Conservation Research Assistant Program in Honduras

Operation Wallacea was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I spent one week in Cusuco National Park (rain forest) and one week on Utila (an island with beautiful coral reefs). Both weeks were filled with in-depth lectures that went far beyond any high school class room material and hands on activities. These activities included both demonstrations and hands on data collection. For example, in the rain forest my group and I took various measurements of trees which went towards calculating the monetary worth of the rain forest. Companies with large carbon dioxide emissions pay the Honduran government to keep the forests pristine to make up for the environmental damage they cause. On the coral reefs we participated in Coral Watch, by looking at various corals and recording the type and color according to a certain scale. This data was sent to a university who was conducting a large study on the depletion of certain corals.
The staff are very warm and welcoming and help all the students feel safe and comfortable. At meals the students could sit with the scientists and talk to them about their various individual studies which was a once in a life time experience. The overall environment was educational and community centered. This experience was simply outstanding!

OpWall advertised a pre-med training course, which was perfect for me as I was studying Biomedical Science at uni, with the intention of going on to study medicine.
I travelled out not sure what to expect initially, but soon found my place in a group of other likeminded young people interested in a possible career in healthcare. Under the enthusiastic and skilled training from two Accident and Emergency room doctors, we were soon able to carry out basic observations (i.e blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen saturation), as well as have an understanding of tropical medicine, and the application of our skills in an extreme environment.
This was put to the test when, one night, we received a (thankfully false) radio call that one of the members of the herpetology teams had fallen off a bridge and was unconscious below.
We were able to gather the kit as a team of students, including splints and stretchers; reach the casualty; and carry him back out of the rainforest and onto a pickup truck, avoiding the bat team's mist nets along the way.
Overall the course was very good for someone looking an insight into the medical profession, with the doctors always willing to chat about their experiences in university and the workplace

I had such a great time on my trip to Honduas. As my second operation wallacea trip it was fantastic. I did my divemaster training while I was over there and the way it was organised was great we all got given responsibility and were kept busy the whole time. Aswell as learning to become divemasters we were also able to help out on science dives.
Staff were so lovely and Utila is a very fun place!