Conservation Jobs

Many people taking a year out, particularly if they have a passion for the environment or wildlife, decide to look for conservation jobs on a voluntary basis as a way of doing something a little more constructive and rewarding while they're away. Volunteers doing conservation jobs are often vital to the local environment and they give a real sense of having made a positive contribution.

There are countless volunteer conservation jobs throughout the world, and if you want to look for conservation jobs you'll need to think about where you want to go and what exactly it is you'd like to do. Our ‘Conservation Jobs' page takes a look at just a few of the conservation jobs out there in order to try and give you an idea of the type of voluntary work you can get involved with on a gap year.

Conservation jobs in Africa

Africa is undoubtedly the most popular place in which people look for conservation jobs for their gap year. Africa possesses some very unique and also endangered wildlife, so it's not surprising that so many people want to look for conservation jobs here. In Namibia there are volunteer conservation jobs involving the study of the country's elephant population. If you want to visit South Africa, there are conservation jobs helping with everything from rehabilitating lions to studying cheetahs. Conservation jobs aren't always just concerned with animals either. For example, if botany is your passion there are conservation jobs in parts of Africa helping to map areas and catalogue plant species.

Conservation jobs in Australia

When people think about looking for conservation jobs to do on their gap year it doesn't always occur to them that there are conservation jobs available in Australia. Australia is the number one backpacker destination and here, as with everywhere else in the world, there are plenty of conservation jobs you can get stuck into. There are conservation jobs available all over Australia and, if you fancy it, some are in remote locations far away from the usual backpacker trail. Working on conservation jobs in Australia is a great way to work outdoors in some beautiful locations, help preserve the precious and unique Australian environment and meet other like-minded travellers at the same time.

Conservation jobs in Latin America

If you'd like to visit Central or South America on your year out there are many volunteer conservation jobs you could apply for. If you are passionate about marine conservation, there are conservation jobs helping endangered turtles in Costa Rica and dolphin a conservation project in Peru.

Conservation jobs in Asia

There are plenty of conservation jobs you can volunteer for in Asia as well. For example, the most popular destination in Southeast Asia for backpackers is Thailand. In Thailand, there are conservation jobs available where you can to preserve the local environment - perhaps at some of its famous beaches, which have become increasingly fragile in recent years due to the ever-increasing numbers of visiting tourists. These types of eco-tourist conservation jobs are also available in other Asian countries such as India, for example, where you can volunteer to help preserve the environment in a number of ways.

Whatever your passion, and wherever in the world you fancy visiting on a gap year, if you want to volunteer for some conservation jobs while you're away you won't have to look too far to find something suitable you can get involved with.


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