Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers specialise in facilitating ethical, sustainable, inspiring and supported volunteering opportunities around the world. So, who can volunteer?
- People travelling for Summer Holidays
- Gap Year travellers
- Internships
- Group Volunteering
- Corporate Volunteering
- Career Breaks / Sabbaticals
- Volunteering with Special Needs
- People who are Under 18
- Volunteering in Retirement
- Family Volunteering
- Duke of Edinburgh Participants (Australia)
What nationalities are Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers?
Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers welcomes volunteers from all over the world.
Other than our large contingency from Australia, New Zealand, USA and UK, we host many volunteers from South America including Columbia, Brazil or Peru and Mexico, European volunteers including Germans, French and Spanish, Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, and also Asian countries such as Japan, China, Philippines and Malaysia. It is great to welcome people that want to give back to conservation in their own country as well as in another country!
We welcome volunteers from all kinds of cultures, backgrounds and religions. Each of them is super motivated, eager to learn and contribute to activities. Everyone brings that positive vibe and energy to our program.
Besides the positive effect for our volunteers, it is also rewarding for our volunteers to meet other people from so many different countries. As they learn together and live together, beautiful friendships are made during each placement and many go on to travel together again or meet up on the other side of the world. Who would have thought that you could have friends in Japan, Australia, UK and the Philippines, all at the same time!
How old are Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers participants?
O2E have a wide range of people with varying ages joining our projects but generally they are from 18 to 88 (our eldest volunteer so far!). This mix of ages works well with each volunteer bringing their own individual personality, skills, experience and resources. Age is irrelevant when our volunteers are there to make a difference to the lives of animals and wildlife communities. Everyone is dedicated to helping and strong friendships are made.
Please note many O2E projects do have age restrictions and many require volunteers to be over 18 or over 21. There is no maximum age limit if you are in reasonable health for the project. We value mature age volunteers and the experience they bring.
If you are under 18 and can’t wait to volunteer, we have some projects that will take under age participants as long as there is a guardian present. See O2E’s under 18 volunteering page for more details.
What volunteering projects does Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers offer?
Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers offers unique volunteering and adventure travel experiences for ethically minded animal and conservation lovers looking for the trip of a lifetime. We offer a wide range of animal welfare and conservation volunteering projects in 6 countries around the world, and each project is unique and individual. O2E have vetted and partnered with ethical animal welfare and conservation organisations worldwide.
Volunteer projects vary from animal care, rehabilitation, marine conservation, veterinary, community education, animal tracking or joining a research team to assist with conservation work in the fields of animal or marine study. These volunteer opportunities are offered in Australia, Ecuador, Malawi, Mexico, South Africa and Thailand.
The volunteer’s daily tasks depend upon which volunteer project is chosen to contribute to and can vary depending on the needs of the project at the time. Here is an outline of the types of projects you can be involved in:
•Animal care – care for rescued wild animals from unhealthy and illegal situations that have been the victims of animal-trafficking or mistreatment and enrich their existence as best they can in captivity.
•Animal rehabilitation – assist in the rehabilitation of wild animals with the goal of returning them to the wild.
•Conservation and cultural education – assist in educating people from the surrounding areas about the conservation projects and the importance of respecting the environment.
•Habitat Conservation – beach clean-ups, tree planting and other habitat conservation activities.
•Internships – highly structured experience and training, benefiting the intern and the host organisation. Our programs offer innovative work experience focused on hands-on training through real world experience.
•Marine Conservation – carry out surveys, collect data, analyse results, reef monitoring, animal tracking and tagging.
•Research & Monitoring – animal tracking, animal tagging, carry out surveys, analysing results, reef monitoring and the collection of biological data in light of the urgent need to obtain information to conserve our ecosystems and marine resources.
•Study Placements – Tailor made to suit educational background and work objectives.
•Veterinary – control the population of stray animals through sterilisation programs, assist in the care of sick and injured animals.
Can volunteering help me get a job?
Yes, of course! We believe the benefits of volunteering locally or overseas offers participants a variety of skills and ‘take-aways’ that you may not expect. On one hand, there are the tangible aspects of volunteering such as learning how to work in a group, discovering how to collect and analyse data, how to shovel copious amounts of elephant poo, or how-to scuba dive.
But Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers believe that even more important than the tangible aspects are the intangible aspects. These include the sense of responsibility that a person begins to feel about their environment, or the emotional journey that a person undertakes by being exposed to the plight of animals ill affected by conflict or interaction with man. In our experience, it is these intangible aspects that encourage people to act and find solutions to these global issues.
Hence why Directors Cassie Smith and Tracy Leske began O2E in the first place. They saw a need for animal welfare and conservation organisations to receive assistance, therefore, they created Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers so that more funding and resources could help them in their quest to rescue and care for more animals. It was a feeling of needing to promote environmental sustainability and accountability for our impact on the environment that led the organisation to where it is today.
Volunteering offers the opportunity to develop essential skills which are transferable to the workplace such as time and task management, communication skills, organisation, problem solving, flexibility, adaptability and teamwork.
Volunteering, especially in challenging circumstances, helps build confidence while building understanding and tolerance towards people in other nations and walks of life. Volunteering builds resilience in people and leads to a better understanding of each other and our world, traits valued by employers. In the Timebank Survey carried out by the Associate of Graduate Recruiters, they found that 73% of employers said that they would rather employ someone with volunteering experience than someone without it, and over half said that volunteer work experience can be more valuable than paid employment.
For those studying marine biology, zoology, animal studies and related disciplines, volunteering can help you get experience in your area of interest and meet people in the field which is invaluable when considering a new career.
As the world becomes more connected through technology, volunteering opportunities are creating pathways for people to help each other and their communities. A study by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), titled: ‘Youth volunteering in Australia: An evidence review,’ found that the key benefits of volunteering for young people are both personal and social.
The report found that volunteering can help youth strengthen social relationships, develop skills and even enhance their career prospects. Recognising this, an increasing number of schools are actively pursuing student volunteering to both improve student well-being and prepare them for life after school.
