Destination Guides:North America

Volunteering in North America

North America contains some of the world’s most exciting and vibrant cities. Montreal, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, New Orleans; although many of these are relatively young by global standards, their mere mention evokes an enormous amount of history, much of it to do with the turbulent evolution of arguably the most politically and culturally important nation in the world today. However, long before the existence of the U.S.A., the region was already home to some powerful technologically and culturally advanced peoples. The Valley of Mexico, site of the modern day Mexico City, was once home to the capital of the mighty Aztec civilization, Tenochtitlan. Also, the Yucatan Peninsula is where many of the best remains of the once-great Mayan civilisation can be found.

Despite the enormous populations involved, large areas of this continent still remain remote and mostly untouched, such as Canada, which is second largest in land mass but among the least densely populated countries of the world. Further south, the jungles of the Central American isthmus provide their own challenges and excitement for expeditions venturing into their depths to witness the remarkable variety of species to be found within. The Caribbean is full of lush tropical islands with world famous beaches, while in the extreme north is the world’s largest island, Greenland, four-fifths of which is covered by a gigantic ice sheet.

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