Biodiversity Research Institute in the Tropical Forest of Brazil

My name is Alex and I have an obsession with stories . I'm not sure when this obsession started, but my close friends know that I intentionally get myself into situations, both good and bad, where I find myself thinking, "Well this will make for a good story to tell later". It was this obsession that lead me to apply to IPBio.

I worked at IPBio for two months as the 2nd volunteer to work on the Bioacoustics Research project. As an Electrical and Computer Engineer with a love of the outdoors, I wanted to work on something technical, but also something I would find meaningful and this project absolutely met these two requirements.

On a day-to-day basis I would hike to collect audio files, listen to and annotate the sounds I collected, work with a field biologist to identify different animal species by their vocalizations, and teach a computer how to recognize patterns and vocalizations in the future. The ultimate goal of this project is to track the incredible biodiversity in the North Atlantic Forest by tracking the sounds of the forest, and my day to day work alone would have given me enough stories to bring back home to make this volunteer program worth joining.

However amazing my job was here, the real stories came from my interactions with the other volunteers, the locals from Iporanga, and with the forest itself. I now have stories to bring home of catching frogs at night and searching for bioluminescent mushrooms with volunteers from around the world, who I've already made plans to visit. I have stories of drinking water from freshly cut shoots of bamboo with the staff of IPBio as I struggled through conversations with my limited Portuguese vocabulary. I have stories of climbing behind waterfalls and seeing the world's largest cave mouth. I have stories of dancing all night at a Quilombo religious festival, while not understanding the song being sung and not particularly caring.

There are also the smaller, less photo-worthy but still memorable stories that only this remote program and those like it can provide. Stories of three volunteers desperately trying to download the Game of Thrones season finale, and running out of the bathroom after finding a deadly spider, and hitchhiking to town in the back of pickup trucks that, for some reason, is blasting Miley Cyrus.

The last two months have been some of the most unique and story-worthy in my life, and if you have the chance, I would 100% recommend volunteering with IPBio. You will find yourself well out of your comfort zone, in an interesting place with interesting people, and there is no better place for a story to happen.

I spent four weeks volunteering at IPBio during my semester vacations. The atmosphere at the reserve is very warm and welcoming. Everyone is very supportive and it seems like everyone here at the reserve really enjoys what they are doing! I worked with the communications program and created a newsletter for IPBio. I had a lot of freedom realising my own ideas and giving a personal note to the newsletter which I really enjoyed! The nature that surrounds the reserve is very impressing, in jungle covered hills, many caves and waterfalls and a lot more to discover! Therefore, every weekend was fully booked with trips exploring nature’s treasures. Every person that I met here, if it was another volunteer, a staff member or one of the locals, was very open and extremely nice! During the day, I was working on the newsletter, which required me sitting in front of my computer all the time, but sometimes I did help with the tree inventory as well so that I had the possibility to get out in the field! All in all, I would definitely come back to IPBio! I felt really welcomed and I think it’s a great opportunity to contribute to a really good cause and at the same time collecting personal experiences, if it is new language skills, insights in research work, making new friends, exploring new cultures or Mother Earth herself!

