It is not enough to travel for travel’s sake anymore. People are choosing to seek a greater, more meaningful purpose. Hence, international volunteering is a fresh and purposeful way to break away from conventional travel plans and explore a new way to seek out, learn, contribute and pay it forward. It offers the traveller all that regular travel offers, in addition to providing individuals with unique, authentic experiences that bring people with a shared purpose together while furthering the objectives of charitable and not for profit organisations worldwide.
Many human beings have an innate desire to help each other that goes far beyond day to day living. It’s the feeling of a higher calling that goes beyond the commercially driven trips and tours that the everyday person embarks upon. It’s the feeling you get when you have an urge or drive to do something different, something out of the ordinary, something significant or out-of-the-box, something….’remarkable.’
Your heart might just be trying to tell you that it’s time to volunteer abroad!
A way to satisfy this urge is to become involved in an international volunteering project and join a program through an ethical and purposeful travel organisation. Such organisations vet a variety of projects and organisations so that the discerning traveller can embark upon their travel experience knowing they are only supporting initiatives that are safe, worth while ethical, sustainable and are making a significant contribution to the traveller’s area of interest.
Currently, one area of compelling interest to the ethical traveller embraces wildlife conservation, marine conservation, habitat conservation and animal welfare. Australian-based and owned charity organisation, Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers offers a perfect solution for astute travellers seeking an enriching experience centred around these all-important conservation areas. Sign up for a volunteer trip today!
Some Benefits of Conservation Volunteering
The greater benefit of becoming a conservation volunteer and joining an Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers project is experiencing true adventure and connection with our environment. With over 20 programs in 7 different countries there are many opportunities for people to experience diverse landscapes and native animals in their most authentic forms. Volunteers can find themselves in the forest, walking the savannah, on a tropical beach or on the ocean. There are no cheap gimmicks or artificial substitutes – just you,the animals and the great outdoors. It’s food for the soul and aims to satisfy the shrewdest ethical traveller.
Developing new skills often in a completely new field attracts many conservation travellers to international volunteer projects. Working in collaboration with experienced specialists and fellow volunteers in the field, you will learn and begin to implement methods required to meet Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers global objectives. From utilising new technologies for surveys and monitoring, to reporting on wildlife events and understanding the habits and behaviours of the animals, volunteers leave our programs equipped with advanced skills that they can continue to share with friends and family passing on the message of conservation, protection and preservation of the natural environment. The increased level engagement and connection with nature really does reward everyone with a higher degree of appreciation for our shared challenges.
Unique Volunteering Projects
Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers specialises in creating environments where travellers can apply their energy and enthusiasm towards conservation, rehabilitation and education initiatives. It soothes the soul to choose an adventure that encompasses realism, contribution and community. It’s no secret that immersion is the most effective and enduring way to wrap your mind around context and change…
Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers’ projects venture much further than Australia into South Africa to Mexico, Thailand to Kenya, Malawi to Ecuador, and offer a range of ethical volunteering experiences.
Unique Animal Volunteering
Have you ever experienced swimming with a turtle? Or hand feeding an injured sea turtle or joey kangaroo? These amazing opportunities are prime for the traveller who travels with purpose and are made possible through Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers. Many of the programs give volunteers the opportunity to have hands-on and practical experience caring for all types of wildlife as they prepare them for their eventual release back in to the wild.The emotional connections and bonds that you, as a volunteer, form with these animal scan only be felt through touch, engagement and empathy. The satisfaction and delight that comes from these experiences offer direct and positive impacts that are far reaching for a volunteer and those who they share those experiences with.
Conservation Programs You Will Love!
You will be sure to find a project that suits you and your interests. Oceans 2 Earth offers a diverse range of projects in 7 different countries. Whether you are interested in wildlife conservation, animal care and rehabilitation, habitat preservation, undertaking research and monitoring, veterinary placements or an internship program tailored to your learning objectives…Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers can provide all these experiences and more.
From large charismatic mega fauna such as elephants, lions, whales and sharks to the smaller and furrier types such as monkeys, dogs and cats. To the scaly species such as the sea turtles and to the animals you don’t particularly think of as animals such as corals. There are so many possibilities offered by Oceans 2 Earth to direct your focus and conservation efforts with marine and terrestrial animals alike all in need of your care and assistance.
If you’re a solo traveller, you will be bound to connect with like-minded advocates who share the same passions and conservation-related goals as you. Or perhaps you are seeking an experience that your whole family or friend-group can enjoy together. Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers also caters for families and groups, with an all-encompassing educational Eco-Expedition experience in the Tropical North Queensland starting on the Great Barrier Reef, moving through to the Daintree ancient rainforest and Cape Tribulation to the Australian outback.
For those who don’t know exactly where they’d like to direct their efforts or those that want to experience it all, Oceans 2 Earth offers the possibility to combine projects. Such as the 3-in-1 Sea Turtles, Reef & Wetlands Expedition in Australia, an eco-project where volunteers explore the Great Barrier Reef then travel into the heart of the Atherton Tablelands to a Tropical Wetlands Reserve combining marine research and reef monitoring, turtle rehabilitation, native wildlife care and wetland bird monitoring.
Purposeful & Meaningful Travel
Join forces with the global conservation movement and engage in volunteer travel that is worth while and participatory.With the right eco-organisation there is huge scope to contribute to a‘real cause’while achieving a genuine sense of fulfilment by ‘giving back’ to a conservation-driven program. Additionally, there’s always an education component designed to bring awareness to the public about environmental and animal welfare issues, and with that comes the responsibility of knowing what one has learned. Once one ‘knows,’ they can never ‘unknow.’ Therefore, new life comes to the meaning of travel and with it, the responsibility and expectation of wider contribution and learning, and subsequent change.
I Want to Volunteer!
To join Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers in Australia or overseas, visit the website and select a placement opportunity that attracts your interest and schedule. Choose from Animal Care & Rehabilitation, Habitat Conservation, Marine Conservation, Research & Monitoring, Veterinarian Placements, Study Placements or Conservation & Cultural Education. Whether you’re on a gap year break, a Summer holiday or embarking upon an internship, take the plunge and do something that is both challenging and comforting to your soul.
Travel with Purpose. Get in touch with Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers today.
Written by Shalee Rae, writer for Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers
