Southeast Asia · Conservation
Northern Thailand
Community-based elephant, gibbon, and forest conservation in the mountain forests of the north.
Atlantic Islands · Conservation
Canary Islands
Whale and dolphin research in a protected Atlantic strait.
- Track record
- Since 2021
- Focus areas
- 1 offered
- From
- $2,096 USD for 2 weeks
- Start dates
- Rolling
Your host
Who you’d be working with
Your host is a local marine research association studying the resident whales and dolphins of a protected strait in the Canary Islands. Boat-based photo-identification surveys, plus sea turtle, seabird and shoreline monitoring, build the long-term data that decides how the marine protected area is managed.
The rhythm is field science: training in cetacean identification, survey days on the water, land-based counts of boat traffic to measure pressure on the animals, microplastic sampling, and education work promoting ethical whale watching. Weekends are free, and you’re on a volcanic island in the Atlantic. Use them.
- Region
- Atlantic Islands
- Focus
- Conservation
- Established
- Since 2021
- Launch destination
- Yes
The work
What you’d actually do
4–6 hours a day, matched to the partner’s current needs during your screening call.
Focus areas offered
- Boat-based cetacean surveys and photo-identification
- Sea turtle, seabird, and shoreline biodiversity monitoring
- Land-based boat-traffic counts measuring pressure on the animals
- Beach cleans and microplastic collection
- Education and ethical whale-watching outreach
A day in the life
- 7:30
- Breakfast at the base
- Morning
- Boat survey, or land-based counts when the sea says no
- 11:45
- Lunch, then photo-ID cataloging and data entry
- Afternoon
- Shoreline surveys, beach cleans, or education sessions
- 19:00
- Dinner. Evenings are yours
Included
Everything your Program Fee covers
- Shared volunteer accommodation at or near each project, from village bases and homestays to small hotels and hostels
- All daily meals
- Daily transport to and from the project, including boat transfers where the project needs them
- In-country orientation
- Basic language lessons, cultural events and community activities
- Role-specific training where the project needs it
- 4 to 6 hours of supervised work a day
- A local emergency contact and in-country support from our NGO partner
What your stay in the Canary Islands costs
| Stay | Total |
|---|---|
| 2 weeksour minimum | $2,096 |
| 4 weeks1 month | $3,692 |
| 8 weeks2 months | $7,134 |
| 12 weeks3 months | Recommended$10,326 |
| 24 weeks6 months | $20,152 |
Deposit + Program Fee · all prices in USD
Not included: flights, visas, travel insurance (required), vaccinations and personal spending.
Safety & trust
Questions people ask before they go
How are partners vetted?
Every partner is an established local nonprofit with years of hosting experience, formal safeguarding policies, vetted accommodation, and a trained on-site supervisor as your daily contact. Partners commit to contracted expectations and regular reporting. More on safety.
Why don’t you name your partner organizations?
Naming grassroots organizations publicly gets them flooded with unsolicited outreach. We describe each partner richly without naming them, and you’ll be introduced to your partner by name a minimum of 30 days before departure. Why we work this way.
What if something goes wrong in-country?
You have a local emergency contact from your partner organization, and your Placement Coordinator as the escalation point. Travel insurance covering your whole placement is required on every program. Orientation covers exactly who to call, for what, before you need to.
Am I actually useful, or is this voluntourism?
Fair question. It’s the one we built the whole model around. Placements exist only where a partner has asked for them, you work under a local supervisor on their agenda, and we encourage longer stays because two weeks of goodwill doesn’t equal three months of consistency. We won’t manufacture a project to sell you a trip.
More destinations
Where else you could go
Central America · Conservation
Costa Rica
Community-led rainforest and wildlife monitoring inside an Indigenous reserve on the Caribbean coast.
Indian Ocean · Conservation
Madagascar
Forest and reef research beside a national park, on an island off the northwest coast.
Ready for Canary Islands?
Applications are open with rolling start dates, and the screening call works both ways.