Hey, my name is Tim. I am a biology undergraduate from Cardiff, Wales, in the U.K. I study at the University of Bristol and have just finished my second year. I noticed a lot of friends were doing exciting projects abroad, and I wanted to do something productive with my summer, which would mix my love of science and nature, with opportunity for leisure, making new friends, and exploring this beautiful part of the world. It is the first time I have volunteered in any form, and my first time this far away from home, and so I thought a one-month stay would be a safe time to book for my first adventure. With one week remaining, I begin to wonder if one month was too short a stay... it has flown by. My answer to this, and thus my advice for first-timers would be to seriously consider at least a 2 month stay. A month sounds long, especially if it’s your first time volunteering, but once you have settled in, been trained in your work activities, and are comfortable with life at the reserve, all of a sudden it is time to go home. It’s worth noting that big excursions are only possible on the weekends, and in a month, that leaves only 8 days to properly explore. It’s not enough. It’s also worth noting that it’s only a small reserve which may have only a few volunteers upon your arrival, many of whom may be long term volunteers who have already seen the sights you would like to see and wouldn’t want go again (as they cost money) and so a longer stay will allow you to come into contact with more volunteers who haven’t yet been where you want to go. Another piece of advice is if you want to visit Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, or any other far-away places, consider visiting on your way in or out of the country, as they are not near or easy to visit on a weekend.
Logistics aside, my stay at both ipBIO and Rio de Janeiro has been so exciting, character-forming, and eye opening. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but you will realise looking back on you experience here you have been put in a very privileged position to visit such an awesome environment. I worked here on several projects, and if you’re not sure what you want to do here but know you just want to help, this is a good position as you get a taster of all the work going on at the reserve. I looked at food preference using camera footage to analyse the behaviour of our Lepidodactylus flavopictus frog. I carried out maintenance tasks at the reserve; feeding the fish, turtles, testing the water quality of the tanks etc. I then studied the progression of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causative agent of chytridiomycosis in amphibians, in an isolated population of tadpoles. This is a long term study being done for a professor at a local university, and so it was good to know I was solely responsible for data collection that has real scientific significance. It also allowed me to be exposed to real science... repetition, repetition, repetition, which allowed me to realise what a career in research will really be like.
I have made great friends here, and certainly had memories which will stay with me for the rest of my life. Cananeia is definitely worth visiting (but preferably when it is good weather). It is absolutely beautiful, see as many of the islands as you can! And enjoy the boat rides. The caves here are awesome, and the hikes through the state park are unlike any organised trials you’ll ever see… prepare to get wet and have a lot of laughs! The town is very cute and there is everything you need here for a great stay. Prepare for slow internet at the reserve, but at the same time don’t rely on it... come prepared with any videos, software, literature etc. that you think you will need as downloads will take a long time. Look at it as something to look forward to - I am glad I had limited exposure to the internet as I was able to experience Brazil with my eyes rather than through a social media app, and focus on what I was doing here and the fun I was having rather than what other people who I don’t really care about were having for dinner on the other side of the globe. One thing I will definitely take away with me, and is a lesson to be learned for the Western world, is that collectivist culture is awesome. For example, the town is 5 km down the road, and a nice walk, however if someone drives past there’s a good chance they will offer you a free lift. If you need a lift back from the town after a night out, plan ahead as Taxi’s stop at 11, but when we got into this problem we asked around the bars and someone was kind enough to drop us home free of charge. Everyone is friendly here, and is so interested in you as a foreigner or ‘gringro’ as they call it, so prepare to feel welcomed. Personally, I think you will get more from your volunteer experience here if you come with a set project or research question in mind that you can fully focus on and also (preferably finish) so you have a product to come away with knowing you made an impact. You’ll make an impact regardless, but it’s nice to be around to see through the culmination of your project. You will indisputably get more from your experience if you come knowing at least the basics of Portuguese so you can get around by yourself, and converse with the locals. I came knowing zilch and wish I knew more… it’s an element of any trip that you cannot pay for to experience. The staff at ipBIO are really helpful, friendly, and well organised, and any questions before or during your stay at ipBIO, Imran has the answer!!!! Come with an open mind and heart, and embrace Brazil! Finally, if you like your stay, which I know you will, tell your friends! Some of the most powerful recommendations can from word-of-mouth, and ipBIO is expanding both here in Iporanga, and in the amazon with a new reserve, so there is space for your friends too! Good luck and I wish you fantastic experience here at ipBIO.

I am from the United States and volunteered on IPBio’s Betary Reserve in Brazil for 5 months in total. I highly recommend volunteering with IPBio, as I had a very positive experience and plan to continue volunteering with IPBio remotely going forward.

Prior to arriving in Brazil, Imran, the volunteer coordinator at IPBio, was very responsive and answered my many questions fully so that I knew exactly what I was getting myself into even before getting to the reserve. The other staff members at IPBio are also very friendly and helpful, and I always felt comfortable reaching out if I ever needed help with anything, whether work-related or not.

The organization itself is well-run, with clear projects and realistic plans to reach its goals. There is a very clear vision here and it is evident how each of the staff members and volunteers is individually contributing to the achievement of this vision. While at IPBio, I worked on the new Bioacoustics Project. I was responsible for learning how to use the new software and hardware donated through a grant program, developing the research protocol, and carrying out the data analysis. I greatly valued how much the organization trusted me to figure out these problems using my technical background. There is definitely never a lack of work to be done around the Reserve, but both the staff and volunteers have a very good work-life balance.

The accommodations have everything you need and are kept up quite well. The volunteer house felt cramped at times, but the Reserve is in the process of building a new, bigger volunteer house that should alleviate this issue.

Iporanga itself is a great place to spend time volunteering and immersing yourself in Brazilian culture, as the people are very warm, friendly, and welcoming. I felt safe the entire time I was in Iporanga, and felt comfortable walking around the city alone at any time of day. I came to Brazil speaking a little bit of Portuguese and highly recommend learning a little before coming. While not necessary to volunteer, knowing a bit of Portuguese enabled me to meet and get to know a lot of people here, including a lot of the staff members who do not speak English fluently.

