Costa Rica Environmental Quests

In Costa Rica, United Planet Volunteers have a wide variety of Quests to choose from. Each option offers the volunteer a meaningful and enriching way to experience firsthand, the life of friendly and warm Costa Ricans while doing something meaningful. Feel free to choose the one that suits you best!

We have two types of volunteer programs in Costa Rica: Environmental Quests and Community Development Quests. Volunteers involved with Environmental Quests can work at conservation areas, national parks, wildlife refuges and more. We offer a wide range of different experiences: from creating trails in the cloud forests to cultivating medicinal plants, guiding tourists and patrolling protected turtle beaches. There are no Spanish language requirements for the environmental projects.

Short-term Environmental Quests (1-12 weeks)

Conservation and Environmental Education

Minimum Stay: 1 week

Volunteers needed: Year Round

Requirements: At least 16 years old, Basic Spanish, previous international travel experience recommended.

Many of our conservation projects are located in rural areas or inside the national park system. The main goal of these projects is to support conservation efforts and increase environmental awareness in the local community. Daily volunteer duties may include any of the following: constructing and maintaining nature trails, building fences, repairing wooden bridges, making plant nurseries, making fertilizers from dead plants, researching and identifying plants, sowing plants, or teaching the local community about recycling and the environment. Other projects may also be assigned to the volunteer, depending on the organization’s needs at the time.

Ecotourism

Minimum Stay: 1 week

Volunteers needed: Year Round
Requirements: No Spanish required, at least 18 years old and previous international travel experience recommended.

The mission of ecotourism initiatives is to stop the destruction of Costa Rica’s natural resources and establish different sustainable systems to conserve flora, fauna and water resources in the protected areas. In many areas, protecting resources has provided a direct path to development: Rural communities are now able to become financially independent through sustainable tourism.
Volunteer duties include maintaining and improving trails, assisting the tourists who come to the Eco-Lodge and working to improve the information on the trails, fixing signs, gardening, etc. Volunteers may also help to develop environmental education curriculum for children and the community.
Accommodation at the ecotourism projects tends to be very basic. Some of the cabins are without electricity and can be humid. Volunteers live together with a park ranger who oversees the cabins and animals. At others, volunteers live in host families but may have to walk or bike up to 3 km to get to the lodge.

Sea Turtle Projects

Minimum Stay: 1 week

Volunteers needed: Year Round

Requirements: No Spanish required, at least 18 years old, physical fitness and previous international travel experience recommended.

Volunteers work at various beach locations conserving sea turtle populations in Southern Costa Rica. The project’s main objective is to protect the nests from human poachers and more recently from beach erosion. This helps to promote long-term survival of the population and includes the recovery of affected populations as well as critical habitat protection.

The work of the volunteers involves night patrols, hatchery shifts, collection and relocation of eggs, beach cleanup and small projects including construction of the hatcheries. While on night patrol, you will walk on average five to ten km in the dark on soft, wet sand. This work may also consist of park trail maintenance, assessment of turtle behavior, turtle measurement, and necropsies and biopsies, depending on the time of year and the needs of the hatchery at the time. Volunteers are welcome to this project during the nesting season from the beginning of March through to the end of November, with limited availability thereafter.

*The Sea Turtle Project is an additoinal $150 per week and volunteers should enroll 90 days in advance in order to arrange all accommodations.

Wildlife Conservation (full through April 2012)

Minimum Stay: 1 week

Volunteers needed: Year Round

Requirements: Basic Spanish required, at least 18 years old and previous international travel experience recommended.

Volunteers assist in the rehabilitation and conservation of wildlife, such as various species of birds, invertebrates, or primates, depending on the project location and time of year. The objective of the project is to protect endangered species and reintroduce them to the wild. Volunteer duties include, but are not limited to: cleaning cages and plates, collecting food from the garden to feed the animals, observing and taking notes on animal behavior, updating records in the computer, measuring and weighing the animals, and helping to maintain the garden and trails. At times, volunteers may be asked to conduct tours for visiting guests at the rehabilitation center. This project is a great opportunity for veterinarians and biology students.

Volunteers stay with local host families at this project.

Rural Tourism

Minimum Stay: 1 week
Volunteers needed: Year Round
Requirements: Basic Spanish, at least 18 years old, physical fitness and previous international travel experience recommended.

This project is a self-managed farming, animal husbandry and rural tourism cooperative that has a strong commitment to protecting the environment along with conservation and environmental educational activities. You can to help in any activity with maintaining, developing, and improving the ecotourism program that the cooperative runs (gardening, making wood signs for the trails, maintaining and cleaning the trails of the forest and the water ducts of the community). You can also help with the other projects of the Cooperative, such as organic farming, animal husbandry as well as at the lodge and restaurant area for visitors.

Eco-Farm

Minimum Stay: 1 week
Volunteers needed: Year Round
Requirements: Basic Spanish, At least 18 years old and previous international travel experience recommended

This Ecological Farm is located in the area of Pérez Zeledón, three hours south of San José. Protected forests, beaches, and waterfalls can all be found nearby. This is a non-profit project with the aim of spreading awareness about environmentally sustainable agricultural methods to other farmers in the region. You can work in construction, harvest crops, and feed the animals. You can also plant trees, help with the soil conservation tasks, maintain medicinal plants and help with the production of organic fertilizer.

Click here for Long-term Quests (6 months - 1 year) in Costa Rica