GVI, Ethical Impact: Wildlife Conservation Volunteering

I joined the Elephants & Gibbons program in Huay Pakhoot, near Chiang Mai, Thailand, and it turned out to be one of the most meaningful travel experiences I’ve had.

From the beginning, everything was very well organised, including airport pickup, accommodation in Chiang Mai, and transfer to the village. Once there, I stayed with a local homestay family and experienced simple village life while taking part in conservation and community activities.

Throughout the program, I learned how to collect behavioural and welfare data for elephants and gibbons, helped with activities on base and within the community, taught English to local children and mahouts, and learned traditional local skills from the villagers themselves.

The experience is very immersive and definitely not a luxury holiday. Expect basic living conditions, steep hikes, bugs, and physically demanding days at times — but that’s also what makes it feel authentic and rewarding.

One of the best parts was the people. The local community was incredibly welcoming, and the volunteers and interns were all very like-minded. I was even lucky enough to attend a local wedding and a blessing ceremony during my stay.

I originally planned to stay for only two weeks, but ended up extending my program because I enjoyed it so much.

If you’re looking for something more meaningful than a normal trip abroad, I would absolutely recommend this experience.

The entire experience that GVI provided was amazing. It started with me being picked up by taxi from a long journey on the aeroplane, which was incredibly exciting. I am very privileged to be able to have gone on this trip and experience everything that I did. From tropical and close to extinct animals like the green macaw, to lovely exotic fruits and foods, I was enamoured by every second spent in Costa Rica. We started our week as the itinerary detailed. We learned how to make tamales, went swimming in the lagoon and made a bench out of ecobricks. At night we went on turtle patrols from 8pm - midnight to make sure poachers stayed away from turtle nests. One of the most amazing moments I experienced was when we saw a turtle laying eggs in the night. The sand was also magical as it seemed to glow, quite literally, underneath our feet as we walked, as a result of the live microcreatures in the sand. We also went to Sepeque where we interacted and stayed with a local Bribri tribe who showed us their way of life and hunting. On the return from this lovely community, we went on a day long hike through the beautiful rainforest where we say camens, iguanas, sloths and many many ants. In reflection, as I was dropped off at the airport, I was sad to see it all go and return to the boring UK. But I took comfort in the memories that I made and friends that I got to keep. Overall a 5/5 would recommend experience. Super!

I have just finished an amazing few weeks with GVI in Thailand, volunteering on their coastal conservation project. It's hard to explain just how fantastic the experience has been from beginning to end.

It has been wonderful to experience a different side to Thailand, which has felt much more authentic than just traipsing around all the typical tourist haunts, and to know that you are making a genuine difference to the community you are working in while you are there. As a volunteer with GVI you have so many more opportunities than a "regular" tourist, from helping out at a nearby turtle conservation centre to teaching in a local school (and with plenty of time for sight-seeing at the weekends, too!).

One thing that really impressed me was GVI's commitment to having a real impact, focussing on several of the UN's sustainable development goals which are applicable to the region. It's tempting to think that, as a short-term volunteer only there for a few weeks, you can't make a big impact, but GVI give you the opportunity to be part of something larger than yourself, so you know that the work you are doing will be continued by the staff, interns, and future volunteers long after you have moved on.

Possibly the best thing about volunteering with GVI was the people I met while I was there - staff, interns and other volunteers alike, I got to know some of the most inspiring, passionate and dedicated people I have ever had the pleasure to meet, who happily shared their time, energy and expertise with those of us who have plenty of enthusiasm, but little knowledge of the conservation issues in the region.

It's been a truly amazing experience that I can't recommend highly enough!

So I went to Phang Nga for 2 weeks and I wish i'd been able to spend longer there. I loved every minute, the staff and volunteers were all such wonderful people. I especially loved working with the turtles and learning lots about them. The whole set up of the project was extremely organised and I always felt confident in what was expected of me and the tasks we were going to. I can't recommend GVI enough, as it's the second project I have done with them. They are so organised and clear about what will be happening on project. As with all things some activities were weather dependent and we were always informed when possible if things were going to change. GVI had built up a fantastic relationship with the surrounding village and the Navy base which we volunteered at.

I cannot recommend this project enough it was the most enjoyable time I had in Thailand and I wish I had done the project for longer!

I spent three weeks in Phang Nga and it was the best of my life, originally i was only meant to do 2 weeks but extended as i loved it so much. I was very nervous to begin going by myself, even with the good words of the team i spoke to before it is scary going somewhere new! as soon as i was picked up by the GVI team I knew it was going to be amazing! The other people volunteering were so lovely, the team were so nice and only had good words to speak about GVI. Everyone i was with was so wonderful and I can honestly say i have made friends for life, living with and spending all day with people is just amazing! The whole GVI team were amazing too. Doing conservation i spent a lot of time with Rachel and Luis who were wonderful! they love conservation so much and seeing their passion made you enjoy it even more! the living conditions also were good. I expected very basic but we had 6 bed dorms, which was very fun being able to live with people, we also had a common area with a kitchen with a kettle toaster cereal for us to eat, then sofas with a laptop and projector so we could watch films and there was wifi which was nice as it is handy to be able to keep in touch with people especially at the beginning when you are still nervous. We lived in a small village and it was nice being part of the community. On the weekend we went on trips with everyone where we all got to know each other better and it was so much fun! i would highly recommend this to anyone it was the best trip ever and i wish i was there longer.

Every day on the expedition there was something new and exciting to discover. Studying the predator/prey ratios of the animals living on the reserve and taking data on their daily habits was like living in a Nationa Geographic special. We started early and finished late every day, but the work was worthwhile and we felt as though we were contributing to the long term impact of the area. There was also time for teaching the African schoolchildren how to use newly donated computers. The looks of wonder on their faces was priceless. I was amazed at how close we were able to get to animals most people only see on TV, but I always felt our safety was GVI's first priority. It was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything and hopefully someday I'll be able to return to do it again!

Working with this program was an amazing experience. We spent our time every day working closely with the wildlife. I felt like we were on safari everyday while doing research on predator/prey ratio studies.

Life on the reserve was primitive, yet very comfortable.