Volunteering with a marine conservation project

Hi all,

Yikes, not sure whether to post this here or in the Marine science forum...

I'm hoping to hear from anyone who has taken a volunteering trip with any of the main organizations who do these things, like Blue Ventures, Coral Cay, Operation Wallacea & Reef Doctor. Were your experiences positive and would you recommend it?

I am in the *extremely* fortunate position of having a bit of time spare, and this looks like it might be a way of 'giving something back' at the same time as indulging my desire to dive my brain out! Really, really interested in hearing from anyone who's done something like this and hearing what they got out of it.

I have to be honest: what I'm a teensy bit worried about is it being a bit tame or phony. Like, I'm in my mid-30s and really keen on marine life and diving, and if I go somewhere that is really just aimed at students/gapyearers who are only just learning to dive with a few gentle nods to conservation then I think I'd feel disappointed. (NOT that I have any problem with young people, or reef monitoring - quite the opposite! - but I want something with subtance rather than something that turns out to be a thinly-veiled dive summer camp.)

Please post or PM if you have any comments or experience!

Suzie / nitrophila

I´ll keep it in English =)
Last summer I volunteered with ReefDoctor: Marine conservation, volunteering and gap year diving expeditions in Madagascar part of blue ventures.
When we arrived they were just finishing a survey course so there wasnt any work related diving while I was there and what diving there was was quite limited
As I understood they were changing there survey methology to an ongoing surveying! Meaning constant need for diving =)
Turned out that I was the only experienced diver on camp so big dissapointment as the rest of the people were doing there ow and aow certs.
Still wouldnt give this experience up for anything
Absolutely love the crew people and country
Spørgsmål ?
Så er det bare at spørge!

Ps. The view from my hut every night

Beautiful pic! That must be a very nice view to wake up in the morning too!

Thanks a lot for the views and the insight, OdinFo. It sounds like you had a fun time but that would disappoint me diving-wise. I'll ask them directly I guess.

Is it true that Reefdoctor is part of Blue Ventures? I had been reading about them separately!

Suzie / nitrophila

Hi Suzie!

I am actually going to be spending 4 weeks in the Bay Islands with Operation Wallacea this summer, so when I get back I can give you full trip report. I was originally supposed to go to Indonesia with them, but because of some health issues and the remoteness of that site, I decided on Honduras instead. I am currently a masters student in Toronto, Canada studying sustainable dive tourism and conservation issues at York University. It was at school that I found out about Opwall. They are not cheap, that is for sure, but I figured it would be a cool opportunity to learn a lot about different methods of impact assessment and other marine conservation projects. Are you currently in school? I am also in my mid-30's so I am curious about how young everyone will be.

We had a online orientation meeting and there seemed to be a mix of people, some new divers, a few more experienced. There are many who are younger who are just going for their OW cert and reef ecology course. I will be working as a research assistant so I will be able to learn about all of the different dissertation projects people are doing and get to be involved in the research. I will first do 2 weeks on Utila at the Coral View. That research site is unique because there are both reef and mangrove projects. Next I will be going to Cayos Cochinos for 2 weeks, we actually get to stay on one of the islands that is not used for tourism at all, and only people involved in the scientific research can stay there.

After my 4 weeks with them I am going back to Utila for another 2 weeks as there will be a coral spawning event I hope to catch. Also, you can not do any night diving with Operation Wallacea, my guess is due to liability issues. So I will be saving all my night diving for the two weeks after expedition.For the first of those weeks a friend is meeting up with me to buddy up, but then I have one more week by myself. I am hoping to hook up with some of the research being done locally and see if I can volunteer for anything. The research I am involved in right now gives me a bit of an opportunity to develop some contacts down there ahead of time.

If you are interested in going anywhere this summer, I will be down in Utila on my free time from August 16th to the 30th if you are looking for a trip and dive buddies. It is pretty cheap down there, even in the nicer places. The coral spawning should be around the 23rd, and there should also be whalesharks around. I am pretty excited about this trip. It's funny, I am actually going to France for a week next Friday, and I can only think about my trip down to Utila... LOL

If you are interested in volunteering, don't forget a good place to start looking is not these specific travel research groups, but MPAs and local NGOs are always looking for volunteers. If there is an area you want to travel to, start researching what is going on as far as conservation projects, and start writing people. You could probably put together your own research itinerary, especially if you are not in school and do not need the fieldwork credit.

Let me know if I can give you any more info on anything. Also, outfits like Operation Wallacea are often looking for DMs and instructors, they don't pay much, but it should be enough to at least cover your costs. Depending on your own cert level that might be an option. If you have the pre-requisites you can do the DM at no extra charge and then they hire you for the next season, but I priced it out and it can actually be cheaper to just do it through a dive shop like Utila Dive Center because the island is so cheap to stay on.

Hope this helps!

Carey (aka freshorangina)

Hi Suzie,

I am Managing Director of Blue Ventures and saw your forum question.

I won't use this forum to try and convince you that you should join Blue Ventures but if you would like to contact our office via Marine conservation expeditions & volunteer diving projects, Madagascar, Belize & Malaysia - Blue Ventures we can put you in touch with past volunteers and they can tell you about their experiences.

Just a note on one of the earlier entries in the forum. Reef Doctor is not part of Blue Ventures, we both work on the west coast of Madagascar and occasionally collaborate on research projects but we are not the same organisation.

