"Voluntourism": See the World--And Help Conserve It
"Voluntourism" ramps the ecological impulse up a notch, providing ways for vacationers to help save the world's sustainable resources
"Voluntourism": See the World--And Help Conserve It
- Take Pride in America www.takepride.gov
This U.S. Department of the Interior program aims to "help maintain and enhance our shared spaces." An individual can peruse the program’s Web site and select the state where he or she wants to travel. Volunteers can serve as a tour guide for bird-watchers at Point Reyes, Calif., a campground host in the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico, or a worker repairing trails in Yellowstone National Park. © Jay Spooner - GlobeAware www.globeaware.org
"Cultural awareness and sustainability" is the mission. Volunteers take weeklong vacations and participate in projects ranging from planting trees or lining a road with oil lamps in Costa Rica to constructing water systems and improving orphanages in Ghana. Other destinations include Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Romania, Nepal, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. GlobeAware ensures that its helpers enjoy each locale’s leisure activities, too. © Skip ODonnell - Shark Research Institute www.sharks.org/expeditions.htm
Intermediate diving skills required.
If an adrenaline rush appeals to you, the institute offers ongoing projects aimed to protect all species of this endangered marine predator. Among them: Sandtiger Shark Expeditions, North Carolina coast. Volunteers assist veteran research diver Dean Fessler in data collection, photography and tagging. These sharks prefer to dwell among the shipwrecks along this shoreline. Also, Cocos Island Expedition, Costa Rica. Live onboard a state-of-the-art dive vessel and assist renowned expert Alex Antoniou in his study of the scalloped hammerhead shark by tagging specimens with acoustic telemetry and processing tissue samples.
iStockphoto - Arctic's Edge: Tracking the Demon Want to Go? www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/kershaw.html
Cost: $2,946*
Upcoming expeditions: Oct. 4–Oct. 14, 2008; Feb. 15–Feb. 25, 2009; Feb. 28–March 10, 2009
*Includes room, meals, fees (all or most are U.S. tax deductible); excludes airfare Corey Merow (volunteer); Mapping Specialists (map) - East Africa: Saving the Tarangire Migration Want to Go? www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/newmark.html
Cost: $3,846*
Upcoming expeditions: Sept. 17–Sept. 27, 2008; Oct. 17–Oct. 27, 2008; Nov. 15–Nov. 25, 2008
*Includes room, meals, fees (all or most are U.S. tax deductible); excludes airfare Johnny Johnson Getty Images (giraffes); Mapping Specialists (map) - Easter Island Want to Go?
www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/stevenson.html
Cost: $3,746*
Upcoming expeditions: Sept. 30–Oct. 13, 2008; Oct. 15–Oct. 28, 2008; March 22–April 4, 2009; April 7–April 20, 2009; April 22–May 5, 2009
*Includes room, meals, fees (all or most are U.S. tax deductible); excludes airfare JAMES AMOS Corbis (heads); Mapping Specialists (map)
