Don’t be a tourist – be a scientist
At a time when the world’s most pressing environmental problems seem too big to solve, Earthwatch expeditions give you the chance to make a difference by helping protect habitats, species and cultures, while exploring parts of the world you might otherwise never see.
The Great Barrier Reef is renowned for its breathtaking beauty and the Earthwatch expedition, Hawksbill Turtles of the Great Barrier Reef offers volunteers the chance to become a research assistant for two weeks with exclusive access to the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service National Park, Milman Island, a remote island with its surrounding reefs that are rarely visited by travellers.
The legendary Great Barrier Reef is also a precious habitat for hawksbill turtles which are critically endangered due to commercial demand in Asia for tortoiseshell products, harvesting of eggs by people, predation by feral pigs and degradation of nesting and foraging habitats.
Travelling widely by boat over the reefs, volunteers will be locating turtles and then assisting with their capture in order to tag, measure and weigh each one before assisting them back into the sea.
You will revel in the camping style accommodation with the pristine beach just meters away as a volunteer you will live and breathe this remote island experience, marvel at its casual ocean-dwelling inhabitants and join with other like-minded individuals in the quest for research, education and conservation.
For those who’ve always dreamed of going to Africa, then head to Kenya to help monitor Lions of Tsavo who are under increasing threat from local farmers.
In the dry woodlands outside of Tsavo East National Park, lions kill hundreds of livestock every year, driving farmers to kill lions or convert their land to crops or charcoal production.
Over the last century, lions have suffered massive losses in population because of conflicts with people. You will help scientists study radio-collared lions on farms adjacent to the national parks, providing urgently needed information to park officials and farmers.
Lions are often difficult to locate and won’t wander into the spotlight for you, so you’ll search for them from vehicles in the evening, late night and early morning, taking a mid-day siesta like most of the local wildlife.
Travelling to Asia could see you on Earthwatch’s Wildlife of the Mongolian Steppe expedition, helping scientists study an array of local animals. This will be a unique cultural experience as you and your team enjoy an extraordinary perspective of the central Asian desert-steppe environment.
A reasonably good fitness level and familiarity with hiking and camping is required for this expedition as you observe the ecology and movements of a diversity of grassland animals.
You will explore the ecology of Siberian ibex, mountain goats with scimitar-shaped horns, and cinereous vultures, the largest raptors in Eurasia. You will also study the lives of globally endangered lesser kestrels, two species of hedgehogs and small carnivores. Spare time gives you the chance to explore this wilderness landscape in a way few people ever can.
Just remember, you are not a tourist on an Earthwatch expedition. Earthwatch volunteers are hands-on with real scientific research, education and conservation. So if you think you’re up to the challenge, then get involved today.
Change the world. Yourself.