On the Expedition
Survey the rainforest and canopies of the Ecuadorian Andes for spectacled bears, jaguars, and ocelots in this biodiversity hotspot.
The Santa Lucia Reserve is home to tremendous biodiversity, including mammals such as Andean cats, pumas, coatimundis (similar to raccoons), endangered spectacled bears, and ocelots. In this protected cloud forest, you'll hike through mountainous terrain toward a different research assignment each day.
You’ll help survey key carnivore and bird species and their associated vegetation types to determine abundance and distribution, which will provide reserve managers with accurate scientific data to create habitat and species action plans.
You’ll help to set up camera traps to record the presence of carnivores; you’ll conduct bird surveys; and you’ll set up an innovative tree canopy camera to record key canopy species and collect and prepare botanical samples. You'll also help identify and photograph tracks around the traps. Each team will help collect aerial images with a small, remote-controlled helicopter, and will “ground truth” the images by matching them to the crowns of trees in the forest. At sites that are aerially photographed, you'll also gather data on the habitat by measuring and counting trees, determining canopy cover, and identifying species of orchids and other plant life. In your recreational time, you can enjoy pick-up games of soccer or volleyball, take part in fiestas and dances in nearby towns, swim in the river, or hike to gorgeous waterfalls.
Meals and Accommodations
Volunteers stay in the Santa Lucia Lodge, which offers shared rooms, both conventional and compost toilets, and hot showers with spectacular views of the forest! In the evenings, the lodge is lit by candlelight. Lodge staff prepare traditional Ecuadorian and international meals, using organic produce from the garden. Volunteers are welcome to lend a hand in the garden and kitchen.
Volunteer View
“Thank you so much for this expedition! This is what I have wanted to do my entire life and it was so much better than I dreamed! I absolutely loved the diversity of the work being done. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the activities and was so glad to have an opportunity to do each.”
Amanda Alamar, 2008 Volunteer
About the Research Area
The Santa Lucia Reserve, declared a protected forest in 1988, covers an area of 713 hectares of cloudforest and spans an altitudinal range from 1400 to 2600 m, protecting over 320 species of tropical birds, thousands of plant species and an estimated 45 species of mammals. The base station at 1900m has a pleasant daily temperature in the mid to upper 20s (Celsius), although afternoons and evenings can be cool and chilly. Mammalian species registered at Santa Lucia include four species of cat (jaguarundi, ocelot, Andean cat, and puma), coatimundis and spectacled bear. Native plants include an amazing variety of orchids, bromeliads and other epiphytes.