As a volunteer on this project,
you will help the rangers at Ranger Stations around Corcovado National
Park and Caño Island (a protected marine area and PRIME dive and snorkel
spot in Costa Rica). The rangers need your help because there is not
enough staff to cover all shifts and for safety reasons it’s best to
have always 2-3 people on the site.
Often staff or rangers are alone on the island / ranger station which
can potentially be very dangerous if something happens. There is not
enough resources form the Ministry of Environment (MINAET) to cover
extra rangers.
Green Life Volunteers wants to contribute to the beautiful nature of
these sites by helping with the daily tasks of the rangers. During your
stay you can also improve your Spanish because the rangers speak and
understand little to no English. They really want to learn English, so
you can teach each other your languages during your volunteer time.
The locations
The locations for the National Park Volunteer project are San Pedrillo
Ranger Station in Corcovado National Park, La Sirena Ranger Station in
Corcovado N.P., La Leona Ranger Station in Corcovado N.P. and Isla de
Cano just offshore from Corcovado N.P.
Corcovado National park boasts 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity, and
is an extremely untouched and pristine jungle. It’s an extraordinary
experience to be living in the park as a ranger – since normally no one
is allowed to reside in the park.
La Sirena Ranger station is the only station that allows tourists to
stay overnight in the park. Hence it’s also the most popular
volunteering station, but often there is limited availability.
Isla de Cano is also absolutely protected and the only structure on
the island is the Ranger Station. The island is a marine park, and many
tourists go snorkeling and diving there everyday. Marine species that
can be seen are white-tipped reef sharks, manta rays, whale sharks,
turtles, sting-rays, and all sorts of tropical fish. It’s absolutely
paradise !
Unfortunately volunteers CAN NOT choose their ranger station – you’ll
be placed depending on what time of year you apply and where the
National Park needs most help. We can not guarantee that you can go to a
certain station of your choice, but you can let us know during your
sign up process which station you’d like to go to!
Volunteers
An ideal volunteer on this project has a passion for nature and also
really wants to work with nature and conservation. Furthermore, the
volunteer has to enjoy physical labor and being outside.
Volunteers need to be flexible and proactive who do not mind to get
their hands dirty and put their own ideas into practice. The volunteer
needs to be motivated to help the rangers with their daily duties.
You do not need a degree for this project. You can volunteer on this project if you are 18+ years old.
Please note that you need to be OK with being “out of touch” for a
while – there is no cell phone signal in the park, and there is no wifi
at most stations.