During my free time, I was able to get to know the large number of caves and waterfalls in the nearby state park PETAR, hike the area, go to local festivals, take weekend trips to nearby towns, and many other fun activities! I stayed at IPBio for 5 months and still have a long list of things I’d like to do in the area for when I someday return.

Overall, this was a fantastic experience at an organization I respect highly with a lot of people I miss already. I definitely recommend volunteering here and look forward to continuing to volunteer with IPBio remotely from home in the United States.

Wow. The last two months here have been absolutely amazing. I came to IPBio eight weeks ago from the United States as a "lab assistant" to do research on one of the rare frogs here and track the progression of one of the most devastating fungal diseases affecting amphibians world-wide. I helped to design experiments with the Leptodactylus flavopictus frog to determine its activity periods and food preference because IPBio is, as far as we know, the only place in the world that has managed to raise one in captivity. A professor from UNICAMPI, Brazil asked us to start an ongoing project monitoring the progression of Bd in a population of tadpoles, so I have been helping with that as well. I picked up a couple more duties including taking care of the animals that we have on the reserve (turtles, fish, frogs, tadpoles, and lizards), hiking in the woods to collect data on bio acoustics, and sampling and testing the water quality of the aquarium. Work really doesn't feel like work most of the time - I got to take care of animals and walk through the jungle every day. The staff here are such wonderful people. Although I only speak limited Portuguese, their hospitality and kindness make working on the reserve one of my favorite parts of the day. After work, there is always something to do on the reserve. On clear nights, you can walk out to the vegetable garden and stare up at the brightest stars you have ever seen, then look over at the pond where you will see hundreds of glowing larva. It is such a surreal experience to travel from Sao Paulo, the massive city filled with lights, people, and sounds, to the middle of the Atlantic Forest where you can walk 100 meters from the house and be completely alone, surrounded by nature. On the weekends, there are literally hundreds of caves and waterfalls within driving distance which are mind-blowingly beautiful.

My time here has been truly transformative. The relationships that I have made, the science that I have done, and the awareness of the natural world that I have gained will stay with me forever. I hope to build on my experience here and become a biologist working in the same kind of environment eventually. I would recommend this experience to anyone who loves science, conservation, nature, and is ready for a stay full of adventures!

I came to IPBio for six months to work in the bioluminescent mushroom program. It was overall a wonderful experience. The reserve is in a great location, surrounded by lush forest full of animals and birds, and for anyone that likes nature it is glorious. The area the reserve is in is full of caves and waterfalls, so there is never lack of weekend activities. The staff are extremely supportive and welcoming, but I would recommend learning a bit of portuguese before coming as it will help with communicating with some members that don't speak english, and other locals. The mushroom program itself is very interesting. It is really unique to be in an area that still has many things to be discovered, plus seeing the mushrooms glowing at night is a real trip! The lab side of the work is also really rewarding as the research that is being done at the reserve is quite novel and complex. If you are interested in mushrooms or want to learn more about them, this is the perfect opportunity. The mushroom program is relatively young, but has so much potential! Can't recommend IPBio enough.

I have the best time ever during my stay, all of the employees are super nice and so are the volunteers. Iporanga will stay in my heart forever since is a very special place with a lot of stuff to visit and adventure activities to do, plus the locals are very kind and generous people. I could only stay at IPbio for two weeks but I am definetly willing to return, it is a very enthusiastic and forward thinking organization with a lot of projects and passion for what they do. I will definetly recomend it.

The hardest thing about coming to ipbio was leaving. The work is really enjoyable as your new home will be in the middle of the Atlantic forest itself, tucked away from the city life surrounded by an abundant of wildlife. As everyone has their part in helping learn more about what lies inside the Atlantic forest, my job was to document the work being done by videotaping and photographing the other volunteers research as well as documenting all the activities we do on our free time. Iporanga where ipbio is located is the capital of caves in Brasil, along with exploring multiple caves we got to check out incredible trails with hidden waterfalls and make many new friends along the way. There is so much history in this town as it was one of the first settlement towns in Brasil. Being a photographer I’ve been in heaven with all the nature around me to photograph as well as the history and people Ive meet. The people in this town are one of the nicest people Ive meet, and although many don’t speak English they will make sure to find a way to make you feel welcomed. The people working at Ipbio are also all amazing, everyone is so passionate on what they focus on and its really inspiring, and they are really interested in the work your providing as well so its an all great atmosphere and a great place to volunteer. if your into adventures and loving what you do everyday look no further, this place will treat you to one of the best experiences in your life and I personally can’t wait to return.