IPBio Amazon Biodiversity Research Assistant

IPBio was a dream come true. I have been searching for over 3 years for an NGO whose mission I truly wish to support and finally I found it. I came to IPBio as a volunteer having had it recommended to me by various people. After speaking to the manager, Ana, we agreed that I would come to IPBio with 2 goals in mind: structure their volunteer program and fundraise for a environmental education program they we conceptualizing. As many trusted and experienced people had told me such great things about IPBio, I was worried that it wouldn't meet my expectations.. but in fact it surpassed them three-fold! Walking onto the reserve you pass a beautiful wooden bridge over the river and find a hidden state of the art research center in the middle of the forest. After meeting the staff and really discussing their future plans, I was already in love with IPBio and knew I wanted to stay. Over the next 3 months, I worked hard to organize the volunteer program, we managed to meet our fundraising goal for the education program and I wrote a grant which we won for bioacoustics equipment. Soon after, IPBio offered me a position and now I will be working at the organization as the volunteer and communication manager. This place is paradise and I am glad I found a way to stay. The region (forest, wildlife, caves, rivers, waterfalls) to the infrastructure (lab, greenhouse, aquarium) to the topics of research (bioluminescent mushrooms, mammals, amphibians) to the larger plan of creating various IPBio's across Brazil, this place captured my dream: to live in a remote area surrounded by nature which also sparked my intellectual curiosity and drive. IPBio is now home.

I am undertaking a 5 month internship at IPBio studying the effects of forest successional stages on the abundance of mammals on the reserve. I use camera traps and so far I have caught: a fieldmouse, tayra, opossum, paca, racoon and a capuchin monkey. I also support with organizing mammal footage for a documentary IPBio will soon produce. The weekends are just as fun with activities such as buoy cross down the river, exploration of caves, hiking and swimming in waterfalls. I have enjoyed my time here and would really recommend this organization to other volunteers.

I would suggest volunteering at IPBio to anyone interested in ecology. The staff at the reserve were great and always willing to teach and help. The area itself is very stunning with heavily forested hills and running streams.