Volunteer Programs in Rural Areas, Mexico

Starting the first year of my undergraduate program, it was daunting to see how theory and content-heavy the next few years looked, with no opportunity for field work or anything hands-on. But after finding Opwall I was immediately drawn into the opportunity of conservation fieldwork, especially in my home country of Mexico. The biggest obstacle was fundraising for the trip, but I was pleased with the advice and coaching that Opwall provided on fundraising as it was extremely helpful and made it more feasible. Obviously, the fundraising was also motivated by the fact that this trip is not just for fun, and you know it will have an impact on your future career or passions. In the two weeks trip, I got to experience their terrestrial site at Calakmul in K19, and their marine site in Akumal. Immediately arrival there was organized and I never felt uncomfortable or confused on any important information before getting to the campsite. We were the first group of RAs at K19 and they were still in the process of building it up, conditions were still great with the only expected setbacks of getting comfortable with large insects and lots of mud and rain. The toilets were dry and the showers were buckets. I loved being able to get involved with every team and their research. The wildlife there was insane: hearing yourself surrounded by spider monkeys in the morning and then seeing them in the trees on a survey, the birds like toucans, and motmots, and the Yucatan jays, even the loud chachalacas. The Akumal site was very different as it was a hostel-like building with bunk beds, running water, and a pool. Even though the wildlife encounters were fewer we did see spider monkeys which is always so exciting. This site was great as we got to go diving, however the hurricane season had put us behind schedule of open water diving and we could only dive in cenotes or in front of the reef (4m deep). Turtle encounters and reef surveys were awesome but I did feel less involved with actual data here. The RAs did not feel as utilized as they could have been and there was a tangible divide between the group that had been at the marine site for the past week vs the group that had just arrived from the jungle, but I suppose that just depends on the people. Overall the whole experience was amazing and I loved going back to my home peninsula and seeing it from a research perspective. I love the friends that I made there and can't wait to see where their experiences lead them.

I got to see so many cool animals and learn many different survey techniques. I spent a week in the jungle and a week diving at the beach. My favourite surveys in the jungle were the bird and mammal surveys, and I loved the coral surveys at the beach. The food was amazing and the staff were lovely. I would definitely go back again!