Reserve Maintenance and Gardener

The Program

Trails - we have a couple of trails around the reserve which will need to maintained for visits. Grabbing a machete, you will cut back any plants that are intrusively  in the way or are  prickly.

Animal Enclosures - we have a turtle tank and an aquarium which we will need help cleaning, fixing or expanding.

The Grounds - the reserve is 60 hectares so we need to ensure it is in good condition and looks presentable to the general public who visits.

The Microclimate Greenhouse - we have  a greenhouse which has various frogs living in it. Help maintaining the infrastructure and the plants with the greenhouse would be great.

Vegetable and Herb Patch - we want to expand the patch so we can produce our own food for our staff and volunteers. Setting up infrastructure is essential as we also want this area to be a place where people can sit on benches or do picnics. Planting and watering will also be required and any experience with organic farming would be great as all our produce uses zero pesticides.

Living at IPBio

Volunteers will stay at the Darwin House, situated on the reserve itself, which accommodates up to 8 people in 2 rooms. This house has a bathroom with a hot shower and has a fully equipped kitchen where volunteers can cook. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to maintain and clean the house, we take this very seriously. Volunteers can use our organic vegetable and herb patch in their cuisine. Shops are in the town of Iporanga 6km away from the reserve, which you can walk or get a lift, where there are various shops with all you will need. Every day you will wake up to the sound of birds, monkeys and frogs and can explore the reserves grounds. During the weekend volunteers can visit the State Parks to explore the caves, hike into the dense forest surrounding them or visit the waterfalls. At the reserve we have a deck where you can swim as well as use our tubes (big circular water balloons) to drift down the river along with the current. Volunteers can also organize dinners, movie nights or social events which can be enjoyed with a glass of wine or two. You can use the internet at the Center to Skype loved ones. 

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. 

- 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.