Thailand Coastal Conservation Short-Term Internship

My internship in Thailand was one of the best things I've ever done. After a two-year wait due to the pandemic, it felt incredible to finally start. Very different from previous volunteering I've done abroad. Going out every morning and monitoring the behaviors of Asian elephants was completely surreal and learning a wide range of new things in the afternoons. These included species identification, sustainable living, learning the village language, and cooking classes. I would greatly recommend this internship to anyone who has a passion for conservation, eager to experience a different way of living and meets loads of amazing new people.

I had an indescribably good time with GVI in Thailand. I felt so fulfilled by the work I did with the sea turtles reasearch & conservation during my time and embraced by the staff who made the experience so unforgettable.

I have always loved animals and marine life and wanted to give back in some way so after a lot of thought I decided that the marine conservation internship in Phang Nga was the best option for me. I was nervous before leaving Scotland on what to expect from Thailand and GVI but I was made to feel welcome straight from the arrivals at the airport. Thailand is an incredible country with so much to offer and the program gave me so much to think about and take back home with me, from using marine litter as an art installation, being able to name approximately 30 different bird species to asking how much something is in Thai. I undertook the 3 month internship which also gave me a qualification that I can use to better my CV and job prospects in the future. I came out here looking to find what I wanted to do as a career and after working closely with the sea turtles I have decided that veterinary nursing is what I would like to pursue, I am so thankful to Thailand and GVI for helping me make this decision. With regards to the staff and the people that you will meet they have all been great people and some friends for life made. Living on base can be difficult at times but it’s easy to get past this, as it’s clean and comfortable. The food is also really lovely and cooked fresh everyday. Of all the activities that I have taken part in during my time here I would say that the bird surveys and beach cleans were my favourite, the bird surveys are really interesting and you get to see some lovely places and the beach cleans are hard work but you can see in a short time how much of a difference you can make. Snorkelling was also a highlight for me as I had never done it before coming out to Thailand, getting to see some beautiful fish and sea life. Learning to survey the reefs was also really interesting, it’s such an eye opening experience since you never really know the scale of coral reef bleaching until you see it with your own eyes. To anyone thinking about coming out to do some conversation work I would highly recommend this program as it’s so diverse and you will learn a lot from it and make a huge difference in the world. Not only this you will also meet some incredible people and learn a lot about yourself.