Animal Release Center: Eco-Supporter

FreeWildlifeBrazil Celine (Animal Release Center) has partnered with IPBio (Biodiversity Research Institute), an NGO that also works on the Betary Reserve with whom we cooperate closely, to develop a joint volunteer program. 

The Eco-Volunteer role is a joint role between IPBio and Celine which contains a range of activities which are conducted in a group. The majority of these tasks are field activities so this is for volunteers who like to be outside and enjoy physical activity. Not all these projects occur at the same time as various projects are seasonal. Tasks of an eco-volunteer are not limited to the roles below but we have listed the main areas that the eco-volunteer will participate in:

• Tree Inventory: we study the biodiversity in different areas of the reserve to assess forest well-being. In the process we can understand the distribution of fruit tree species which is particularly important for Celine. Why? Imagine you are releasing a parrot which only eats a certain fruit and it only grows between June and July. Therefore you should only release this parrot during these months to ensure it has available food which will increase the chances of a successful release. Moreover, these birds are tagged and monitored after their reintroduction to the wild to ensure they are adapting well and therefore identifying fruit trees in the area will increase the likelihood of finding the bird to monitor their progress.
• Garden Day: as a group we help out in the gardening, construction or maintenance of the reserves grounds. This is hard but rewarding work!
• Mushroom Inventory: we search for new species of mushrooms in order to identify them, photograph them and collect their spore prints which are like a mushrooms finger print. In addition, we do searches at night to find bioluminescent mushrooms which light up the floor in an avatar-like fashion.
• Tadpole Research: we have various projects related to tadpoles and often we need the help of volunteers to collect these tadpoles.
• Bird Inventory: explore the forest strategically in order to inventory species of birds on the reserve as well as understand their distribution patterns and their seasonality.
• Mammal Monitoring via Cameratraps: we have cameras filming 24/7 in the forest but all his data needs to be sorted. Volunteers are tasked with watching the footage, organizing the photos of mammals and identifying the species.
• Fish Inventory: many birds are aquatic and live on the banks of rivers waiting to scoop up a fish. We study the biodiversity of fish in order to support the birds Celine releases and sometimes we need to bring them back a tasty snack. 

As you can imagine, in the rainforest it rains quite a lot. If every time it rained we stopped working we would never get any work done so often we need to keep going. However, sometimes it is too much, so when this happens volunteers sit in the comfort of the reserve and help us in other areas such as: 

• Literature Research: Conduct online research to help us improve or set up new projects.
• Communications: Support us in expanding our network via social media or find university contacts so we can develop partnerships.
• Creative Projects: Such as creating beautiful birdhouses or art for the volunteer house.

Our Eco-Volunteers work from Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00 with an hour lunch break. Often our Eco-Volunteers work as a group on two different projects every day. For example: In the morning we work on the Mammal Monitoring and in the afternoon on the Tadpole Research. This means that every day, your work will be fun and diverse!  

Our town is called the Cave Capital of Brazil so volunteers often visit our state parks to explore the caves. Hike into the dense forest and visits to waterfalls are also common activities. Tubing, big balloons, are used to drift down the rivers, some of the river route are 3 hours long! After work volunteers can swim on the reserve deck, organize dinners, watch movies, read and go wildlife watching. On the weekend we often have a barbeque or organize dinner at a restaurant. Often there are social events or parties in the community that volunteers can go to.