GVI: Virtual Internships

My time with GVI in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica was phenomenal. I did the short-term internship in between my second and my final year of my university degree as part of my placement year and choose this program due to their very good reputation and to build my skills in conservation.
My role as an intern was to assist with the research projects which were being carried out at the biological research camp I was living at. Whilst there, there were jaguar and biodiversity projects running so I helped with the tracking and camera trapping of jaguars and biodiversity surveys of the surrounding habitat. Also, whilst on this internship I completed GVI’s biological survey technique program where I learnt how to apply conservation practise to a range of ecosystems and I also did an emergency first aid program to prepare for the realities of practising conservation in the wild. In addition, I completed the ILM endorsed leadership certificate where I had to do several presentations, assignments and attend weekly one to one sessions with my mentor.
The staff were paramount to the incredible experience as they offer a wealth of knowledge and make you feel welcome from day one in camp. Due to the remote and basic living conditions you quickly form very close friendships, unforgettable memories and meet amazing, likeminded people along the way which makes the experience so wonderful.
My high expectations of this program were massively exceeded, and I wish I choose to stay for more than 8 weeks. The program helped give me direction to my future career plans and guided me in picking final year modules at university that compliment these plans. Do not just consider doing a GVI internship, DO IT, you will not regret it at all.
I can hands down say this was one of the best experiences of my life and shaped me massively as an individual.

I did a wildlife internship with GVI in my gap year, I learnt so much that has helped me on my university course (BSc Wildlife Ecology and Conservation) and will continue to do so in my future career. My mentor was really helpful and informative, and the assignments were super fun and interesting, yet challenging enough to push my learning and improve my skills. For anyone looking for a career with wildlife, or even just to learn some super interesting new things, I would defiantly recommend learning with GVI!

My internship with GVIwas a great experience. Having a mixture of theory and practical allowed me to really understand what I was working on and I felt like I was contributing to the projects a lot. The theory and presentations that I worked on also have given me a lot more confidence with everyday things and presenting with jobs I have at home. My staff mentor was really encouraging and always around to answer any questions or doubts I had about anything and generally just very encouraging towards all of my work. I am now thinking more and more about Community Development being something I would like to work on further and my internship helped me to realise that. I'd definately reccomend interning with GVI to anyone.