Environmental volunteering and internships projects can be roughly divided into ecological-oriented, wildlife-oriented and humanitarian-related projects. Volunteers and interns with the skills to help solve serious environmental challenges are in huge demand around the world. For example, access to water is fast becoming one of the greatest challenges and threats to local communities. As glaciers melt in countries like Bolivia, where local communities have relied on ice-melt for their water supply for eons, finding ways to access water at a micro level, and reduce carbon emissions at a macro level, are paramount.
Environmental Volunteering Abroad
Environmental issues are generally cross-disciplinary and may touch on health, housing, and education. If communities are lacking access to water, there will be ramifications for local health, schooling and housing development, for example. So, often environmentally oriented projects overlap thematically and practically with other areas too.
However, in communities struggling to meet basic needs, environmental issues are often not a priority.
As United Planet, an environmental volunteer organization states, “In the developing world, environmental challenges often take a back seat to seemingly more pressing social and economic development issues, but they are undoubtedly linked. Preserving the environment is necessary for improved quality of life and can even contribute to economic and social development.”
Eco-Tourism for Environmental Volunteers
There are many short- and long-term volunteer projects for those interested in environmental, green, eco and sustainable projects. Here are a few projects to help potential volunteers narrow their choice.
Ecoteer operates as an agency that helps volunteers find cheap volunteer abroad opportunities, “cutting out the middle man” and making volunteering what it used to be—benefiting both the volunteer and the host community. One of their featured opportunities is at a sustainable tourism project in Malaysia. Volunteers help out at the project site to enhance the site’s operations. The eco lodge is described by EcoTeer as offering “Dawn and dusk river cruises to tourists where they can see pygmy elephants, orang-utans, estuarine crocodiles…The eco lodge helps the local community by employing mainly local staff. We have run several community projects including installation of water tanks.”
At EcoTeer, volunteers first stay at a lodge in Kota Kinabalu to acclimatize. After spending time in “Kota” where volunteers will help out in the head office, they will travel to the eco lodge, undertake tours to familiarize themselves with operations, and then begin to volunteer in an area of their choice. They may “become a guide on the river, a chef, or general worker.” They’re also interested in English teachers to help teach local villages at the lodge site.
Schools Without Walls would fall into the ecologically-oriented category. They advertise for a volunteer builder/carpenter on their project. “The responsibilities include…maintaining trails, constructing small bridges, constructing bird-watching towers.”
Another site which provides an excellent search engine for volunteer projects is Idealist.
Wildlife Projects for Environmental Volunteers Abroad
If animals are a passion, there are numerous wildlife centers throughout the African continent and also across Asia.
Go Eco has projects in South Africa and Kenya. In South Africa, volunteers can help at a wildlife rehabilitation centre where they help handle, feed and maintain the animals’ surroundings. The project site explains, “Wildlife is brought to the center from all corners of South Africa, and once healthy enough are re-introduced into their natural habitats. As a volunteer in this project you will be involved in many aspects of conservation and animal care. You will also work and live with volunteers and professional staff from around the world.” The site further explains specific details of volunteers work such as hand-nurturing orphaned animals like cheetah cubs or warthogs.
Community Projects for Environmental Volunteers
In Ecuador, South America, volunteers can volunteer for as little as US$10 a day at an Amazonian eco lodge in the Amazon rainforest. This project can be found at EcoTeer by clicking on “humanitarian” volunteer projects. Volunteers can undertake conservation, teaching, humanitarian and research projects there. The village’s population is 700 and they are located in nine different villages throughout the area. The area is only accessible by air and nestled in an unspoilt region of the Amazon Basin.
In some conservation projects and eco-tourism sites, volunteers handy with a hammer and a saw can help build bridges or walkways to preserve the local habitat also pass on skills to local communities who may be working with volunteers.
An organization renowned for being seniors-friendly, the Earthwatch Institute’s focus is sustainability and they offer projects relating to scientific field research and conservation in forty-eight countries.
Gayle Pescud - Co-founder of G-lish Foundation in Ghana, an award winning non-profit that welcomes volunteers in Africa.
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