Live and work in the Costa Rican Rainforest
Program Overview
Work, live and explore in the Costa Rican rain forest and contribute to the development and management of long-term wildlife conservation efforts along Central America’s Caribbean coast.
During your time on this expedition you will truly gain a holistic understanding of the Costa Rican rain forest and its ecosystem by conducting important research on populations of sea turtles (subject to their nesting season), jaguars and aquatic birds.
In addition you will receive additional training across a wide variety of subjects and gain a plethora of skills that will help you further your ability to operate professionally in the field.
This Expedition is based in Tortugero National Park, one of the most remote and breathtaking regions of the Costa Rican rainforest.
Life on the Program
On this expedition you will be surrounded by the breathtaking scenery and unique wildlife of Tortugero’s tropical rainforest and Caribbean beaches. There is no road access to our base so all transportation is via the stunning green canals on boats and canoes.
The majority of your time will be spent working on important research projects and training in a variety of important field skills. The work is challenging, but extremely rewarding.
Our base is small but comfortable, with enough room to hang out and get to know your fellow volunteers or just get away to study when you need to. As a team member of the expedition you can expect to help with cooking, maintenance and cleaning on a rotational basis.
Program Details
This expedition is designed to immerse you in our holistic conservation efforts while providing a solid base of training and a comprehensive amount of education.
Here are the main projects this expedition rotates:
- Jaguar Predation of Marine Turtles: The aim of this project is to determine whether jaguars are having an impact on the marine turtle populations.
- Jaguar, Mammal and Prey Species Abundance Study: This project is designed to track and monitor jaguar numbers and their prey.
- Marine Turtle Monitoring and Conservation Program (March – October): Monitoring of nesting green, leatherback and hawksbills sea turtles.
- Resident and Migratory Bird Research: Monitoring 30 key aquatic bird species to collect long-term seasonal trend data on resident and migratory birds.
Volunteer Testimonials
The expedition base is incredible, set back from the beach, miles from civilisation with a wealth of wildlife, not just on the doorstep, but in the dorms! The environment just got better as we...
The expedition base is incredible, set back from the beach, miles from civilisation with a wealth of wildlife, not just on the doorstep, but in the dorms! The environment just got better as we adjusted to the temperature, early starts, cold showers, spiders and snakes.
I was pretty relaxed for 10 weeks, so I am pretty sure I extended my life span by about 10 years! As I have never done any conservation work before I learnt a massive amount about survey techniques, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. I also gained a level of fitness, which is going to be super hard to retain.
Nothing can beat the jaguar encounters. I was well aware that we were very unlikely to see a jaguar. I saw FOUR. Dave and I were on the early morning nest check; we saw jaguar prints on the sand. I told Dave they were pretty fresh prints, maybe a half hour ahead of us. He was less optimistic. In between checking the nests we followed the prints, joking about seeing a jag. All of a sudden Dave was signalling for me to look left. There, almost under my feet, was a jag, sat with it’s back to us. As we tried to find cameras another jag peered out of the vegetation and winked at his friend before moving off. Then the first jag glanced over his shoulder, calmly stood and wandered off as well. It was amazing.
I immediately achieved an understanding on what I wanted to do in life, and gained the confidence to go out and do it. I took away a great appreciation toward conservation, and with all the skills...
I immediately achieved an understanding on what I wanted to do in life, and gained the confidence to go out and do it. I took away a great appreciation toward conservation, and with all the skills and knowledge I learned with GVI, I have carried that appreciation into my direct future.
I would recommend GVI to anyone because it caters to all people, and looks after its volunteers from the moment they arrive in the country, until they leave. I would further recommend GVI as I am a great believer in its work, and the fact that it could not survive without its volunteers and all their support, which results in its volunteers leaving their projects or expeditions with a great sense of satisfaction.
I have so many amazing memories from the trip - nearly standing on a Fer-de-lance, a Boa Constrictor in the shower block, watching hummingbirds feed in the flowers around base, the gruelling 15-...
I have so many amazing memories from the trip - nearly standing on a Fer-de-lance, a Boa Constrictor in the shower block, watching hummingbirds feed in the flowers around base, the gruelling 15-mile Jag walk along the beach, sitting on the beach watching the incredible sunrise and much more.
A particularly interesting memory was when myself and two volunteers found a lost Green Turtle one morning that had somehow gone the wrong way and ended up some distance from the beach. They are big, heavy animals and there was no way the three of us could physically move it. It was still moving and we managed to turn it in the right direction and try and direct it back towards the beach. Unfortunately, we then disturbed a wasp nest and had to retreat back to base.
Later that day one of the afternoon survey teams found what we can only presume was the same turtle, some half a mile or so away, and still some way from the beach. It was now severely exhausted and de-hydrated. Runners came back to base and me and a few others came out to help. We bought a couple of hammocks and using them as makeshift slings managed to actually lift the turtle. It took four of us to do it and it was quite the effort, particularly with me still having a sore head from an earlier wasp sting! Nevertheless, we pushed on and managed to get the turtle down into the surf and the taste and feel of the cool salt water seemed to revive her one last time and she managed to haul herself into the sea and disappeared under the waves. We did tag and measure her whilst we had the opportunity, partly for the biometric information, and partly because there was a chance that we might find her again one night coming ashore to nest again. The more sentimental of the group named her Suerte (Luck in Spanish), but we never saw her again to be able to confirm that she survived her ordeal. Still, there is always the chance that in coming years, a survey team may come across her, coming to nest again. I hope so.
Yesterday was my favorite day yet on the expedition. The majority of our day was spent wading through waist deep water and mud trying our hardest not to get stuck. As we neared the end of the day we all agreed that this had been the most intense yet amazing one thus far on the expedition.
The jungle is a huge and fascinating place and this is the perfect opportunity to explore it. To top it all off the data we are collecting will help guide conservation policies for the future
Overall, the knowledge that I was contributing to research, conservation, and helping the local community made me extremely proud to be part of this GVI expedition.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the GVI experience was the family-like feeling that developed on base.
Each of us had our own reasons for being there, but overall our goals were the same. Our accommodations felt more like home than I ever imagined they would.
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Program Details
Build Your Program
What's Included
- Pre-departure support and discounted services
- 24-hour emergency phone
- Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)
- Arrival orientation
- Long term experienced staff
- Safe and basic accommodations (usually shared)
- All meals (unless otherwise stated in field manuals)
- Welcome meeting
- Location orientation
- All necessary project training by experienced staff
- All necessary project equipment and materials
- 24-hour in-country support
- Transfer to rainforest location
- First Aid & CPR training
- GPS training
- Marine radio and camera trap use
- Wildlife identification skills
- Tropical forest ecology
- Scientific techniques in collection of biometric data, transect work, incidental observation, tourist and human impact surveys, camera trapping and, track identification
What's Not Included
- Flights
- Medical and travel insurance
- Visa costs
- Personal kit
- Additional drinks and gratuities
- Extra local excursions
- International and domestic airport taxes
