Much like other areas of the world with abundant wildlife, Costa Rica suffers from animals that are subjected to poaching and capture by unscrupulous persons as well as animals injured when they encounter modern urban infrastructure like roads and power lines. Many of the animals at the center have been recovered from situations such as these, along with other injured wildlife animals.
The volunteer is an essential component is the success of the center for care and rehabilitation of these animals
They require care and feeding on their road to recovery and the program relies on volunteers to give of their time and energy to accomplish this with the hopes that the animals with eventually be able to be released into the wild once again.
A large component of our volunteer program is also education on wildlife conservation and the issues faced in Costa Rica and other areas of the world.
The volunteer is exposed to all facets of wildlife care as well as education about their natural habitat and their place in the environment.
Although a volunteer's role can change with the length of stay, initially the volunteer will participate in the preparation of food for the animals as well and the feeding and cleaning and conditioning of the enclosures. This is usually done three times a day. In addition, the volunteer may be required to give educational tours of the center to school children as well as other people interested in learning about specific animals or wildlife in general.
The center is located in a non-urban environment with a multitude of trees. The animal enclosures are strategically located throughout the property with walking paths connecting them and other areas. Some enclosures are very large while some are smaller and located near the animal hospital making it easier for close observation and/pr medical care. On the Western part of the property there is a river, which attracts wildlife that make their way through the natural corridor where the Center is located.
There is a large central common area with a second floor with many hammocks for relaxation and a small library of books. The central area also has a common dining area. The pools is next to the common area.
Costa Rica has a warm and humid environment, but our Center is fairly shaded, making the working conditions fairly comfortable. There is a washing machine and clothesline available to clean your clothing as well as a refrigerator for the volunteer’s food. At the center, we have electricity, flushable toilets, showers, and WiFi. We recommend volunteers bring a headlamp to get around at night and also bring hiking boots or tennis shoes.
The dorm rooms for our volunteers have 6-12 beds per room, and we provide sheets and mosquito netting (blankets are not included), but we recommend bringing a new mosquito net and warm clothes to sleep in, or a blanket as it can be a little cold at night. Also, you need to provide your own towel for showering and/or swimming
Volunteers typically work in pairs at the direction of the Volunteer Coordinator. There are assigned duties and we ideally place a more experienced volunteer with a new or less experienced one in order to learn the proper way to perform the animal tasks.
Finally, we expect all volunteers to adhere to a proper code of conduct with respect to the animals and their stay. This code of conduct is reviewed and communicated at the beginning of the stay, but there are signs posted throughout the center. These include things like, improper handling of wildlife, selfies with wildlife as well as proper community living guidelines such keeping your areas clean among others.
We truly expect this experience to be positively life changing and hope that this knowledge and experience can be taken with the volunteers to make a local impact wherever they go.
