Finishing the last exam, Sarah returns to her dorm room to finalize her summer eco-adventure internship. It’s so expensive, she thought, more expensive than just going on a basic safari…but what a dream come true. I’ll actually get experience and a resume boost! Sarah hits the “submit & pay” on the company’s website.
Images of happy college interns assisting researchers radio-collar jaguars, setting up bird nets, and rehabilitating capuchin monkeys scroll across the web page. Another image appears of young people around a campfire laughing while the mysterious rainforest lurks behind them. I can’t wait to be there!
The reality of Sarah’s experience…
A few weeks later, Sarah lands in Costa Rica, excited to begin the trek to the private eco-tour facility.
After landing, a non-English speaker ushered Sarah to a tourist van with large photos of travelers posing with native animals, all held improperly. What did I get myself into…?
Sarah was met with poor living conditions — a dilapidated, bug-infested field hut — not anything like the luxurious cabin featured on the website. I can’t believe I paid that much money for this, she thought. She saw monkeys and capybaras in small, smelly cages. Every animal was held in improper and crowded enclosures. Are these the animals they are rehabilitating to go back to the wild? After talking to other volunteers, it became clear: There’s not even a veterinarian on staff, she realized with horror.
Unfortunately for Sarah her experience didn’t get any better. She fell for a deceitful pay to work scheme. During her stay, she was instructed to empty excrement from the animal cages and carry buckets of water back and forth across the compound.
The field experience–which promised her biological skills to add to her resume– was even worse. The “researchers” took turns posing with the birds they caught, more concerned with a photo for Instagram than data quality. Plus, despite being told she would work with jaguar researchers, she merely trekked through the forest alone checking camera traps. How does this help conservation research? she wondered. Unfortunately for Sarah, she lost lots of money, time and the ability to learn meaningful skills.
This was the worst part for her. She paid good money to invest in her future career as a biologist. Her entire trip in a unique rainforest ecosystem felt wasted.
Sarah wanted to spend her summer contributing to the greater good of conservation. However, she realized that the company didn’t care about the preservation or care of wildlife and biology– rather, they had a money-making agenda which took advantage of starry-eyed zoology students.
It broke Sarah’s heart that she had been tricked to believe this experience would better herself and wildlife. Now Sarah saw wildlife in inhumane conditions, emotionally and physically stressed, and mishandled. Sarah realized the company used their animals as entertainment for tourists and took advantage of her willingness to work for free.
Sarah ended up working for a company like the ones she had sought out to fight against, and she wished she could take it all back.
A Real Life Example: Meet Marie
After writing about fictional Sarah, we stumbled across an article written by Marie Therese Heggen for Earthwise Aware. Marie was brave even to write about her experiences, and she’s given us permission to share parts of her story.
“Looking back, that first project I volunteered for in Africa was not good –the ethics of the place were questionable. It was more of a tourist attraction than a genuine conservation project…
The venue was advertised as a wildlife rehabilitation center that supposedly did rescue and release wild animals….It’s clear to me now in hindsight that the facility was not contributing to the conservation of the species they said they protected. Although they claimed to rescue and release, there was no evidence (or records) of that actually happening…
You expect an organization saying they are dedicated to conservation to be a conservation project. Of course looking back, I now have a different –and hopefully– more critical and ethical perception of what wildlife volunteering ought to achieve for the wildlife…and that organizations may not be what they seem.
I tried to find projects that were ethically and morally right and that also contributed to conservation in one way or another…. it is doable if you put the time and effort into it. You can never do too much research before choosing a project”
What’s a pay to work scheme and how is it different than an ethical conservation experience?
Like Sarah’s fictional experience, pay to work schemes charge unfair prices in exchange for experiences that were not originally advertised and do not offer any educational value. Additionally, like Marie’s example, the money raised does not directly support conservation or environmental research, propagating a system that preys upon aspiring biologists to instead benefit shady organizations and tourist traps.
On the other hand, ethical conservation internships and experiences differ from these pay to work schemes in two main ways:
Ideally, these ethical experiences benefit all people, regardless of socio-economic status (but stay tuned for a future blog addressing this more directly).
Additionally, they prioritize respect for native peoples and cultures.
How to discern a pay to work scheme from an ethical conservation trip
These seemingly similar experiences can be sorted out if you do your due diligence.
We at Nova Conservation vet all of our partners and experiences, but we encourage direct communication with the organization yourself to ensure their ethicality.
Here are five tips for checking company and trip authenticity:
Whether you’re looking for donation or volunteer opportunities, internships to further your career, or simply want a unique eco-adventure, it is important to know how to discern legit ethical conservation businesses from the illegitimate, unethical companies.
We founded Nova Conservation to make authentic conservation travel more accessible to all people. With our trips and partners, you can find ethical conservation trips, volunteer opportunities, jobs & internships, and more!
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