Good luck with choosing a conservation trip, you are very wise to research this thoroughly and forums can help you learn more about an organisation before making a final decision. If you want to know how worthwhile the work of a conservation group is and how your contribution will help marine conservation I would suggest that a good starting point is for you to look at the published reports and papers of the organisations that you are considering.

Best wishes,

Richard Nimmo

Hi Suzie,

This response may be a little late for you, but I spent 6 weeks with Operation Wallacea last summer in Indonesia in the Wakatobi National Park (Hoga Island). The OpWall link.

As Carey said, it was quite pricey but it was an amazing experience and one that I definitely don't regret. In my case, the area was extremely remote. It took two days with one flight and two boat trips (one overnight) to get to the island, and that was quite an adventure in itself. Being that remote and being in the middle of one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world- the diving was incredible. Admittedly, I am a newbie diver but based on what others were saying, I think it's fair to say. And there was a large range of experience among the divers- but it's definitely not a diving camp (although those who choose to, can plan it that way).

As for the actual marine biology part of it. Everyone has to take a reef ecology course, which I found great, and makes it so that upon passing you can be trusted with collecting data. We were doing science. I learnt a lot but how much you get out of the program depends a lot on you. You need to make the effort to get to know the scientists and their projects. Go into their labs when you're not diving and spend time in the evening helping out however you can. You can just as easily just go on the dives twice a day, six days a week (!), help out however they need you to help then and spend the rest of the time doing nothing. If you want to be really involved in the science, then I would suggest doing the coral reef monitoring (it's a big project and they needed everyone to get really hands-on, or it just wasn't going to happen) or else enter the research pool. The research pool does really require you to go out and search out projects if you want the most of it. But if you're proactive, it's the best way to get involved in projects you're really interested in.

Also if you get the chance, less science, but an incredible experience, spend a week on the live aboard. The diving then is even more awe-inspring as you are diving places where almost NO ONE is getting to. And the captain and crew are great. Handy tip: if they claim that they can't fit you onto the live aboard, say that you won't go on the program unless they do! Got myself two weeks on it that way

Last few remarks. As Carey said training to be a DM there means a free trip (minus airfare) and at least on Hoga, you could train as a DM and then work there all in one season. As for the population, mostly students in the early 20s, but then the researchers and staff are in the late 20s to 40s and 50s. And finally, quick note on living conditions. It's a research island, so there are almost no locals (they actually move onto the island just for the research season to work for the research station) so don't expect to get to know the culture unless you make a trip to Kaledupa (the neighboring island, where there are also Bajo or 'sea nomads' - an amazing culture!), which was offered at least once when I was there as a de-gas day trip. You will be eating tuna everyday, once a day. The food gets dull fast, but it's actually not bad. You would be living in a hut on stilts (to keep the monitor lizards and sea snakes out) and have limited fresh water supply.

All in all, I think worth it. I did it because I wanted marine ecology experience since I only had a biology degree without any marine options. If you're looking to be involved in marine research, this could be the place for you. If you're looking to a place to feel like you're really making a difference towards conservation efforts- this isn't the place for you. Most of the work there was just pure research for PhDs and etc and didn't always feel entirely 'useful'..

Hope that helps and let me know if you have any questions! Good luck! And let us know what you decide on.

Would just like to say kudos to you for wanting to give back to the marine environment we all love. 15 years ago when I was V.P. of the Catalina Conservancy (NGO conservation organization that owns 88% of Catalina Island) we had many volunteers that served in the land-based conservation programs of the organization as well as a support group of divers (Catalina Conservancy Divers) who volunteered their time to organize monitoring programs around the island. Their contributions were very much valued by us.

I know this thread's a bit old, but was wondering if you found anything that fit your parameters?

I'm in a similar situation - mid 30's, time to spare, looking for somewhere/way to give back while gaining dive experience - and have been looking off and on for a project/organization, but nothing's really seemed to fit. Some projects listed only one dive a day, some 75% of the time basic training with only 25% of the time actual survey work, some 20% work time with 80% "vacation" time, etc. I do understand the need for good training to produce accurate data, but investing 3 weeks of dive and ID training for only 1 week of actual surveying seems a bit skewed to me (unless there are outside time constraints). While the gap year "summer camps" have their place, I don't think they're quite what I'm looking for.

Hi BSOD,

After doing the Coral Reef Ecology course and Reef Check program with OpWall last summer, I would say any program that does 3 weeks of training before sticking you on reef check is doing you a huge favor. I do not know how OpWall gets away with using the data generated by the volunteers. Many volunteers have hardly had any dives and cause more damage than the value of the flawed data. At the very minimum they should require all participants to complete PPB before doing transects. I have seen people bash into corals, lay on top of brain coral, grab onto sponges and other substrate, and chase and harass fish and other creatures. When it comes to the usability of the data, everyone had different ways to count things, some counted a whole colony of tunicates as 1, while others counted each individual of up to 200 or more.

I think if you are serious about getting certified for Reef Check, check out some of the excursions that are offered by Reef.org. I know they do specialty fish ID programs sometimes with special guests as well. Many conservation agencies and NGO's are always looking for volunteers on different projects, so it is worthwhile to do a bit of research and try to see if you can involved that way.