IPBio - Biodiversity Research Institute Reviews

I volunteered at IPBio as a video editor/videographer for and I must say that I truly recommend this wonderful place to anyone who is looking for an enriching experience in the jungle. Coming from the bay area in California, the change in scenery and environment was something I was really looking forward to. The process of getting there and being introduced to the place was all very streamlined and quite simple to do. At first I was very anxious, however once I got off the bus and met with Marleen and Imran, I felt instantly comfortable and excited to get started. I was editing a documentary style video for IPBio so my weekdays were spent mainly working on that. However if I thought I had the time, I joined the Eco-volunteers in mushroom hunting and other activities! Every weekend I spent there was breathtaking; from towering waterfalls to cathedral-like caves, my mouth dropped open each time at every destination and it made me fall in love with Brazil more and more. I honestly never felt safer here and within the three weeks I was there (I regret not staying longer!) I already felt part of the community within the reserve as well as the small community in the nearby town, Iporanga. The hospitality and kindness of the people there truly made my time there so amazing and memorable. If you are on the brink of deciding whether you should come here, I urge you to do so and if you were deciding the length of time to stay, I advise you to go big because time passes so so fast here it’s honestly hard to wrap my mind around!

This experience was great in several ways. I always wanted to do my share in protecting biodiversity and discovering wild life. So when I heard about IPBIO I planned to go there. Done, I was there for a month and it surpassed my expectations. First, I was surprised how nice and welcoming Brazilian people are. Then the landscape is crazy; jungle, mountains cave and waterfalls are everywhere. About IPBIO; the working activities are nice and diverse - we can participate at mushrooms inventory, birds, tree inventory even fish. Mammals you can inventory by using the camera traps are also amazing. But the most interesting aspect is to live with people from everywhere, different languages and areas but all super nice !

At the Atlantic Forest Betary Reserve Field Station the work was enjoyable and rewarding and the staff and locals are all very friendly and welcoming. By the end of my stay everyone felt like family. I always had the weekends to look forward to because there were so many tourist activities to take part in and there was always a BBQ happening somewhere.
I was a mushroom volunteer researcher for 6 months and I spent the majority of my work week developing methods for growing bioluminescent mushroom species endemic to the Atlantic Forest in conjunction with a lab at Sao Paolo University. Another main part of my work was helping to implement a mushroom inventory process for the reserve to begin to collect, identify and catalogue mushroom species and track and maintain mushroom biodiversity. I completed scientific article research to gain updated and background information on current mushroom species identified in the Atlantic Forest and growing methods across many different cultivated and non-cultivated species. I worked to maintain mushroom mycelium cultures by replication involving media preparation, clean room, Laminar flow hood and autoclave use and sterilization practices. I helped support the Volunteer Manager with integrating and familiarizing new volunteers with the reserve and field station. Aside from all this I had the opportunity to support multiple projects including amphibian monitoring of Bd fungus effects, bioacoustics tracking, camera trap tracking, tree inventory, habitat monitoring of ponds, fish inventory of local stream, aquaponics system setup and gardening tasks. I definitely recommend IPBIO!

One of the most beautiful places where i’ve ever been. I did volunteering in the nature, in the Atlantic Forest and it was cool. I loved the projects, the Reserva and the Iporanga’s people.
The staff is very prepared and gentle if you miss some information. A very good experience that I can advice to everyone! There are a lot of fun weekend activities, caves, waterfall, beaches and boia crossing were very cool.

I somehow stumbled across volunteering at the reserve online whilst looking for a fun/productive way to spend my summer and I am so thankful that I did! I’m a Geography and SD major from the UK so I was drawn to the programme because of the range of activities available across trees, mammals, birds, mushrooms and amphibians, all set within the Atlantic Forest.

I have loved waking up knowing that my work would be different each day with some projects more relaxed than others and some work being weather dependent (i.e. fish inventory typically on sunny days). My favourite projects have been those that mean I can go into the forest such as tree, mushroom and bird inventories. Every time I go into the forest I see something amazing- whether that is a giant toad, cool mushroom or for those lucky enough- monkeys!! I would highly recommend volunteering at the reserve to anyone with an interest in the environment- you don’t have to be a scientist- just someone who can appreciate the natural world around them.

Outside of project work, I have loved getting to know the other volunteers from around the world and the amazing staff, who go above and beyond to make your time here as enjoyable as possible. Spending my evenings and weekends with the other volunteers here has been the highlight of my trip with many incredible visits to the caves around Iporanga, a trip to Cananeia to see the dolphins, group cooking sessions, meals out and so much laughter. I have enjoyed every second and want to say a massive thank you to everyone who I have met here for making my experience one that I will never forget!

