Wildlife Conservation Apprenticeship in Costa Rica

‘If only every student could do this. It changes your life in all the right ways,’ says Chris Heritage, parent of Luke Heritage, one of our teen volunteers who has participated on two GVI programs, one in Costa Rica and another in South Africa.

We are a parent-run organisation that is incredibly serious about health and safety, and increasing the impact, as well as the long-term career benefits of our programs. Our programs help young people develop the skills to select a career path that is personally fulfilling, and live a life aligned to the well-being of our planet and the global community.

Ken and Linda Jeffrey, whose son Sam volunteered with GVI in Thailand, talk about how the experience affected Sam. He also went on to volunteer with GVI again in South Africa. ‘I know it sounds like a cliche but in a sense, he did go away as a boy and he came back as a young man. Both of us could recommend GVI without any hesitation to any other parent thinking about exploring an opportunity for their children to explore the world and to see different parts of it.’

All of our programs have short-, mid- and long-term objectives that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualise their contribution to the UN SDGs.

Prior to your arrival on base, you will be educated about the UN SDGs. Then once you arrive on base, you’ll learn about the specific goals we have in this particular location, our various objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these.

Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to be an active global citizen after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.

Cahuita National Park is a key area for many interlinked conservation efforts. It’s a popular nesting area for vulnerable and endangered sea turtles. It’s a natural stronghold for jaguars, and the different landscapes within the park is a haven for different bird species. The park is home to several species which have been identified as important for the health of the local ecosystem and global diversity by the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (ICE).

Rainforest Biodiversity Surveys

We assist ICE with conducting a Biological Assessment Survey of the four major habitat types around our area of the park. We note a wide range of species on our surveys, including the rain frog, red-eyed treefrog, three species of toucan, spider monkey, mantled howler monkey, white-lipped peccary, eyelash palm pit viper and Baird’s tapir (due to its elusive nature, this species is rarely encountered). Staff and participants walk marked paths in the forest, noting sightings, tracks and vocalisations. Only species identified with 100% certainty can be recorded. The data is sent to ICE, who uses a standardised methodology to monitor the condition of each trail over time. This helps them to understand the health of the local environment and whether their current conservation efforts are working.

Sea Turtle Research

We also assist the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) with sea turtle research and protection by patrolling the beach, and assisting in hatchery opportunities – using internationally recognised protocols – during turtle nesting and hatching season (from around March to December each year). 

From April to October, a team walks the beach each night looking for nesting sea turtles. Depending on the time of year, you might not see a single turtle, or you might see multiple turtles in one night. When a turtle is encountered, different kinds of research activities might be carried out, depending on what stage of the nesting process she is in – emerging from the sea, selecting a nest site, digging a body pit, digging her egg chamber to lay her eggs, covering her egg chamber, disguising her nest, or returning to sea. This might include checking for distinctive markings to see if she’s been to the beach before and making a note for future researchers if she returns, tagging her flippers, measuring her carapace, counting her eggs, marking her nest, or checking for abnormalities in the mother turtle or eggs.

From April to November, a team patrols the beach during the day to look for previously-marked nests to determine whether any of them have hatched, been eroded by the sea, been attacked by predators (like raccoons, white-nosed coatis or ghost crabs), or been poached by humans. This information is used to investigate whether any areas of the beach are more susceptible to nest loss. Depending on the season, we also take note of mother turtle tracks from the previous night.

Between June and December, hatched nests are excavated to determine hatchling success and survival rates, the reason for losses in egg development, and the actual status of the nests, including whether or not they were partially or fully poached.

Throughout the year, our teams carry out beach cleanups, ensuring there’s a good nesting place for mother turtles, and an uninterrupted passage for hatchlings to make their way to the sea.

Jaguar Population and Predation Research

The jaguar is the only member of the Panthera or “big cat” genus found in the Western Hemisphere. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has given the jaguar the status of being “near threatened”. 

We assist SINAC with identifying the availability of prey species in the area, noting any changes in jaguar feeding behaviour, and determining whether jaguars prey on sea turtles in this area, as they are known to do in other areas. The predation of marine turtles by jaguars has an impact on marine turtle populations and this information assists SINAC to develop well-rounded and consistent conservation policies within the national parks. 

Direct observations of jaguars can be very difficult to achieve because of their elusive nature. Several projects of elusive species worldwide have turned to remote observation techniques in order to estimate population sizes. Camera trapping projects have been used to estimate tiger density within national parks in India. Projects in Costa Rica such as the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, and the Jaguar Project in Corcovado National Park have had success with camera trapping of jaguars. Since 2006 we have assisted the jaguar camera trap program in Tortuguero, by collecting data for them, and we are going to implement the same techniques in Cahuita National Park, which borders the jaguar corridor. It is constantly evolving as new, more effective methodologies are developed.

Aquatic Bird Research

We monitor aquatic bird species identified by SINAC as important indicators of the overall ecological health of the National Park. These include exotic species like the neotropic cormorant, the rufescent tiger-heron, the cattle egret, the green ibis and the amazon kingfisher. Species are identified and specifics such as their sex and breeding behaviour are noted. 

This project aims to help researchers and governmental authorities understand when and where resident species migrate to. It’s generally believed that seasonal migration takes place within Costa Rica. We are the only organisation to study birds in the National Park. Each volunteer has a great impact on the preservation of the wetlands, a recognised RAMSAR site. The project also helps SINAC with developing an accurate management plan for Cahuita National Park. In addition, we collect information on all incidental species seen on the canals. Sightings of megafauna like endangered manatees are extremely important to SINAC as they provide evidence towards justifying the boundaries of the National Park and whether to extend them.

Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.

We want to constantly develop our own understanding of ethical best practice. In so doing, we aim to provide an exemplary industry standard for other education institutions, international development organisations, and social enterprises. Our Badge of Ethics stands for the drive to always do good, better. Find out more, click on the Badge below.