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Costa Rica Conservation Internship (Long Term) (Directory Program)

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  • Locations: Tortuguero, Costa Rica
  • Program Terms: Academic Year, Calendar Year, Fall, J-Term, Jan Term, Janterm, May Term, Semester, Spring, Summer, Summer I, Summer II, Summer III, Summer IV, Trimester, Winter
  • Homepage: Click to visit
  • Program Sponsor: GVI 
Fact Sheet:
Fact Sheet:
Click here for a definition of this term Language of Instruction: English Housing Options: Dormitory, Hostel/Hotel, Other
Click here for a definition of this term Areas of Study: Animal Science, Environmental Studies, Internships, Sciences, Service Internship, Zoology Program Type: Field Study, Internship Abroad, Study Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, Work Abroad
Click here for a definition of this term Program: Direct
Program Description:
Costa Rica Conservation Internship (Long Term - 24 weeks)
Kickstart your career in conservation by spending three months gaining work experience in a lush Costa Rica rainforest.This expedition is the essence of remote adventure. Live in the heart of the jungle surrounded by the natural beauty of Tortuguero’s rainforest-lined Caribbean beaches. Hike the jungle trails conducting biodiversity surveys, walk along the beach looking for evidence of sea turtles during turtle nesting season, check camera traps for footage of jaguars, and explore the rainforest canals noting important aquatic bird species.
Jalova turtle cover
Program Focuses
The first twelve weeks of your internship will be spent living and working with GVI staff and other participants in Tortuguero park on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Here you will complete intensive training to allow you to participate in the research projects on base. Our team in Tortuguero partner with local and international conservation organisations operating in the region including the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET), Panthera, Coastal Jaguar Conservation, and the Sea Turtle Conservancy, and apply their methodologies to conduct forest biodiversity surveys, jaguar camera trapping, and nesting turtle research during turtle nesting season.  In the process you will master a range of technical skills from best practices for identifying species to how to set up a remote wildlife camera trap as well as more practical ones like how to maintain a forest trail. You will also gain in-depth insight into how conservation studies are set up and managed, as well as how data is collected, inputted, and analysed.

One of the certifications on this internship is the Emergency First Responder, always valuable for conservation researchers stationed at remote bases. On successful completion of your initial training phase, you will proceed on to your work placement within the GVI team to help run our conservation research program in the Tortuguero National Park, or on to one of our partner organisations within Costa Rica like the Cloudbridge Nature Reserve and Aso Macao, to assist these organisations with local conservation efforts and research. 

By the end of the internship programme, participants will have the skills to monitor a wide range of mini-ecosystems in a very diverse location, apply a holistic approach to conservation, and return home with a range of certifications alongside valuable field-based experience.
Jalova rainforest

Location
Jalova is in the stunning Tortuguero National Park, surrounded on three sides by protected rainforest and on the other by the Caribbean Sea and a beach that is home to one of the largest nesting colonies of Green Turtles in the world, is where you will find our conservation base. Our work here is focused around the long-term management and conservation of this stunning rainforest.

Program Highlights
The area where we work is closed to tourism, we are the only people allowed to live there due to the nature of the research we do (pretty priviledged)! 
  • Receive lectures on leading and team-work, and be given assignments to develop soft skills and leadership abilities.
  • Professional references to really help you boost your resume!
  • Gain a greater understanding of the long-term focuses of the base, and a more in depth involvement in all the programs.
  • It challenges you to push yourself and show initiative. You will be given opportunity to change and develop base and on the projects, and it is something you are expected to do.
  • High opportunity to become a member of staff.
  • Development of leadership skills with leadership course certified by ILM. 
If applying for this program to obtain credit from an institution, GVI can supply learning outcomes and support in the application.

For more information, check out our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4qmobcmXhg&list=PLtWDzA5QXtO857t6vG3vMbjPJ6WUCwEkE