ECOSARA ADMINISTRATIVE CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS IN SOUTH AMERICA

ECOSARA administrative conservation volunteers will be involved in the everyday running and daily office tasks essential for the smooth-running of any organisation. Admin volunteers will work closely with the secretary of Pro Cosara on all aspects of office management, and are the unsung heroes of every conservation group. Of course volunteers are able to switch between projects, just because you signed up as a conservation volunteer doesn´t mean that you can´t also be a research volunteer if the fancy takes you!

We encourage ECOSARA conservation volunteers to come up with their own projects and develop them in conjunction with the permanent staff. When it comes to ideas we are always ready to listen and anything that improves the facilities or helps spread the word is something that not only benefits ECOSARA but directly benefits the conservation of San Rafael. Volunteers will be always be credited for the role that they play in ECOSARA projects. Conservation volunteers who develop their own projects will have an informal meeting each evening with staff members to discuss progress and will be expected to see projects through to completion.

Administrative volunteers are mainly office-based, but they will have ample free time to explore the forest and surroundings at their leisure. We think that ALL field observations are important and administrative conservation volunteers can also do their bit for research work by being aware of their surroundings and noting down observations of interest. Volunteers with a knack for photography are always welcome, we are always looking to boost the photographic database of the parks fauna and photographs of educational workshops and seminars are useful for publicity purposes. In the interests of making data accessible and open to all we collaborate with online database projects such as the FAUNA Paraguay.com image gallery.

To give you an idea of the sort of work that administrative conservation volunteers are involved with, here are some of the more popular projects:

Fund-raising, publicity and exploring possibilities for grants and donations.
Design and production of pamphlets and informative material in different languages.
Translation of existing material.
Organisation, reception and assistance with groups and visitors.
Taking bookings and organising work of other volunteers.
Database maintenance, archiving and office organisation.
Editting and writing of reports, papers and articles.
Posters and displays for educational purposes.
Production of more detailled promotional material for donors.
Writing and circulating the weekly e-newsletter about developments in the Reserve area.

You don´t need to have any professional background to be an ECOSARA administration conservation volunteer, just enthusiasm, a sense of adventure and willingness to get your hands dirty! Of course any professional skills or experience that you may have will come in useful and we are always willing to talk through ways in which we can make the most of your special abilities or ideas.

Up for it?!