Coastal conservation, Bahamas
| country: | Bahamas |
| departures: | 2008: 22 Nov |
| price: | From £1290 (10 days) excluding flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Volunteers determine the Sandhill Crane's habitat needs and movements, to ensure the survival of this majestic and rare bird in Great Abaco Island, Bahamas - Three years ago, a team working with Diane Claridge and Kenneth Balcomb recorded the strandings of 17 cetaceans here. Six of the dead whales examined by the scientists showed evidence of pressure trauma, apparently linked to the U.S. Navy's experimental sonar operations in the area. Unfortunately, sonar tests are only one of the environmental challenges faced by the 23 marine mammal species that frequent these blue waters, an epicenter for marine mammal diversity.
Since 1992, Claridge (Bahamas Marine Mammal Survey and University of Aberdeen) and Balcomb (Center for Whale Research) have directed teams identifying and censusing marine mammals to establish their abundance, distribution, and seasonality in this rich corner of the Bahamas.
The project already has the support of yachtsmen and fishermen, who note cetacean sightings - primarily of bottlenose and spotted dolphins, beaked whales, and sperm whales. But collecting sufficient data to establish conservation guidelines for these species requires your help. This year, population ecology experts Drs. John Durban (U.S. National Marine Mammal Laboratory) and Kim Parsons (University of Aberdeen) will also join the project.
Teams divide into rotating boat and shore crews. On the turquoise water for eight hours, you will primarily spot and identify whales and dolphins, skills you'll pick up over the first few days. Through a pioneering project the international environmental organisation your team will keep track of cetacean groups, note behavior and environmental data, and videotape and audiotape social behavior while staff photograph identifying marks of individuals. Meanwhile, the shore crew keeps busy with data entry, developing film, and scanning identification photographs. In your free time, the empty beaches beckon for snorkeling, kayaking, bird watching, and swimming.
Since 1992, Claridge (Bahamas Marine Mammal Survey and University of Aberdeen) and Balcomb (Center for Whale Research) have directed teams identifying and censusing marine mammals to establish their abundance, distribution, and seasonality in this rich corner of the Bahamas.
The project already has the support of yachtsmen and fishermen, who note cetacean sightings - primarily of bottlenose and spotted dolphins, beaked whales, and sperm whales. But collecting sufficient data to establish conservation guidelines for these species requires your help. This year, population ecology experts Drs. John Durban (U.S. National Marine Mammal Laboratory) and Kim Parsons (University of Aberdeen) will also join the project.
Teams divide into rotating boat and shore crews. On the turquoise water for eight hours, you will primarily spot and identify whales and dolphins, skills you'll pick up over the first few days. Through a pioneering project the international environmental organisation your team will keep track of cetacean groups, note behavior and environmental data, and videotape and audiotape social behavior while staff photograph identifying marks of individuals. Meanwhile, the shore crew keeps busy with data entry, developing film, and scanning identification photographs. In your free time, the empty beaches beckon for snorkeling, kayaking, bird watching, and swimming.
field conditions
On the beach in Sandy Point, a small fishing settlement, you'll stay in a combination of tents on the beach and a dormitory-style house with conventional showers and toilets. Meals are communally prepared from the fruits of the island and your team's imagination.volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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This project provides the only comprehensive data on marine mammals in this part of the world. The data therefore aids in the development of both national and global conservation policies and helps to assess the health of the coastal waters. Volunteers provide invaluable help to the project while living and working together in this great location. Volunteers bring knowledge and advice to the project’s more recent undertaking of running a local children’s environmental camp. The scientific community, the local population of Abaco, the Bahamian government, the volunteers, the research assistants of this project, and the whales and dolphins of Abaco have all benefited from the project’s findings and will benefit from further research.
How this organisation makes a difference We are a not-for-profit international environmental organisation committed to conserving the diversity and integrity of life on earth to meet the needs of current and future generations. On any one of our 130 projects round the world, you are certainly not a tourist. You will be working as a field assistant helping world renowned scientists on real environmental projects and learning about conservation issues. We give people the knowledge and the motivation to do something positive towards helping the environment, regardless of experience and background. The data that you will help to collect will be used to inform conservation decision makers around the world. Since 1971 our research has led to: We are aware that many people travel to their project by air and recognise the impact of this on the environment. In an effort to minimise this, we have teamed up with an organisation that offsets emissions from your flights by funding renewable energy, energy efficient and forest restoration projects around the world. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |