Program Reviews

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.

My time at IPBio was absolutely unforgettable! During my two month stay, I served as a research assistant for the numerous amphibian studies, as well as an eco-volunteer, assisting with various other projects in the field. Every day, I spent either the morning or the afternoon in the lab with tadpoles and frogs; I did everything from feeding them and cleaning tanks, to measuring lengths, taking masses, and photographing them under microscopes for data collection!

The other half of my day was spent in the field, overseen by the lovely and super knowledgeable Marleen, collecting data for a variety of other projects at IPBio. One of my favorites was wading in the river to gather temperature and velocity of the water, analyze the substrate composition, and catch fish to get a better idea of the species diversity in the environment. Another awesome project I got to help with was the pond habitat monitoring, which was set up by a fellow volunteer during my time at IPBio. Lily created a monitoring system to track the health of a variety of aquatic habitats on the reserve, and once a week we would collect data from one of the ponds, rotating through them over the weeks. My favorite part was probably identifying the macro-invertebrate species in each pond, which required us to sift through a small sample size that we collected, picking out a variety of insect larvae, tiny crustaceans, snails, and aquatic worms to identify.

Not only were the projects here so interesting and fun, they were impeccably well organized. The staff were so supportive and helpful, and fun as well! Being my first time out of my home country, they made the process as smooth as humanly possible, and Imran answered all of my silly little questions graciously and quickly before my arrival. Accommodations were better than I could have ever expected, when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised by the luxury of having my very own AC unit in my room! Adriana is not only an absolute sweetheart, but keeps everything at IPBio sparkling clean 24/7. I honestly don’t know how she does it! Anna and Henrique are so so knowledgeable in their fields, and taught me so much about the Atlantic Forest’s ecosystem and biodiversity. My fellow volunteers during my stay were all so interesting and wonderful, it was an honor and pleasure to get to know them, for whatever the length of time our paths crossed.

The weekend trips I had the opportunity to experience were truly astounding, and just opened my eyes even more to how stunning and unique Brazil is. It is SO worth budgeting out some extra money to go on at least one of the trips, whether it’s relaxing on the beach in Cananaeia and watching dolphins play basically right by the shore, or hiking deep into the jungle to see the largest cave opening in the world, you will not be disappointed.

I had no idea how passionate about amphibians I would become while here in Brazil- being an Ecology and Environmental Science student in the US, I was drawn to IPBio’s projects in general, but had no special interest in amphibians. After my time volunteering, I have decided to go on for my masters and hopefully become a PhD candidate in herpetology down the line! They are fascinating creatures and I think anyone who has the chance should get to know them a little better; they are an important bioindicator for many biomes, and can tell us so much about the health of the environments they inhabit. So, thank you IPBio for igniting this passion in me, and for giving me the opportunity to find it! I hope to return soon, and see all of the wonderful people (and frogs) I got to know during my stay. Obrigada, Brazil <3

My experience at Reserva Betary was all I could have asked for. I was able to work on a personal bioacoustics project that allowed me to learn a new software and data management technique while enjoying the immense beauty of the Atlantic Forest with inspiring and motivated individuals. The internship provided the perfect balance of freedom to meet my research requirements and support at every step of the process. It was really an ideal way to learn skills as new and exciting as bioacoustic analysis without the stress of sitting in an office, plus the ability to assist in a variety of other field projects. IpBio is very unique in the very high level of support volunteers are provided in conjunction with the of ecological field protocols performed efficiently and professionally.

I could not even imagine a better workplace, constantly surrounded by hummingbirds, butterflies, and endemic palms. The staff at the reserve are among the most warmhearted individuals I have encountered. The work being done at the reserve is performed with utmost sensitivity to the sustainability of the landscape as well as the locals whose livelihoods depend on the natural heritage of the area. All volunteers are seamlessly integrated into this conservation work. I highly recommend the experience and am grateful for the opportunity to have assisted this organization in any way.

I have volunteered at Betary Reserve for two months and have thoroughly enjoyed my experience. The field research station and the nature in the reserve are absolutely beautiful. Everyone, from staff to the volunteer coordinators, are extremely attentive, supportive and patient and overall form a great team. The volunteer coordinators greatly care about the well-being of the volunteers, proactively encourage feedback on what could be improved on a daily basis, are very open to new ideas (in fact, a few of the long-running projects are volunteer-initiated) and greatly appreciate your work. As an Eco Volunteer I enjoyed the diversity of data collection tasks that I was given. Coming from a non-ecology-related background, I learned various new things in terms of ecological issues and data collection methods. In terms of free-time activities, I haven’t had a single weekend during the program without at least one group activity, such as a hike to a cave, that most, if not all volunteers eagerly join. All in all, my volunteer in Betary Reserve has been both an enriching and enjoyable experience in which I met great new people. Highly recommend!

It was such a beautiful experience to work at IPBio, the volunteers I have worked with were international and really friendly. The staff was prepared, helpful and fun. The main activities were monitoring the habitat of ponds in the reserve, do an inventory of the trees, of the mushrooms, of the fish, gardening, do creative projects for the institute and more.
The place is beautiful, peaceful and it was really hard to leave. I highly reccomend this to whoever is interested in nature, insects, birds, amphibia

My time at the Betary Reserve was absolutely lovely! Being surrounded by such a large amount of beautiful nature was a very welcome change from my daily city life back in Australia. I assisted in many of the projects on the reserve from photography to monitoring of ponds to inventories of trees and wildlife. There was never a boring day and I would have loved to stay longer to keep on learning about the many things the area has to offer.