- A group opportunity. Invite your friends.
-
4 people are interested
Rainforest Station Volunteer
ORGANIZATION: Campanario Biological Station
Please visit the new page to apply.
- A group opportunity. Invite your friends.
-
4 people are interested
Campanario Biological Station is a private reserve and field station located near Corcovado National Park, on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula. For over 30 years, it has served as a nature preserve, education center, and ecotour destination in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Researchers, student groups, and visitors come to experience the remote location, the beautiful scenery, the unique wildlife, and enjoy some of Central America’s last coastal rainforest.
Visitors come by boat to stay in the jungle, hike the trails to Corcovado, or take day trips to snorkel near Caño Island. University and school groups often come for weeklong stays and hold field study courses. Campanario has also hosted scientists for many years, conducting research on wildlife, plants, and ecosystem dynamics.
Campanario is remote, off the grid with no vehicle access. Visitors arrive by boat or a long walk from the nearest town. Power is provided by solar panels, and water is collected from a nearby stream. While we have a station phone, cell service is intermittent. The buildings include bunkhouses, kitchen/dining area, bathrooms, cabins, and staff housing. The station is right on the beach in a private cove, backed up on 170 acres (69 hectares) of private reserve adjacent to the National Park.
We are seeking volunteers to assist with visitors, station/trail maintenance, and ongoing research projects. Volunteers live and work onsite at the field station alongside fulltime staff.
Volunteers and interns are expected to contribute the equivalent of 6 hours of work per day, six days a week.While not working, everyone has full access to the grounds, including the beaches and forest trails. Three meals a day are provided, and everyone is responsible for their own laundry and cleaning personal space. Housing for volunteers includes a bunkhouse room that may be shared during high occupancy.
Volunteers are accepted on an ongoing basis, although the facility gets more crowded in the high season December-February. Minimum commitment is 1 month.
Requirements
No experience is necessary. However, all applicants must be prepared for living in primitive conditions in a remote location in a foreign country. Specifically:
- Willingness to stay in a remote area with limited electricity, no warm water, and no internet/cell service.
- High tolerance for heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and the risk of animals in the living space.
- Ability to adapt to a foreign culture and navigate language barriers.
- Ability to stay in shared living conditions for an extended period of time.
- Good physical condition, can hike several miles uphill with no problems.
- Valid passport
- Valid insurance
- Must be 21 years old
Volunteers pay a fee of $20/day to cover food and housing. Upon acceptance, they must pay a deposit of $400, with the full payment due upon arrival. Minimum commitment is 1 month.
To apply, please send an email with attached CV or resume to volunteers@campanario.org . A full cover letter is not necessary, just a brief paragraph outlining your background and interest.
Volunteers are accepted year-round. We recommend applying at least a month in advance due to logistics.
For more information, please contact:
Mckenzie Wing, Projects Coordinator +1 360 724 8059
volunteers@campanario.org
More opportunities with Campanario Biological Station
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About Campanario Biological Station
Location:
Apdo. 263-1260, Plaza Colonial, 1260, Escazu, Costa Rica, CR
Mission Statement
Proyecto Campanario , a multifaceted conservation effort of its founders and supporters, is dedicated to preserving tropical eco-systems, both terrestrial and marine, through protecting a tract of tropical lowland rain forest and its coastal zones in Costa Rica, offering environmental education programs for national and international students of all ages, and promoting tropical research and studies.
Description
This working biological field station, conservation and education center, and eco-tourist getaway was founded in 1990 by teachers and ex-Peace Corps volunteers wanting to contribute to global conservation in a personal and aggressive way. The Project protects a spectacular forest and coastal area within walking distance of Corcovado National Park, and is a model for nature-based sustainable living. In this isolated locale less than an hour's hike from the San Pedrillo station of Corcovado, you find yourself in a dream-like corner of paradise, far from roads, electricity, smog, and congestion. The main building is a two-story concrete and wood structure housing the field station, kitchen, dining and lounging areas and student dorm rooms. In addition to this field station, there are also separate and private tent cabins, each with its own bath. Steps to the field station lead up to a wide patio in front of the spacious dining and reading area, with several chairs and hammocks to facilitate appreciation of the view out to Cano Island. Many books, field guides and other educational materials can be found in the extensive library. The student work stations are set up in another part of the building. Shared bath facilities in the field station are nicely finished with ceramic tile. Upstairs are dorm style sleeping quarters, with a large wooden deck out front, which has writing tables, chairs and hammocks to appreciate the view and breezes. The separate tent cabins, located up on a ridge above the station, are canvas rooms on large wooden platforms, with deck chairs on their private porches. A high roof covers each tent cabin and each has an intelligently designed private open-air bathroom, also nicely tiled. The tent cabins and baths are bordered on three sides by a tall hedge of hibiscus and other ornamental plants to provide privacy. The rest of the property is dedicated to Nature, with well-maintained trails leading to a waterfall and marked stations with educational information about the flora and ecosystems. Around half the 70-hectare property is primary rainforest, ~35% secondary forest, and the rest is regenerating "successionary" forest. Solar power is provided for the basics. The food is served buffet style, with an emphasis on vegetables, fresh fruits, salads and a nice mix of seafood, meat and chicken dishes. There is always plenty. English is always spoken by at least one of the staff.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
Costa RicaApdo. 263-1260,Plaza Colonial, 1260Escazu, Osa Peninsula 1260Costa Rica
DATE POSTED
March 21, 2024
SKILLS
- Environmental Education
- Facilities Management
- Construction
- Botany
- Environmental Science
- Water Recreation
GOOD FOR
- Group
REQUIREMENTS
- Must be at least 21
- Minimum 1 month
- Good physical and emotional health, valid medical insurance, ability to live and work in a remote tropical location. Please contact volunteers@campanario.org for more information or to request an application.