Volunteer Conservation and Environment Work Experience Placements Overseas in Costa Rica

Projects Abroad offers you a fantastic opportunity to learn about tropical conservation and work in endangered habitats - while volunteering abroad in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica has become a conservationist's paradise. Its government has developed a positive attitude and is doing much to protect its many natural resources. Over 25% of Costa Rica is devoted to the conservation of plants and wildlife, which is more than any other country in the world! In addition, Costa Rica is a politically stable democracy, with low crime rates and a good attitude towards conservation and environmental sustainability.

Ecotourism has become very important to Costa Rica, bringing in over one billion US$ per year. But as tourism becomes one of its major commodities, the people of Costa Rica need to ensure that the natural resources of this diverse, beautiful land are not destroyed.

Volunteering on a Conservation Placement in Costa Rica - Tropical Forest Conservation

Our Conservation & Environment program works within not just one but several National Parks and Reserves throughout Costa Rica. This enables you to live and work in some of the most pristine and yet endangered parks and refuges in the world; working on beaches, in the tropical rainforests and exploring caves all within the same conservation program. The program rotates every four weeks meaning you have a chance to experience a variety of habitats within your placement.

The parks in which volunteers will be working include the Barra Honda National Park, which consists of tropical dry forest with an extensive network of caves and limestone caverns to discover below the small mountains in the park. Volunteers will also spend time working in the Lomas de Barbudal Biological Reserve, an area of tropical forest, rivers and pools home to monkeys, large cats and a high diversity of reptiles, amphibians and tropical birds. The third reserve volunteers currently work in is the Diria Forest National Park composed of primary tropical dry forest and the last remnants of tropical cloud forest which once covered much of the Nicoya Peninsula. Over 130 species of bird live within the reserve as well as large mammals such as spider monkeys, white faced capuchins, coyotes, marsupials, anteaters and peccaries. The final reserve in which volunteers work is Las Baulas Marine National Park. This park boasts three turtle nesting beaches and two mangrove estuaries. The beaches here support the largest nesting colony of leatherback sea turtles (baulas) on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, with a population size of about 800 female turtles nesting per year. The nesting season is from November to April, and volunteers will usually visit the reserve at least twice during the season.

Your Role as a Volunteer on the Conservation & Environment Project

Volunteers have an important role to play in Costa Rica's Parks and Reserves. Despite Costa Rica's progressive approach towards conservation, the protected areas are still under funded which means that they can only employ a few full time staff. Your presence gives them the extra hands needed to work on larger and more significant projects. You will be involved in essential activities in the parks such working on trail systems within the reserves, constructing and maintaining trails, as well as extending, establishing (and testing) camping, picnic sites, and viewpoints. You will be working alongside park staff, park rangers and temporary resident scientists.

You will also be involved in other projects such as animal, plant and insect studies or working for a few hours within the nearby community. Our project coordinators are eager for you to assist in environmental education projects in some of the parks. This helps your volunteering efforts to be felt throughout the wider community and helps local people understand the importance of conservation in their area.

There is a lot of work to do at the sites and to make the most of your time there you will work six days a week with one day free to relax or take a trip. However, there is often transportation heading into town in the afternoons during the week, and you will often be able to travel to check emails, visit the bank, etc. Work schedules will vary depending on the amount of work and the existing schedules at the parks.

All project sites are within conservation areas in easy reach of the Projects Abroad - Costa Rica office in Liberia and you will receive regular visits from our staff.

You may also choose to spend some weekends in Liberia getting to know the other Teaching, Care, Sports and Spanish volunteers who will be enjoying their overseas voluntary work opportunities in the town.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely on a variety of conservation activities please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period. Volunteers joining the Conservation & Environment project for just two weeks will most likely be based in just one reserve.

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