Obrigada!!

I stayed at the Betary Reserve for about 10 weeks from June to August. This has been such an amazing experience. The people here definitely made the stay what it was - Imran and Marleen are both great to work for, the staff has been super friendly, and the other volunteers have made this trip what it was. I do not speak any Portuguese, so it was not always easy to communicate with the others who work here, but they made an effort to engage which was super nice of all of them. The science done here is not super rigorous, so if you are looking to gain lab skills this might not be the best place for you. But if you are looking to understand the enjoyment, as well as challenges, of doing field science this is a great place. For the most part, the Betary Reserve provides a chill work environment. The work is not super physically or mentally demanding, and not all the projects feel as purposeful as others, but they were all enjoyable. I was here in the winter, so it wasn't very hot, humid, or rainy, but it should be mentioned that the winter down here can get cold. I definitely did not prepare the best for this, so if you come in the winter I would suggest a decently warm sweater or jacket (some nights I would need to wear all of my clothes to stay warm - but luckily most days and nights were not too bad). The volunteer home is nice (and currently a new one is being built). I had a private room in a dorm style living space - although there are some shared rooms and it seems that it is just the luck of the draw on which one you get placed in. We have access to a laundry machine, and even in the winter, the clothes dried pretty well outside (sunny days help). The weekend activities range from hiking through caves and waterfalls to town parties in the small, yet surprisingly social and fun town of Iporanga. I would definitely recommend the Betary Reserve as a volunteer experience! (This is an honest review, but it should be mentioned that we are guided and given time in the last week to write reviews so that future volunteers can have a better picture of the work and experiences created at the Betary Reserve).

When recalling my experience at The Betary Reserve, I can’t help but smile so big. The time spent trekking through the North Atlantic Forrest collecting data on its diverse wildlife and plant life were some of the best memories I have. It's truly a hands on experience. If you like to get out into the wild, this is the volunteer experience for you. I also want to make note that one of the greatest unexpected things that will happen is you will form amazing bonds with fellow volunteers and staff members of the reserve, not to mention the incredible people of Iporanga. Please go, and learn, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Hello Everyone, I am an Environmental Engineering major from Miami Florida and my last two months have been spent volunteering at Betary Reserve. The position that I undertook coming in was a Biological Research Assistant, this is a more specialized role in comparison to one of the other options such as eco-volunteer. Let me run through a typical day at the Reserve, we start our mornings at 9am with a group meeting detailing the task which we will be doing. In the morning the volunteers are usually together working on different inventory projects, some of the inventory are fish, tree, bird, mushroom, and habitat monitoring. In the afternoons I had a specialized project in which I was working with amphibians and was studying the effects of a deadly fungus called BD for short. It was great lab work experience and I really enjoyed my time working on these projects. The facilities at Betary Reserve were beyond amazing and they are just finishing up the new volunteer guest house which will be a great addition to the program. If you are looking for an organization to do research or gain some insight on what biological field research looks like than it will be a great fit. The staff is extremely friendly and I would consider them close friends after two months of being here. The volunteer coordinator goes above and beyond the call of duty and has been extremely helpful with even the smallest of inconveniences. Overall my time at Betary Reserve is one that I will never forget, the small town community, research experience, and working for a NGO that is making a difference is one that I will never forget.

The projects that we work on here at Betary Reserve are very educational and fun. From tagging trees to monitor forest growth to collecting macroinvertebrates to monitor habitats everything we do is for a very important cause. It is great to reap the benefits of the work that we do, for example we planted cassava and another day we had a cassava party where we made them into fries, baked them, and made cakes with them. Another great thing about Betary Reserve is how everything is organized very well, however at the same time the volunteer coordinators are flexible and are always willing to accept suggestions to make the projects or all around living better here at Betary Reserve. For example, after seeing that I do a lot of work with aquaponics back home, Imran wanted me to come to Betary Reserve and install a number of systems here, and I did just that. Not only did I just do that, but had the time of my life doing it and working with the people here to make things happen.

I have spent the past two months volunteering at IPBio as an eco-volunteer and I couldn’t image a better way to have spent my summer. This position was amazing because I had the opportunity to participate in and learn about many different projects such as tree, bird, mushroom and fish inventory as well as habitat monitoring. I was also able to focus my time working with frogs in the lab. The lab and field experiences I had here allowed me to learn so much as well as be active and hands on with the projects. The staff and other volunteers made the experience even better. I have never met a more welcoming, friendly and supportive group of people. Every day here is a new adventure whether it is at work or exploring the area on the weekends. There is not ever a shortage of things to do here if you like to explore nature and hike. My time here is something I’ll forever be grateful for and always remember.