Jungle conservation & research, Peru
| country: | Peru |
| departures: | Departures can be arranged at anytime to suit you throughout the year |
| price: | From £995 (2 weeks) - £2850 (12 weeks) excluding flights. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Have an incredible experience learning about the rainforest and working on a research and conservation project in the Peruvian Amazon.
You will be based at our jungle research and conservation centre on the Madre de Dios River in the Amazon jungle. The first 2 weeks is an ‘Intro to the Jungle’ course designed to develop your understanding of the Amazon rainforest and to give you an up close and personal experience of the plant and animal life.
The centre is a key site for research and education. Its mission is to:
The setting is a rainforest clearing dominated by a clear-water stream and cascading waterfall and with majestic views over the canopy, Madre de Dios River and surrounding areas. The whole area is intersected with rivers and mountain streams, and is full of natural bathing pools and waterfalls. Placements include a detailed information booklet, travel advice and assistance, being met on arrival, transfers, training, accommodation and meals throughout, ongoing support from our local staff.
Once at the centre you will have six days of jungle courses and discovery. This is focused learning time and is a mix of time on the trails with guides and time at the centre in a more structured learning environment. During this time period you will find yourself immersed in all things rainforest and should find yourself learning a huge amount.
At the end of the first week the group visits the town of Salvacion – the capital town of the district. Whilst in Salvacion you will be involved in some community development volunteering for 2 days, which is a chance to give something to the local community as well as giving you a real insight into how people live in jungle towns. The second week at the centre will give you more time out on the jungle trails and more of a chance to get involved with the on-going conservation and research work. At the end of your fortnight you will receive a certificate confirming that you have completed a rainforest research and conservation course. Volunteering after the two week course
If you stay on after the two week course, you will become much more involved in the on-going work of the jungle centre. Your main focus will be volunteering on the sustainability projects such as the bio-garden and reforestation. You can also get involved in the monitoring projects depending on the needs at the time. Current projects include:
Fauna - wildlife monitoring and capacity building programme Mapping - using GPS to map the area and record areas of special interest Water purification - using local plants and biomass to filter and cleanse water Carbon initiative - offsetting greenhouse emissions through forest regeneration Reforestation - planting new forest to provide renewable commercial timber Education - educating local children in rainforest and sustainable development practices Field guide - producing an illustrated educational tool Night monkeys - studying the habits of the night monkey Jungle exploration - maintaining and expanding the trail system and exploring the area
Once every fortnight the group of volunteers will also spend 2 days in the local town of Salvacion to experience life in an Amazonian community and participate in a community project. Community projects in 2008 are likely to include some rebuilding and refurbishment of the local school.
You will be based at our jungle research and conservation centre on the Madre de Dios River in the Amazon jungle. The first 2 weeks is an ‘Intro to the Jungle’ course designed to develop your understanding of the Amazon rainforest and to give you an up close and personal experience of the plant and animal life.
The centre is a key site for research and education. Its mission is to:
- Educate local rainforest populations and visitors
- Promote sustainable natural resource development
- Integrate pure and applied research of the rainforest environment and its natural systems
- Conserve and preserve tropical ecosystems
The setting is a rainforest clearing dominated by a clear-water stream and cascading waterfall and with majestic views over the canopy, Madre de Dios River and surrounding areas. The whole area is intersected with rivers and mountain streams, and is full of natural bathing pools and waterfalls. Placements include a detailed information booklet, travel advice and assistance, being met on arrival, transfers, training, accommodation and meals throughout, ongoing support from our local staff.
a day in the life of a volunteer
The placement starts in the ancient Inca capital city of Cusco with a day of orientation and preparation. During the day you’ll also do a tour of this fascinating city. The next morning is a journey through the high Andes from Cusco to the cloud forest on the edge of the Amazon. You stop in the town of Paucartambo on route to visit a mountain community and then in Acjanco Park Guard Station to learn about the high cloud forest. The next day completes the journey to the jungle centre. You’ll stop at a ‘Cock of the Rock’ lek (a display ground in the forest) and hopefully spot the national bird of Peru. Then the final part of the journey to the centre is by motorised canoe down the Madre de Dios River.Once at the centre you will have six days of jungle courses and discovery. This is focused learning time and is a mix of time on the trails with guides and time at the centre in a more structured learning environment. During this time period you will find yourself immersed in all things rainforest and should find yourself learning a huge amount.
At the end of the first week the group visits the town of Salvacion – the capital town of the district. Whilst in Salvacion you will be involved in some community development volunteering for 2 days, which is a chance to give something to the local community as well as giving you a real insight into how people live in jungle towns. The second week at the centre will give you more time out on the jungle trails and more of a chance to get involved with the on-going conservation and research work. At the end of your fortnight you will receive a certificate confirming that you have completed a rainforest research and conservation course. Volunteering after the two week course
If you stay on after the two week course, you will become much more involved in the on-going work of the jungle centre. Your main focus will be volunteering on the sustainability projects such as the bio-garden and reforestation. You can also get involved in the monitoring projects depending on the needs at the time. Current projects include:
Once every fortnight the group of volunteers will also spend 2 days in the local town of Salvacion to experience life in an Amazonian community and participate in a community project. Community projects in 2008 are likely to include some rebuilding and refurbishment of the local school.
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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Through their work volunteers will be contributing to the preservation of this area and development of initiatives to help protect the environment. In addition to this direct benefit, we try to ensure:
Social responsibility - before volunteers depart we provide them with a detailed information pack on the area they will be visiting. We try to educate and encourage our volunteers to understand and respect the local cultures and customs and get involved with local communities. Economic responsibility – the majority of the fee that volunteers pay goes direct to the research centre. The centre provides employment for local Peruvian staff. While volunteers are in-country, we encourage them to buy locally and support local businesses.  Environmental responsibility – one of the main negative impacts of our volunteers travelling, is the carbon dioxide created from flights. The centre helps to ensure that an amount of carbon is sequestered through tree planting. While our volunteers and customers are overseas, we identify and encourage simple steps to minimise their impact on the local environment. |
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. |