Eco-Supporter

This role is a joint role between IPBio and Celine Release Center, also located on the reserve, who work in partnership on various conservation projects. The Eco-Volunteer role 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.

Living at IPBio

Every day you will wake up to the sound of birds, monkeys and frogs and can explore the reserves grounds. 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. Bouy cross, 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 barbecue or organize dinner at a restaurant. Often there are social events or parties in the community that volunteers can go to.

Location

The Atlantic Forest stretches from the northeastern to the southern regions of Brazil and northern Argentina and southeastern Paraguay. Five hundred years ago, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil covered approximately 330 million acres, but today only 7% remains. In the Ribeira Valley, our region of the Atlantic Forest, we are at the footsteps of 21% of the 7% that is left, it being largest contiguous section of the Atlantic Forest. Despite the forests diminished state it still ranks as a global conservation priority. Although it is now just a small fraction of the size of the Amazon rainforest, the Atlantic Forest still harbors a range of biological diversity similar to that of the Amazon. The Atlantic Forest harbors around 2,200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians – 5% of the vertebrates on Earth. This includes nearly 200 bird species found nowhere else. The Betary Reserve is located next to one of the most famous Brazilian State Parks named PETAR. The region is called the Cave Capital as it known for containing over 300 spectacular caves, some which are accessible to tourists.

A typical day is starting at 9am and heading into the forest to conduct the tree inventory which requires measuring, photographing and attempting to identify species of trees. At noon you will come back to make some lunch and have an hour break. After lunch we would help out with some of the reserve maintenance so this could involve removing weeds from the garden or collecting rocks to make bromelia patches.

- Caves: Iporanga is called “The Cave Capital of Brazil” with over 400 caves in the town. Below are just the highlights.

•Casa da Pedra is the world’s largest cave entrance of 215 meters. The trip involves a 2-hour hike to the opening where there is a place to sit down and have a picnic and swim and then a hike back.

•Temimina Cave has a large opening in the ceiling illuminating its oddly shaped diagonal garden. Then you enter into a dark cave where at the end you find a natural shower hole.

•Nucleo Santana is a group of caves and is the most commonly visited as it has a wide range of different types of caves. In some caves you can swim.

- Tubing/Boia Cross: is a sport where by you get on a big balloon and float down the river. There are various waterways you can do in Iporanga, some more radical and some in the big river which is very relaxing and can last 3 hours.

- Cananeia: has various islands with dolphins swimming in between which are very easy to visualize. It is also known for its stunning beaches, awesome boat tours, great restaurants and the mangrove reserve where there are many crabs.

- Waterfalls: Iporanga has many waterfalls. “Sem Fim” is a small waterfall walking distance from the reserve. “Vale das Ostras” has 12 large waterfalls in a row.

- Quilombos: during the era of slavery many slaves would run away from the plantations and create settlements hidden in the forest. These communities live in relative isolation and you can visit their small towns. For some of the Quilombos the tours include travelling their by boat and having a traditional lunch at one of the families homes.

- Social Events:

•Dinners: there are many nice restaurants were volunteers can have dinner, some more classy like Casarao and some with traditional Brazilian food. There is also a great fish restaurant. Often volunteer will eat out on the weekends.

•Town Parties: the are a couple of bars in town, some have pool tables and some have dancing areas. On holidays, there are usually town festivals on the streets.

•BBQ: it is very common to have a BBQ on the weekend which is often accompanied with the traditional Brazilian drink called Caipirinha.