Amazing Experience

I volunteered with Gapforce for 4 weeks over the summer of 2017. I had the most amazing experience and it had major impact on my life. It was definitely a minimalist lifestyle but nothing compares to waking up on the beach every day. The food was also pretty basic but I learned how to be creative in the kitchen and ended up making a lot of great memories cooking with friends. As for the diving, I learned so much from diving almost every day and the reefs were stunning. It's really cool to learn how to take surveys and contribute to necessary research on the reef health. The staff and other volunteers were all such amazing people and we all bonded over a shared passion for the environment and reefs. I learned so much from our marine scientist and gained new perspectives on environmentalism that impacted my career aspirations. I would not recommend this program if you are looking for a beach resort type of holiday. The conditions are very basic and that’s honestly part of what made the experience so great. I realized how few materials I really need in my life while also learning about the amazing reef ecosystem and how to protect it.