Research and conserve the rainforest on this Amazon expedition
Program Overview
Journey to the lush and tropical Ecuadorian Amazon as an expedition team member and contribute to GVI’s ongoing wildlife research activities and help conserve a diverse and unique part of our world.
You will directly support local conservation and community efforts by recording vital data on targeted animal groups such as reptiles, butterflies, birds and amphibians. All in an environment that is home to 30% of all known plant and animal species.
Highlights Include:
Enjoying the intensive in-camp training to gain basic knowledge of the environment; experiencing the sights and sounds of the tropical rainforest; spending nights camping out in the rainforest; setting photo-trapping equipment to see what you can catch on film; enjoying wildlife observation from the river; experiencing the rainforest at night on nocturnal frog and mammal surveys; discovering rare and possibly new species; learning bush skills and rainforest ecology; exploring different parts of the Amazon; working with and training local students and the local community and learning how to navigate in the forest.
This expedition supports sustained and long term conservation goals in partnership with the Yachana Foundation to preserve the rainforest’s extraordinary diversity of plants and animals.
Scholarships
We are always looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join our team. This expedition offers qualifying and high-performing volunteers the chance to stay on the expedition for a longer duration on a GVI Scholarship free of charge and as part of the staff team in the field. If you would like to work towards a field career and make the very most of your time abroad, you might want to work towards a place on a GVI Scholarship. Successful scholars may find themselves offered full time employment with GVI, and many of our current staff have come through this route. Contact us for more information! Please note, the awarding of scholarships is at the sole discretion of GVI and may be offered immediately after the completion of your program or at a later date.
Life on the Program
The majority of your time will be spent trekking in primary and secondary rainforest, learning research techniques and collecting data to be used for the expedition’s species list. As the environment can be challenging, time not spent in the rainforest will be spent on base with your expedition team, processing data collected, learning Spanish, helping out on base and getting to know your fellow volunteers.
Days on the expedition can be long, with work beginning at first light through to nocturnal treks into the rainforest.
You will be living in a beautiful part of the tropics, surrounded by the constant sounds of animals that call the rainforest home. The base is comfortable but basic with plenty of space to relax or perfect your research skills in the onsite library.
Project Details
GVI’s field research and community programs aim to:
- Identify and catalog bird, reptile, amphibian, butterfly and plant species
- Provide support in conservation, ecotourism, education and community development
- Facilitate learning of English through TEFL-based lessons
- Support small scale infrastructure development projects
Our long term goal is to manage a permanent, full-time biological field station and establish strong relationships with leading scientific and development agencies and universities.
How this program makes a difference:
In previous years, our team has vastly expanded the species list for the Yachana Reserve, currently at over 750 species, as well as producing free online guides of both frogs and reptiles.
This data is shared with Yachana for use by their guides and tourists, as well as the Ministry of the Environment for use in the protection and management of the reserve.
Our team has also discovered a rare species of glass frog in the reserve found only once before in Ecuador.
Volunteer Testimonials
We all learned a huge amount about the wildlife and the local communities and became very comfortable living in the jungle. Each day was spent trekking through the jungle collecting vital scientific data about the species living there and their habitats. Some of the things I saw and experienced in the jungle were truly amazing and will stick with me forever. I’ll finish by saying the Amazon is one of those places you have to visit in your lifetime and GVI were a fantastic company to do it with allowing you to fully experience the jungle.
Although I had seen a million programs and photos of the Amazon rainforest I was not prepared for how beautiful it was going to be. The dense forest is an astonishing sight to see and not being able to see anything but trees, it was hard to believe how much of it had already been destroyed.
On my arrival in camp the mixture of excitement and nerves blended into one and I felt pretty calm and enthused. By the evening I felt settled in and I was amazed by how cosy our new home was!
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Program Details
Build Your Program
What's Included
- Pre-departure support and discounted services
- 24-hour emergency phone
- Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)
- Arrival orientation
- Long term experienced staff
- Safe and basic accommodations (usually shared)
- All meals (unless otherwise stated in field manuals)
- Welcome meeting
- Location orientation
- All necessary project training by experienced staff
- All necessary project equipment and materials
- 24-hour in-country support
- Transfer to rainforest location
- First Aid & CPR training
- GPS training
- VHF radio and camera trap use
- Wildlife identification skills
- Tropical forest ecology
- Scientific techniques in collection of transect work, incidental observation, camera trapping and track identification
What's Not Included
- Flights
- Medical and travel insurance
- Visa costs
- Personal kit
- Additional drinks and gratuities
- Extra local excursions
- International and domestic airport taxes
