Cape Town, South Africa
Established in 1968, this non-profit foundation has reversed the decline of seabird populations through the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of ill, injured, abandoned, and oiled seabirds. At the heart of the organisation’s contribution to seabird conservation is the endangered seabird, the African penguin. The African penguin is one of the smallest species of penguin, lives in colonies and is only found on the south-western coast of Africa. Other seabirds undergoing rehabilitation include the Hartlaub Gull, Kelp Gull, Cormorant, Pelican and Tern.
With approximately 80 seabirds at the shelter at any given time, this busy shelter hosts 10-25 volunteers of which half are international volunteers. Once the animals are ready for release, we take them to one of the colonies to be released and the international volunteers can join for that.
The shelter relies heavily on the support of volunteers to achieve the mission of the organisation. Volunteers work closely with the staff and are an integral part of the daily running of the centre, assisting with the hands-on care and rehabilitation of the seabirds, as well as marketing, procurement and fundraising.
A typical day includes wild animal care, rehabilitation, rescue and release, feeding and watering the seabirds, cleaning and building cages and enclosures, exercising the animals, laundry duties and attending fundraising activities, such as stalls, handing out leaflets Volunteers are required to pick up the seabirds for swimming, feeding or vet checks. The work is physical and undertaken in all weather conditions, so volunteers need to be fit and okay with getting their hands dirty. |
Minimum age is 18 years.
Tuesday, all year.
Arrive in Cape Town no later than Monday.
6 weeks – unlimited number of weeks.
Volunteers are scheduled to work a maximum of 5 days per week including weekends and public holidays. A normal working day is from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm with a lunch break, morning and afternoon tea breaks, depending on capacity needs and bird numbers at the centre.
Volunteers must source their own accommodation. We recommend somewhere close to the shelter.
Meals are not included.
From AUD $38 a day
| Duration | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| 6 weeks | $1600 |
| Each additional week | $250 |
What’s included:
- Pre-departure support
- Project Information Pack
- On the job training
- O2E t-shirt (if travelling from Australia)
- 24 hour in country support
- 24 hour O2E emergency phone
- Certificate of participation, if requested
*Please note some items are not included in the project fees listed above, such as flights, visas, vaccinations, travel insurance, snacks, spending money, local transport, in-country tours and return airport transfer (unless mentioned above). Please note that prices are subject to change without notice. Please ensure you have read the O2E Volunteers Terms and Conditions.
Simon M.
Germany
"Volunteering was very exciting because you
learn something new every day. The opportunity to
work with so many different seabirds was a new and interesting
time for me. The best experience was the release of the penguins. "
HOW TO GET STARTED
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