Ecotourism Supporter in Galapagos National Park

Role Overview

The Galapagos Islands are world-famous for their conservation efforts.  With rising tourism, the Galapagos National Park has an increased role to play in mitigating human impact on local flora and fauna while also fostering tourism and educating visitors to the island.  Learn about the balance between ecotourism and conservation, and conduct work that will help the park understand how to better serve tourists while also improving conservation efforts.  Most people who visit the Galapagos only do so by boat; come live on the islands to get a better understanding of the local community and their role in conservation and learn about the pressures of local and visiting populations on the ecosystem.  

As the ecotourism intern you will  work alongside local staff in the communications department at the Galapagos National Park.  You will gather information that will help the national park staff make important decisions to improve their ecotourism offerings. Work in our local park office and visit park sites on Isabela Island to conduct interviews and surveys with visitors to the park. Amalgamate data for park staff use to improve ecotourism on the island. This will include:

• Running satisfaction questionnaires at visitor sites.
• Generating statistical data.
• Creating databases based on the surveys you administer.

Requirements:

• Intermediate to advanced level of Spanish in order to communicate with fellow workers and visitors.

• Ability to communicate and act with care and patience.

• Ability to work independently as well as in a team.

• Flexible schedule that accounts for the day to day needs of working with a local institution.

• Physical ability to work outdoors with potentially high sun, element, and temperature exposure.

• Ability to independently collect and register data.

• Recommended to bring a laptop for data collection.

• Closed-toed shoes recommended, and appropriate clothing to interface with international visitors.

Schedule

Schedules are based on a 25 hr/week commitment, and can voluntarily be extended to a regular 40hr/work week. Typically Monday-Friday 7:30AM-12:30PM. May be subject to change depending on the tasks at hand.

After breakfast with your homestay family or in our volunteer housing, you will start the morning at 7:30, either starting with surveys in the field or working from the park office on data entry.  Work may involve visiting volunteer sites, talking with tourists, collecting surveys, improving survey questions, and compiling data to help make program change decisions.

On Galapagos you can live a Pacific Island life. This means you can choose between a lot of free time activities including surfing, soccer, beach volleyball, etc.