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Caribbean Rainforest, Costa Rica

Rainforest Conservation in Costa Rica

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Trip Highlights

Protect the eco-system by conserving nature and supporting the local community
Live admist the nature surrounded by a beautiful garden and rainforest
Discover Costa Rica's incredible natural environment
Live and volunteer with other likeminded volunteers from around the world

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Overview Program Requirements Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities Volunteer Work Schedule Living Costs Dates Reviews

Overview

The biodiversity and the density of different species in Costa Rica are among the highest in the world. The Rainforest conservation program protects and studies a private reserve of 140 hectares of rainforest. Volunteers in this program help with the protection of the rainforest and learn to live in harmony with nature.

The project’s objective is to learn with and from one another. By sharing knowledge and research, the project grows and has a positive impact on the forest, the volunteers and the local community.

The conservation project and foundation protects 140 hectares of wildlife reserve which is growing. The objective of the project is to understand exactly what it is that they are protecting, what the threats are, and which measures need to be taken to have the biggest possible sustainable impact for both nature and human beings alike. The goal is to increase their reserve to 2000 hectares of rainforest to protect and preserve. As well as to connect with the local population, helping them with alternatives, to prevent logging and illegal activities like hunting.

The project is located about 3 hours from San Jose and 2 hours from Puerto Viejo. The private reserve is located in Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands between the Barbilla National Park, an Indian reservation, the village of San Miguel and banana plantations. Surrounded by a beautiful, tropical rainforest, there is only a very small town nearby that provides some basics, there is a mini-supermarket, a small local school, a church and a soccer field.

Program Requirements

Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the time of joining the project, and must be ready to commit at least 2 weeks for this program. You need to have an open mind and a flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment.Volunteers need to be responsible, disciplined, hardworking, motivated, and able to work in a team, flexible, patient, and pro-active. Must be physically and mentally fit, and able to walk at least 4 hrs. per day in a hot and tropical climate. Participants in the program should have a keen interest and love for nature and conservation. Participants should have no criminal convictions and should provide a clean criminal background check report. No Spanish requirement is there to join the program.

Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities

Volunteers working in the rainforest conservation program get involved in a variety of tasks. Some examples of the activities are :-

Collect data to map out the biodiversity in the project area
Help the researchers with analyzing data and review data from camera traps
Create pathways through the reserve and put-up information signs for visitors
Monitor the germinated sprouts and track the development of planted trees
Work in the permaculture organic garden
Help with the English lessons at the school in town
Collect garbage from the river that runs through the reserve
Day-to-day operational duties

Volunteer Work Schedule

On the first day, the Project Coordinator will show you around and explain what to do on the following days. The project has a strong focus on three main subjects: biodiversity, reforestation and sustainable living.

Volunteers work around 8 hours daily, 5 days per week. Your weekends are free.

Breakfast is served at 7am and will be a typical Costa Rican dish. At 8am your day starts with a hike into the tropical rainforest reserve for about 3 hours to start accumulating data, conducting research and other projects (for example planting or measuring trees in the reforestation area).
There are also days that you will stay on the research project area to work in the organic vegetable garden, build a tree nursery, investigate collected bugs, make an inventory of the butterflies or for example make chocolate from the cacao you collected.

Lunch is served at 12.30 after which the afternoon is usually spent by processing data, analyzing the trap cam video’s, studying the collected dung-beetles or frog pictures, writing up research or working in the garden.

5 pm a lovely dinner is served. After dinner you can chat with the other volunteers and students in the community house, play games, read or chill in a hammock. It gets dark in Costa Rica by 6pm and by 9pm the project expects you to be quiet and make up for a new and wonderful day to come.
There are daily operational duties too. Work at the project can be physically demanding, but no 2 days are the same!!

Living

Being an International Organization, we try to make sure that our volunteers are given the kind of comfort and flexibility they seek. In terms of airport pick up, stay, local travel or work and even city tour, we help our volunteers and facilitate everything for them.

Airport Transfer

Participants need to arrive at San Jose on a Sunday. Pickup from the airport and one night hostel stay in San Jose is included in your program fee. Participants are transferred to the project on Monday.

Accommodation

You will stay in a volunteer house located next to the guard´s house and two other houses where both project managers and their families live. You will stay in a shared dormitory style room that sleeps up to 4 people per room and there is a maximum of 12 volunteers/students sleeping in the house. The volunteer house is well ventilated and completely closed-in by fly screen to keep the bugs away. There are also 2 showers and 2 toilets.

