Overview
Jane Goodall Institute volunteer program in Uganda

Volunteer with chimpanzees at the world renowned Jane Goodall Institute, and help raise awareness about the environment and humanitarian issues in Uganda. Be a part of implementing strategies from head office and within schools close to the fragile forests that are home to the diminishing chimpanzee populations.

This is a six month internship – an incredible opportunity for those interested in careers within ecology and the environment – and those applying for this incredible experience-giving volunteer work in Uganda will ideally have a background or relevant qualifications in environmental education. Volunteers will be training and teaching Ugandans about the environment and also about humanitarian issues, working from three different bases; two rural-based environmental education centers in Kalinzu and Budongo, and the Entebbe Headquarters.

View Film Footage, images, blogs, volunteer stories from the field, volunteer video diaries and more at the programs media centre

I was continually learning about Ugandan people, culture, language, and how they live and work. Yet, there was also room for my work with the Institute to make an impact

Christine Hayashida, 2007 Volunteer

What Difference Does This Project Make?

In the past four years, work has been carried out to increase the quantity and quality of environmental education taught in schools surrounding forested areas. Thousands of students have participated in visits to forest education centres to gain a personal connection with the forest habitat. Through the Roots & Shoots programme, students have chosen to undertake activities to help the environment, animals and the human communities. These have included activities such as tree planting, composting, awareness campaigns, and water and sanitation projects. Thousands of students are now much more aware of the need to protect the natural environment and what they can do to be a part of this.

Highlights

Getting the chance to work with the world renowned Jane Goodall Institute as part of their environmental education team, and as well as helping with other areas of the education programmes, volunteers play a large part in promoting ‘Roots & Shoots’ – a programme of the institute in the rural schools surrounding chimpanzee habitat areas. This gives volunteers a unique opportunity to promote conservation in areas where people’s behaviour really impacts on the survival of the endangered chimpanzees.

Location

These placements are based in the African country of Uganda, the country where the East African savannah meets the West African jungle. This is a country where you can observe lions prowling the open plains in the morning and track chimpanzees through the rainforest undergrowth in the afternoon! The volunteer’s position is split between three locations: Entebbe, which is on the shore of island-strewn Lake Victoria; Kalinzu Forest, which is about five hours by car from Kampala, in a reserve where some of the trails have amazing views that open up over the Ruwenzori Mountains, Lake Edward; the Kazinga Channel and the Congo; and Budongo Forest, the oldest mahogany forest in East Africa.

Field Conditions

When in the JGI head office in Entebbe, Uganda, the volunteer will be offered a shared room with shared facilities. There is electricity and running hot and cold water, and there are cooking facilities at the offices. When at the field education centres, you will stay in a simple room at the National Forestry Authority site. You will have facilities to cook for yourself, but you may be able to arrange to have a person prepare meals for you at a relatively low cost, which would be basic Ugandan food. There is no electricity or running water, and there are pit latrines and bucket showers; but living on the edges of the Kalinzu or Budongo forest will make any lack of luxurious facilities all worth it, as it is home to many animals that includes chimpanzees.