By: Lotte Schippers - 8 weeks internship in Costa Rica 2023/2024
For my Wildlife business management degree, I have done several internships, mostly revolving around animal care but this time I chose to visit a different type of organization. In August 2023, I landed in Costa Rica to spend 8 weeks with the research project of Adopt Rainforest.
By: Zoë - 4 weeks volunteer in Costa Rica 2024
And then there you are, atop a hilltop, having a good cry. Or frantically trying not to let your fellow volunteer see how touched you are. My name is Zoë, I live near Hasselt in Belgium. I am an adult education teacher, and enthusiastic but very novice when it comes to nature. I would like to tell you about my wonderful experiences as a volunteer in the reserve of Adopt Rainforest.
By: Maria, Finland - 2 weeks volunteer in Costa Rica
I've always wanted to travel to Costa Rica and to have a chance to discover it´s spectacular nature. I am fascinated by Costa Rica’s biodiversity and the fact that Costa Rica has protected more of its land area than any other state. So, I wrote to google ”work with nature, Costa Rica”, and I found you guys. At that moment I knew, where I would like to go, and what I would like to do. I didn´t have any earlier experience doing any voluntary job, nor I wasn´t studying biology, but I had interest of nature and hunger to experience something new and wild. I was ready to go for an adventure.
By: Siep, The Netherlands
"From the beginning of May I did a research internship at Work with Nature in Costa Rica, here I really experienced the time of my life. Together with fellow student Max I did research on the butterfly populations in three different habitat types. And thanks to the fantastic support of the local tutors Maarten and Hanneke it has grown into a project of which I am very proud.
I think the coolest thing I've experienced during my internship was my last day in the reserve. Then, together with my internship supervisor and three other interns, I went down the river in the reserve looking for the eyelash viper, a snake that was very high on our list."
By: The program manager
Is it possible to restore the original rainforest in a deforested area where cows have been grazing for years? In Costa Rica at least they accept the challenge. This article tells in short how Work with Nature in Costa Rica is trying to transform degraded land back into a fully fledged rainforest.
By: Alex, Great Britain
"Immersed in the middle of Costa Rica nearby a small village called San Miguel, I got to experience first hand with biodiversity data collection, permaculture and reforestation. Contrary to other places in Costa Rica where, for quite a high price, I was only offered to interact with animals kept in refuges' enclosures, at Work With Nature, I encountered real wildlife at their door step: sloths, armadillos, kinkajous, coatis, toucans, oropendolas, tayras, one caïman and so many other multicoloured birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes and insects!
By: Erika Shook
“This was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! The farm was beautiful and truly felt like home even though I was only there for a short period of time (2 weeks). I wish I could have stayed longer. Maarten and Hanneke were so friendly and truly made everyone feel welcome. All the other students and myself became very close very quickly and I made great friends. The work itself was extremely rewarding and felt as though I really was making a difference in the world. One of my favorite projects being done was the reforestation project where I actively participated in re-growing a rainforest (planting trees).
By: Kara Mikhitarian
“My friend Erika and I went together for three weeks to the project in San Miguel. Going in, we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but we were both beyond satisfied with our time there. We actually wished we could have stayed there long-term to work on a research project. So, our two-week stay was filled with learning, volunteer work, and the beginnings of scientific studies that the project leaders were starting after the new year.
Hannah Elzinga, USA
“Being an Environmental Research Intern for two months was truly a life-changing and eye-opening experience. I found this internship because I was looking to do something good for the planet while traveling and advancing my career in conservation biology. This experience was the perfect combination of all three. I chose work with nature because Marteen (the primary biologist and co-founder of the foundation) let me design my own research project. Because I already had some experience with field biology and doing biological research I wanted to see if I could challenge myself to design and execute my own project. I ended up establishing a system for monitoring biodiversity levels in different types of rainforest and reforested areas. This was truly a valuable collaborative effort between myself, Marteen and Hanneke and ended up being a very successful project.