I am planning on going to Africa, Australia, NZ, China, Japan, Thailand %26amp; America (at least) and want to part take in plenty of wildlife/animal conservation projects - BUT i do not want to give £££££%26#039;s to Profit Companies - who will organise my stay for me - i have pleantly of time to do that myself.
So my question is does anyone know and small - but in need projects around the countries that i have suggested, that i could contact directly and cut out the middle man and make more direct donations.
Any other backpacking/round the world planning advice would be greatly appricated.
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
I wish I could helpo you, Its something I would like to do myself, though my main ambition is the Galapogos..... I%26#039;ve had a thing about saving the sea turtles that nest there, since I saw them in a wildlife book when I was 5... I%26#039;m now 32.... And still have the book..Thats beside the point....
There used to be a lot of adverts for voluntary workers in the back of the Economist.... Not had one in a while so can%26#039;t verify that.
The only other thing I could suggest would be to contact the World Wildlife Fund/Green Peace/ Friends of the Eath directly and say you will organise your own transport... Etc...
Unfortunately I know they have to organise accomodation, food etc. for insurance purposes (which they will also organise).
Good luck and what a fantastic experience for you to have...
I%26#039;d love to see pics of the trip when you get back 50% 2 Votes
Other Answers (2)
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I can only answer for America as I am an American. Since we don%26#039;t have a lot of endangered wildlife over here, our cats and dogs in shelters could use your help as you travel across America. Simply stopping by a local animal shelter giving a little love to the animals that are about to be put down may give them one day of their lives with a little respect.
Good Luck! 0% 0 Votes -
I think you are looking at this in the wrong way. For any conservation project to work the charities need full time staff there on a long term basis.
The people that work for the companies are generally local people and that is their full time job, when tourists go to %26quot;volunteer abroad%26quot; effectively what they are doing is paying a fee to help keep the project going. The people that go along to these projects aren%26#039;t the ones making the difference they are there to help with the funding.
Think of the gorilla protection projects where ex-poachers are now being paid to protect the gorilla%26#039;s.
I understand your frustration about giving ££££s to companies to arrange this for you, but these charities probably receive thousands of requests like this every year and just don%26#039;t have the time to deal with it. So they invite companies to arrange the volunteers for them, and both the charity and the company that arranges this get a share of what you pay.
However if you do want to do some volunteering for free I suggest you forget about anything to do with animals and the environment and instead contact your local church and ask which Christian Organisations they are helping. From what I here they are always willing to have backpackers volunteering with them.
Hope this helps and enjoy your trip 25% 1 Vote