Besides the volunteer house, there is a public house/common area at the research center, with a dining room and hangout space with hammocks where you can eat, chill and meet with fellow volunteers and students. You’ll find a kitchen here as well, where the cook prepares 3 delicious meals a day.
The accommodation is surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden and rainforest, with a great diversity of plants and animals. From the porch, you will be able to see many animals, including colibris, toucans and butterflies. In the garden, you will find a big variety of fruit trees and depending on the season, you can find lots of different kind of fruits to eat like mangos, bananas, oranges, pineapples, starfruit and many more.

Orientation

All volunteers are given an orientation before starting the program by the project coordinator.Orientation is conducted by the local staff and covers topics such as Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities, Rules and Expectations, Safety and Introduction to your project and placement.

Meals

All meals are provided at the accommodation to the volunteers. Meals are not included on the first day on arrival in San Jose.

During your Free Time

After volunteering, volunteers can read a book in a hammock, play board and card games, watch a documentary, play soccer at the local soccer field, pick fruits from the organic garden, interact with locals of the nearby town of San Miguel, make friends with students and co-volunteers from all over the world.

The project also organizes from time-to-time night tours to observe the jungle by night that you can participate in as well as yoga sessions and trail running in the morning.

During the weekends, you can plan a trip to the Caribbean beaches of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, head out to the waterfalls, or go on a white-water rafting excursion, make a trip to the highlands of Turrialba, a boat tour through the canals of Tortuguero or head to the capital of San Jose.

Dates

2024

2025

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Costs

2 Weeks $995

Extra Week $395

Please Note: -An application fee of $229 is charged over and above the program fee as an application payment. (A 5% international banking fee is charged at the time of payment)

What are you Paying for?

24 hrs Assistance and support from VS Staff
Comprehensive Pre- Departure Information
Pickup from San Jose International Airport and accommodation in San Jose
Orientation
Pre-departure online (mindfulness) meeting
Project donation
Orientation meeting
Local support volunteer coordinator
Accommodation in dorms at the project
Three meals a day, tea and coffee (vegetarian options available)
Follow up online (mindfulness) meetings
Transfer from San Jose to the project and back

Certificate Of Completion (Upon Request)

What's NOT included?

Post Project stay in San Jose
Flights
Visa
Vaccinations
Travel and Medical Insurance

Reviews

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Frequently asked questions

: It is advised to apply for the projects once the volunteering/ traveling dates are decided as there are limited spots available. The application fee is valid for one full year and can be sent earlier than the desired period of volunteering, for timely confirmation of the seat. As soon as you decide the travel dates, we suggest you to apply for the program and hold your spot. We abide by the first come first serve policy.
: Usually, it takes around 10-12 working days for the application to be processed and placement to be confirmed. After we review your CV and documents, your booking is confirmed and the booking confirmation is updated in your My Account and you can view the information in your account. The application acceptance depends on the availability of seats in the project as well as the eligibility criteria of the program (age, skills and experience etc.).
: Below are the necessary requirements to participate in the Costa Rica volunteer projects:
Volunteers must be 17 years or older for Teaching, Childcare, and Spanish Immersion at the beginning of the program. For all other programs, you need to be 18 years or older.
Volunteers joining the medical volunteer project must be either Pre-Medical, Medical or Nursing student or possess other qualifications related to medical and nursing field. Medical professionals such as doctors and nurses are also welcome to join the program.
Volunteers need to have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment.
The volunteer should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference.
The participant must be in good health.
Knowledge of Spanish (basic to intermediate) is necessary for all the programs.
: Yes, you are welcome to take part in Costa Rica Volunteer Programs as part of a group. We welcome families, friends, high school students, college/university and corporate groups to volunteer together in the Costa Rica volunteer programs.
: Yes, most definitely you can, as we believe that every participant brings something new to the project. If you do not have previous experience, we offer you the opportunity to have a great start with us. We make international volunteering easy – not only are our Volunteer Abroad opportunities rooted in offering you extensive support, but they are also very affordable.
: Yes, we will provide you with the Certificate after successful completion of your program. The certificate is provided on request.
: All volunteers have to arrive one day before their program start date. You can view your arrival dates here. Volunteers are picked up from the Juan Santamaria Airport by the local coordinator or representative and taken to the respective host family accommodations. On the next day, i.e. Monday, there will be an orientation session which will cover the program highlights and provide you details about the city. You will get to know about the local culture, marketplaces, ATMs, internet cafes and where to shop for your daily essentials. On Monday, volunteers would also be required to take a Spanish test to assess their Spanish knowledge.

To add to the project experience, you can also join the Spanish Immersion Week which gives you a crash course in Spanish and even tests your current Spanish skills which would help you in volunteering, and you would also get a chance to experience Costa Rican culture, learn cooking and Latino dancing before beginning the program.

