"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

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... © 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... © 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... 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... Corey Merow (volunteer); Mapping Specialists (map)
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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... Johnny Johnson Getty Images (giraffes); Mapping Specialists (map)
Easter Island Vacationers unearth agricultural artifacts on Easter Island. Charles H. Whitfield
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... JAMES AMOS Corbis (heads); Mapping Specialists (map)

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