Ecotourism Management Volunteer
Role Overview
To improve the quality of the visitor’s experience on Isabela Island, the Galapagos National Park (GNP) has a large network of visitor sites in the south of the Island, including different types of tourist facilities such as: infrastructure (control booths, shade pergolas, bridges, platforms, wooden walkways, grills, docks, and steps), accessibility (paths for different types of vehicles and pedestrian paths), park accessories (benches, tables, and bicycle parking), and signage (informative and interpretive).
These sites have frequent visitors consequently, all tourist facilities require continuous corrective and preventive maintenance.
To carry out this maintenance, IOI and the GNP have established a strategic alliance where IOI volunteers support the activities carried out by the GNP to maintain and improve the Public Use facilities on Isabela Island.
As an Ecotourism Volunteer, and according to your specific skills and experience, you will help the Galapagos National Park in tasks related to:
The management and monitoring of visitors and visitor sites nearby Puerto Villamil
Gathering information on visitor sites, such as updating the status of the infrastructure at a particular site, trails and signage through registration forms and photo banks.
Carry out corrective and preventive maintenance of tourist facilities at the visitor sites:
Adaptation of trails: sign placement, demarcation, pruning of vegetation, etc.
Removal of introduced and invasive vegetation
Maintenance of interpretive and informative signs: sanding, painting and lacquering
Cleaning of buoys to delimit marine species protection zones (aquatic work with a mask and surface snorkel)
Maintenance of wooden structures: sanding and lacquering
Translation and design of English language visitor information
Running satisfaction questionnaires to visitors from different nationalities
Registering tourism related information, as well as generating statistical databases from your surveys
Graphic design for promotional and educational material
Graphic design of informational material: creation of or updating of maps, brochures, posters, and informative and interpretive signage (for those volunteers with Acrobat Illustrator design experience)
IOI nor the park has a computer available for this use so in this case the ideal scenario would be that the volunteer bring their personal laptop with licensed AI (IOI would not be able to take responsibility for any damage to technology that is brought out with the volunteer).
This volunteer position is flexible and can be tailored to your skills and interests as well as the park needs. The information collected will help the National Park to make decisions in tourism management that can be crucial for Galapagos wildlife preservation and sustainable long term tourism.
Schedule
Schedules are based on a 25 hr/week commitment, and can voluntarily be extended to a regular 40hr/work week. Typically Monday-Friday 7:30AM-12:30PM. May be subject to change depending on the tasks at hand.
Requirements
Ability to communicate and act with care and patience.
Ability to work independently as well as in a team.
Flexible schedule that accounts for the day to day needs of working with a local institution.
Physical ability to work outdoors with potentially high sun, element, and temperature exposure.
Ability to independently collect and register data.
Ability to speak and understand conversational to intermediate level Spanish is beneficial as it will increase your ability to communicate with project staff. IOI staff are English speakers but National Park Rangers speak very basic English thus we highly recommend that you brush up on your Spanish skills to make the most of your experience. If you would like to add a 1 or 2 week long Spanish course to the start of your program, please let us know so we can help you arrange this.
Interested in volunteering as an Ecotourism Volunteer? Follow these 3 easy steps
Step 1: Apply Now & Reserve. Fill out an application and pay the reservation deposit. The deposit holds your spot in one of our programs and goes towards your final program fee. The deposit is already deducted from the prices you see below. The application and deposit do not guarantee the dates you anticipate joining us. Once we receive your application, we will contact you with any follow-up questions and confirm your dates.
Not ready to fill out an application but have questions? Contact us.
Step 2: Reserve your space by making your $200 deposit
Step 3: Pay the program remaining balance fee 8 weeks before your trip.