Note: Host accommodation is located in suburbs of San Jose in the Heredia and Santa Barbara areas, along with your projects placements.
: The Childcare, Teaching and the Medical Healthcare projects are located near San Jose, primarily in the areas of Heredia and Santa Barbara.

The Turtle Conservation project is located in both Pacific and the Caribbean coasts.

The Wildlife and Animal Rescue Center is located 4km away from Puerto Viejo and 220km from San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital.
: Participants (most nationalities) require a Tourist Visa to travel to Costa Rica. Travelers from most countries can get a 90-day permit stamped on their passport on arrival.We advise you to check with your nearest Costa Rican embassy as well.
: Juan Santamaría International Airport is well connected with direct flights coming in from different destinations in the US and South America. For volunteers coming from North America, following Airlines are recommended:
US Airways
Delta

For those flying in from Europe, direct flights are available, and the recommended airlines are:
Condor
Iberia
: Costa Rica is a tourist friendly and safe destination. Volunteering Solutions is very particular about the safety of its international volunteers. We have stringent selection criteria for host family accommodation. You will be given safety precautions and instructions by the local coordinator team during the orientation as well as in your Pre-departure handbook after you become an enrolled participant. Apart from that, we advise volunteers to consult their in-country coordinators before embarking on a weekend trip or going on a night out.
: All participants are recommended to consult their physician or travel doctor before traveling to Costa Rica. To view the general list of vaccinations recommended for your travel to Costa Rica, click here.
: Yes, for all participants, it is mandatory to have a valid travel medical insurance for their trip. Volunteers have the option to purchase Travel and Medical Insurance at a nominal extra cost from Volunteering Solutions. To provide the best option to our participants, we offer comprehensive insurance coverage in collaboration with a leading insurance provider.

If you already have a valid Travel and Medical insurance, you can email us a copy of the same. It is also advised to bring along the Insurance documents during your trip.
: We encourage volunteers to get in touch with former Volunteering Solutions Costa Rica program participants and also other program participants joining our projects. You are recommended to join the Volunteering Solutions Facebook Page or Facebook Group to communicate with other participants.

To read alumni interviews from past participants, visit ?the Meet a Volunteer section on our website.
: Volunteers working in Turtle Conservation Project stay in ranger house, host family or volunteer house accommodations close to the project near the beach. Dorm-style accommodation is provided where you will be sharing rooms with other volunteers (same gender basis). Upon arrival in Costa Rica, volunteers are provided lodging in a host family accommodation in Heredia or Santa Barbara. After completing the orientation and project introduction on the first days, volunteers join their respective Turtle Conservation Project in either Pacific or Caribbean Coast.

For all other projects, volunteers will be staying with host families. More details about the host families would be provided after you apply for the program. Volunteers would be provided meals 2 times a day.

Volunteers working in the animal rescue center project in Puerto Viejo are provided accommodation in a hostel in San Jose on arrival. While at the project volunteers stay at a dorm style hostel accommodation. Meals are not included but volunteers cook their own meals at a fully equipped kitchen.
: Unfortunately, the entire volunteering experience is as much about volunteering on your project, as it is about the cross-cultural exchange and community building. A lot of that happens through the accommodation that we have set up, where one can enjoy by being with like-minded people. Additionally, for safety reasons, all volunteers must live in the allotted accommodation.
: Yes, however, you must inform us in advance and also mention about any dietary requirement in your application form.
: Depending on your project placement, you will get evenings and the weekends free to travel and explore the place. In the evenings, volunteers usually get together and go out for social gatherings, eat out or just relax at the volunteer house. Weekends are free for the volunteers and you can go for short weekend trips. There’s actually so much to do in Costa Rica. Visit Nicoya Peninsula, Arenal Volcano, Corcovado National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Tabacón Hot Springs, San José, Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, Tortuguero National Park and much more.
The local coordinators will be happy to help you with more information.
: Your program fee does not cover your personal expenses. You will need to provide for yourself your personal expenses, such as bottled water, local transport, telephone, shopping, sightseeing etc. However, you should carry around $70-$80 per week for your basic personal expenses. This amount can vary and you would need a higher amount if you choose to go on weekend trips out of town.
: Volunteers usually work for 4 to 6 hours a day depending on their program. You will have weekends off so you can travel on weekends. However, volunteers need to be flexible, open-minded and understand that work requirements can change as well on certain occasions.
: You can change money upon your arrival at Juan Santamaria Airport or from the bank. There is a good network of ATMs as well.