ECOSARA ADMINISTRATIVE CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS IN SOUTH AMERICA

ECOSARA curatorial conservation volunteers will be involved in the upkeep and management of the library, database and museum projects at ECOSARA. Curatorial volunteers will work alone and closely with the research team and require an eye for detail, some knowledge of classification and will learn new skills during their volunteership. 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.

Curatorial volunteers are office and field-based and will work closely with research volunteers. 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.

The following list will give you an idea of the sort of work that curatorial conservation volunteers are involved with:

Construction, collation and maintenance of photographic and video database.
Construction, collation and maintenance of nature songs database.
Construction, collation and maintenance of daily records database.
Specimen preparation and care, and maintenance of museum.
Improving accessibility and educational facilities for museum and libraries.
Reception and education for visitors.
Organisation and maintenance of library collection.
Pdf requests and additions to electronic library to assist field workers.
Fund-raising and grant applications for library and museum projects.
Editting and writing of reports, papers and articles.
Control over the book shop.

You don´t need to have any professional background to be an ECOSARA curatorial 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?!