Wildlife Conservation in the countryside

This unique and exciting project gives you the chance to directly help wild animals in the countryside of Portugal and support a social organization that integrates disabled people locally. In a scenario where Nature is all around the Park, wild animals rescued from zoos, private owners, and other situations in which animals were mistreated, are preserved and taken care of.

Together with the local staff, you will assist in most tasks related to the conservation of wild animals such as deers, wild boars, different species of eagles, lamas, Euro-Asian lynx, Iberian wolves, European otters, and even brown bears! You will also assist in the farm to take care of horses and oxen but also ducks, pigs, chickens among others. Tasks include observing their behavior, forest conservation, habitat maintenance, feeding, among many other tasks depending on the season.

The organization responsible for the Wildlife Park is a social organization whose mission is to contribute to the local development and to fight poverty by supporting and integrating disabled people. This organization plays an essential role in the local community and 43% of their staff are people with some kind of disability or chronic disease.

This program is accessible to everyone but requires some level of physical fitness. When joining the program in the Winter, the volunteer should be prepared to experience lower temperatures of between 40-60°F (5-15°C), and come equipped with warm clothing. If the volunteer is planning on coming during the summer, when temperatures range between 77-100ºF (25-38ºC), comfortable and light clothes are recommended.

You will join the morning or afternoon shift at your placement and will work for approximately 3 to 5 hours per day.

A typical daily schedule will look as follows:

09:00 am | Travel to your project with the organization transport and join the local staff to volunteer at the park

01:00 pm | Have lunch at the park with the organization staff

02:00 pm | Explore the mountains trails and the surroundings of the forest or enjoy your free time with other volunteers in the center of the village

08:00 pm | Dinner with other international volunteers on your accommodation

Please note that the actual schedule can change according to the season the volunteer is applying for. 

We want you to really get to know your natural and cultural surroundings and will provide you with useful tips and tricks that will help you discover the location of your stay like a local!

Your shifts will generally last between 3 and 5 hours per day and will take place either in the morning, in the afternoon or in the evening, which will leave you with plenty of free time to go explore, take a stroll around your surroundings, catch the most important sites, interact with the locals or simply go and relax! And of course, you will have your weekends off as well!