettable, specially due to the strong bond that was quickly created among the volunteers. Accommodation was comfortable and homey, however probably can be too crowded with more than 8 volunteers living there at the same time (just 2 toilets ;One shower with low water pressure). In addition, too much junk left from previous cams including clothes, shoes and food. Food that was served in the center was DELICIOUS! Also, permission to use the center's pools and saunas was a real treat. The entire atmosphere made me feel like a guest and not as a volunteer. Regarding work: some assignments were more interesting (harvesting in the greenhouses and outside) some were less. In general work wasn't hard at all but also not so diverse.

First of all, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I never thought I could get trained and dive in Great Barrier Reef. I’ve also learned a lot about coral reefs from the dive instructors and the environmental manager who trained us for the survey. We have met excellent people through this project and I will never forget this 2 week’s experience. However I wish I can do more for this project. I feel that there’s time to squeeze in more activities. There’s only 2 dives per day during the survey, traveling from and back to the city already took up most of the time. A suggestion would be making it an overnight trip, stay at the reef for 3-4 days instead of traveling back and forth, I think this will allow us to do more surveys and therefore contribute more to the program. Other than this the experience is awesome. Thanks for this once in a lifetime opportunity.