About
Join our new african grey parrot conversation project and assist in protecting the endangered species of which nearly all of the population has been lost in Ghana within 20 years. Take part in site maintenance, rehabilitation aviary upkeep tasks, feeding and cleaning duties as well as conservation efforts such as nesting and release activities.
Why this placement
The parrot plays an important role in its habitat by helping to propagate the forest and pollination in a balanced ecosystem. The parrot has suffered in the illegal export pet trade as well as a loss of their natural habitat.
By assisting in sanctuary and conservation efforts, we aim to play our part in the protection of the remaining grey parrots in Ghana as well as aiming to boost numbers within the Ghanaian forest reserve network in future years.
What is included
Support Staff - Accommodation - House Utility Bills - Pre Departure Support
Support Staff - You will have both pre departure support from our head office team and then in country support at the project sites with you to ensure you have a smooth transition into a new culture and answer any queries you may have.
Accommodation - Living with your fellow volunteers and support team you will have the benefit of a tight knit family feel and always ensuring there is someone to chat to and plan your free time activities. For full information on the accommodation provided please see below in the dedicated part of the listing.
How do I get to the placement
You will live a close distance to the main aviary so within walking distance. If you opt to help on monitoring and patrol exercises you may be required to travel a further distance either on foot into the forests or with a taxi to another village.
What will I be doing
The core pillars of the conservation project at this time are; Beach Patrols, Hatchery Supervision & Data Collection.
Rehabilitation Aviary - The main rehabilitation aviary will be used to 'rewild' birds where they will have a space to learn how to fly again after being saved from the pet trade. Having a communal area is crucially important for the well being of parrots being so social, in the wild they have been known to live in groups of over 1000! Where funds allow we will offer our sanctuary service to parrot owners as well as the aim to work with the wildlife agency to educate and purchase these parrots back so that they can live more suited to their needs and also assist in the population growth to hopefully in the future remove this species from the endangered list.
Reproduction & Release - Working with a local veterinary advisor and conservation specialist, we aim to have a two pronged approach to reproduction and hopefully growth in population. Once we have enough parrots that are strong enough, have the relevant skills and number enough in population, happy birds will of course reproduce and offer natural breeding numbers. To cooncide with this, we also hope to establish a successful captive breeding scheme as a species survival plan - this will involve a number of the parrots that are not suited to be released into the wild or may have stronger human connections that will hopefully be paired so that their chicks will contribute to the parrot sanctuary's population growth.
Data Collection - Constant monitoring of the parrots on site to ensure the district veterinary team have all the information they may need to track progress. Especially as the village is remote and regular veterinary visits are not always possible just for monitoring. After hard releases to the surrounding forest reserves, we will then run monitoring sessions to track areas of population, numbers and habits.
Depending on volunteer team numbers and workload we also aim to run community awareness schemes to highlight the importance of african grey parrots to the environment, this may include engaging school lessons or community outreaches.
Who will I be working with
Depending on the numbers of volunteers at a time we aim to group volunteers into couples or small groups especially at the start of your trip until you complete the training and feel comfortable. Our support team will always be closeby between the project sites or accommodation should you need any further support or assistance when in country.
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